AK Grandpa Loc: Anchorage, AK

The upgrade from a D300 should be to a D500 . . .

saxman71 Loc: Wenatchee, WA

You did not articulate what type of photos the camera would mainly be used for. If it is wildlife/sports/action shooting the Nikon D500 is the camera you need. I shot with a D300 for many years and was generally pleased with the results. Some years ago, I purchased a D7100 as an upgrade and was immediately unhappy with its performance when photographing wildlife. It has a very limited buffer. I understand the D7200 and D7500 are improved in this respect but have no hands on experience. I purchased a D500 a year and a half ago and have not been disappointed. It is and upgrade over my D300 and D7100 in every respect. For what it's worth, I recommend it. It's worth the extra cost.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

D500 ($1900) would be the most logical upgrade, if you truly need all the speed and performance it offers. It's the top-of-the-line DX model now, same as your D300s was, in its day.

A D7200 ($800) might be preferable, if you want a bit higher resolution and don't need need a more sports/action oriented camera. It's a 24MP camera, where the D500 is 21MP.

The D7500 ($1150) is sort of a "D500 Lite", less expensive and not quite as high performance as the top-of-the-line model, but still a bit faster and more action oriented camera than the D7200.

The 24MP D7200 would give you double the resolution of your 12MP D300s. The 21MP D500 and D7500 both offer significant increases, too... though not quite as much. All of them have much higher usable ISO, wider dynamic range and other image quality improvements that you'll see compared to you older camera.

Any of them would give you nearly everything your D300s offers and more. The D7200's top continuous shooting rate is 6 frames per second, while your D300s can do 7 fps. The D7500 can shoot at up to 8 fps and the D500 can capture 10 fps.

The autofocus systems of the D7200 and D7500 would look pretty familiar to you... they use a 51-point array similar to the D300s'. There have been some tweaks and improvements to that system, though... the newer cameras can focus in lower light conditions and are able to focus f/8 equivalent lens/teleconverter combinations, which your D300s cannot. The D500 has an even more advanced 151-point AF system with extra high performance. I think the D500 uses a separate chip to run the AF, too... while the others use one processor for everything.

Like your D300s, the D7200 and D500 have dual memory card slots. The D7500 has a single slot.

The D500 and D7500 have articulated Touch Screen LCDs. The D7200's screen is fixed and not a Touch Screen, like your D300s. All three of the newer cameras have slightly larger and higher resolution LCD screens, compared to your D300s'.

The D7200 and D7500 have 150,000 actuation shutter durability rating, same as your D300s. The D500 is rated for 200,000 clicks.

All three of the newer cameras also are more battery efficient, will give you more shots per charge than your D300s.

All three of the newer cameras are able to use basically the same lenses as D300s. In addition, the newer cameras can use the new AF-P lenses, where your D300s cannot. (D5000-series and D3000-series cameras are not able to autofocus some older lenses and may have issues metering some of them, too.)

Depending upon your needs and budget, there may be others but you have choice of at least three Nikon models that would be significant and solid upgrades from your D300s.... D500, D7200 or D7500.

NikonFan

I've said this ad nausium , (sp?) rent, rent, rent, before you buy.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

I made the same upgrade to a D7100. I never liked it but the picture quality was a big step up. I just made the jump to the 7500. One card slot doesn’t bother me at all, and, once again the quality is a step up and it’s fast with a giant buffer. I should have done it a year ago.

jsmangis Loc: Peoria, IL

I believe that the D500 is the replacement for the D300s. You might check it out.

barryb Loc: Kansas

I had a D300, and loved it, but the new sensors on the cameras are indeed amazing, and there is a good chance your images could take a significant step forward. I have a couple of Nikon friends that have the D500, and it is a very worthy option for a DX camera, as is the 7000 series. Good luck