D300 Owners Thread - Anything related to the D300!

[fracster]

51 point 3D tracking on the D3 is superb - and I'm pretty sure it's the same as on the D300. Pick up the subject in the centre point and it sticks with it flawlessly - if it doesn't - you don't have the camera set up properly. I use it 99% of the time!

Have you tried it for fast moving subjects?

 

[Martyn...]

I have just started using my D300 again after a long break. Can't really explain why it just stayed in its bag. I think the main problem is i'm not sure what I want to photgraph, if that makes any sense. Can anybody recommend a good training coarse. Don't really like books or DVD's, much prefer a classroom with an expert and lots of hands on. Really need to get to grips with all these buttons and functions, at the moment it rarely gets off P, what a waste.

Have a read of Ken Rockwell's guide, it is written in plain English, is short and to the point, much easier to follow than the 400+ page manual. Whilst he has his own strange ideas on 'vivid', it should guide you to make the basic settings to get decent results.

LINK

 

[Jim B]

No its pants.

If you want to see how pants it is, turn on the af point illumination and then try it... you will see the AF points light up as it "tracks" things... and you'll see it go bonkers and loose the plot plenty

Probably good if you are a numpty and can't work the rest out, but trust me, for consistant results keep it to stuff you control...

Only used the camera a couple of times for motorsport, initially was using single point AF and tracking the cars with that. Having actually picked up the manual for the first time lol, it appears dynamic AF would perhaps be a better option. My reasoning is if I didn't keep the car nailed on the AF point (i.e. it strayed outside it), the camera would use AF data from the other AF points. Currently had that set to 51 points, but wondering if that would slow things down as it has to calculate from a lot of points?

Was just interested in peoples experiences of 51 point 3D tracking, particulary for fast moving subjects. Not tried it on moving subjects yet but seen the AF point bouncing around messing about. For a moving subject is it supposed to keep the focus point above the subject you're tracking no matter where it is in the frame?

It could be worth changing menu a4 (Focus tracking with lock-on), to 'Short', or 'Off', to increase the responsiveness of 3D tracking.

It all depends on your subject really...

Have it set to off, which I think means its at its most responsive. Would only think about putting it on (short, or normal) if I knew something would temporarily come between me and the subject.

... Select a focus point with focus point assist (middle setting)...

What is focus point assist?

Cheers,

 

[Graham00]

If you can find one they're still retailing for £1000+

 

[awp]

Have you tried it for fast moving subjects?

yes I have.

 

[desantnik]

What is focus point assist?

On your focus point selection switch you have "single focus point" (top), "dynamic" (which is all focus points, on the bottom) and "focus point plus focus assist points" (middle). The middle setting uses you selected focus point to work on and uses the points surrounding it to help get the best focus.

 

[fracster]

yes! How many examples do you need?

For goodness sake grow up.

I`m asking about fast moving animals/birds, not lethargical creatures like those.

I have tried it it for birds, often, and I can`t get it to work fast enough.Now that is either my fault or the cameras.Bearing in mind I have a "useless D300 rather than a D3", how do YOU get the 3d to work with small flighty birds?

Or maybe, you can`t?

 

[Oli R C]

I`m asking about fast moving animals/birds, not lethargical creatures like those.

Indeed, one mans fast moving subject is another man's lathargic creature.

I'm keen to find out the limits of the Dynamic AF, and it certainly looks like small flightly birds are going to be beyond this system. I'm hoping, from a personal point of view, that it's going to be usable for me, for my mountain bike stuff. awp's examples certainly paint things in a favourable light, but then they were taken on a D3 (I assume), so not really sure of their validity in this thread

Unfortunately, it's the wrong time of year for MTB races, so I'll have to wait a little while before I can really test it out. But I think it could work for me. I'd only need to keep the rider in the same portion of the viewfinder (or at least not move him too quickly to another portion) which I think is perfectly plausible.

Here's hoping.... It'd just be a refreshing change, not to have to pre-focus, and thus restrict when I can take the shot. If something happens before or after the pre-focused spot, a crash for example, then I'm not going to miss the shot due to not being focussed correctly.

EDIT: Although, switching to using the AF-ON button will help in this situation.

 

[Kaouthia]

Just got mine yesterday, my wife buys me the best presents

The attached lens was my birthday present

 

[aberal]

Have a read of Ken Rockwell's guide, it is written in plain English, is short and to the point, much easier to follow than the 400+ page manual. Whilst he has his own strange ideas on 'vivid', it should guide you to make the basic settings to get decent results.

LINK

He's also got some strange notions about shooting in RAW too. I realised that once that Ken uses his camera like a point and shoot and doesn't do PP work, his strange notions make some kind of sense. They don't make sense for those of us who do (and enjoy) a bit of PP work now and again.

 

[awp]

awp's examples certainly paint things in a favourable light, but then they were taken on a D3 (I assume), so not really sure of their validity in this thread

Mine were taken with a D3 but as far as I know the D3 and the D300 have the same focussing system.

 

[wibbly]

Anyone got any comments on the D300s regarding it's abilities for Video?

I'd be interested in some feedback on this

 

[wibbly]

So I spent out today on a D300s.... What a lovely bit of kit!

All tips and hints most welcome

 

[Jim B]

On your focus point selection switch you have "single focus point" (top), "dynamic" (which is all focus points, on the bottom) and "focus point plus focus assist points" (middle). The middle setting uses you selected focus point to work on and uses the points surrounding it to help get the best focus.

Ah I've never heard it called focus point plus focus assist points before, just dynamic. I realise what the settings do, but when in the dynamic mode how many points do you let it use to assist? I'm using 51 (not 3D tracking).

Been experimenting with 3D tracking today and it works to a degree. Had the 300/4 on, focused on a bird on the bird feeder, then moved the camera around and it kept the focus point above the bird however I composed the shot. As far as a fast moving subject in the frame goes, I don't think it'd keep up, so I use single point and dynamic depending on the scene.

One thing that annoys me is you can't use 1/3 steps for the Auto ISO "maximum sensitivity" setting. It goes from 800 to 1600, ideally I'd like to set it to 1000! :bonk:

 

[Mud]

Just got mine yesterday, my wife buys me the best presents

*image snip*

The attached lens was my birthday present

I recently got this exact setup, it's amazing. I shot tight candid portraits in India from moving motorised richshaws on bad roads and the results blew me away!

 

[LASTOLITE]

So I spent out today on a D300s.... What a lovely bit of kit!

May have been said BUT there is a FREE speedlight SB900 with that purchase! direct from NIKON - get the camera registered AND make sure IF yours has the 2 year extended warranty included you register with HomeServe - The 0800 no is on the box! as the Nikon system of registration sometimes falls over So I was told

And as happened to me - If I had nor have followed up from a post in a forum of the same issue I would have lost the additional year

 

[wibbly]

make sure IF yours has the 2 year extended warranty included you register with HomeServe - The 0800 no is on the box! as the Nikon system of registration sometimes falls over So I was told

Thanks for this, I registered online for the warranty but think I may give them a call to confirm I have the 2 years

I have been on to Nikon about the SB900 and am awaiting my voucher to send back to them for my SB900, it's what swung me to buy the S

 

[ecniv]

Is there a way to have a setting recorded for use - ie I have iso 200 when a flash is up or attached, but if there is no flash can it be set to 1000?

So may be two settings, one for normal (ie user adjusts) and one for preset...

I am asking as I used the 300 with the tokina 11-16 for a pic of all people at the new years bash. Worked a treat got all in. But I had forgotten to drop the iso back to 200, so was noisy... Sigh.

So being lazy really - is there a way to set this sort of thing up? I am guessing no.

Next time ...

 

[chivers67]

Anyone got any comments on the D300s regarding it's abilities for Video?

I'd be interested in some feedback on this

I've taken some video and it's pretty clear and the microphone built into the camera does well picking up sound. If you're hand holding you need to keep the camera really steady best sticking to a tripod. I'm quite mpressed with the built in flash. Ken Rockwell doesn't seem to rate it for some reason :shrug:

 

[Kaouthia]

Ken Rockwell doesn't seem to rate it for some reason :shrug:

That could be because he's never actually used one, or at least hadn't at the time of his "review". I've no idea if he has since then, but he hasn't updated the review to reflect it, so I suspect not.

The D300s movie mode isn't terrible. It's certainly not as versatile as a dedicated video camera, but no DSLR that has a built in movie feature is. It has its issues, but then so does the Sony EX1R (and that costs almost 7 grand once you get the Letus adapter for Nikon glass).

So far in limited playing around, you'll want to have the camera set in A or M in tripod mode (and actually on a tripod) for best results. You never get complete manual control, it will constantly try to adjust the gain (basically the ISO) in order to try to get "accurate" exposure on the frame, so you'll need pretty even lighting thoughout each shot.

It does suffer from rolling shutter issues, although not quite as badly as the previous Nikon bodies that also shot in HD (still fairly obvious though in hand-held or quickly panned tripod shots). There is software out there to correct for this, which ranges anywhere from free to about £500, and you'd never notice it if processed correctly. Having an actual video tripod can help with this (even a low end one) as they're designed for more fluid pan shots than photography tripods. I use a cheap Libec video tripod (it cost me about £120 at the Broadcast Video Expo last year) that I initially bought for use with Sony Z7 HD cameras, but it works great with the D300s. Very smooth and fluid movement and the head is adjustable with a built in level to get perfectly horizontal pans.

It definitely has a learning curve which requires you probably will be shooting video differently than you may have done in the past with dedicated video cameras or even cheap camcorders, but the results can be excellent.

 

[wibbly]

I must admit part of the reason I went for the 300s over a secondhand 300 was for the movie mode having been suckered in by watching Nikons PR about it.

Having tried it a couple of times I am somewhat disappointed, however as others have pointed out I guess there are results available if you are willing to spend a lot of time and effort getting to them... something I don't know whether I want to given the option to pick up a Video Camera and point and shoot, something I was hoping to avoid with a D300s...

Having said that, the camera is complicated enough in single frame use for me, let alone movie mode

 

[Shelby Tree]

Only had it a couple of months, kept the D60 as a back up and to be able to have a long and short combination. Picking up the D60 again, it's sooooo small it feels like it should be on a key ring.

I hear this! It feels like a toy! haha

 

[LASTOLITE]

Has anyone else noticed in the D300 viewfinder - IF you frame a shot in low light and then bright light the data readout brightens or goes dimmer depending upon the best contrast needed to view the data - who thought of that

 

[Mud]

You never get complete manual control, it will constantly try to adjust the gain (basically the ISO) in order to try to get "accurate" exposure on the frame, so you'll need pretty even lighting thoughout each shot.

You realise you can use AE-L to lock the exposure? I always hit it before recording.

 

[_belial]

I've only just noticed, that for whatever reason (?) when I left my camera out tonight taking 30sec exposures with a shutter release locked, it only saved 100 of the images to the card, despite there being about 3gb free!? Any idea why this is? From my calculations there should have been 3 times that many on there?

 

[Cheng]

Apparently whilst the D3 and D300 have the same AF focussing systems, the D300 does not have the processing power to do a good job of the 51 point 3d focussing system, whereas the D3 3d foccusing is great! So 51/3d is a bit useless on fast action for the D300. Think this was KR that said this btw.

 

[redhed17]

I'd take anything Ken Rockwell says with a huge pinch of salt, and get any 'facts' verified from a respectable source or two.

The chap talks some 'cr*p' just to generate traffic through his site, which is fair enough as he wants to make a living, and seems to be quite successful at it. :shrug: However some people mistakenly take what he says as fact, without knowing that the chap sometimes talks 's***e' for effect and site traffic.


Back to the D300, I found Thom Hogan's guide to the D300 (and D200 and D70) very good.

If shooting only RAW, change your picture style to Neutral, as the Histogram shows a Jpeg (as most cameras do) and if the picture style is boosting colours and contrast, this will show in the Histogram, but is not an accurate reading of the RAW file. This is the same with all LCD review images, not just for the D300. Apparently the RAW images can look a bit flat on the LCD and don't look good when trying to sell cameras in shops. :bonk:


Before I got into using Adobe Bridge and to a lesser extent, Lightroom, I used to shoot just RAW and use software called Preview Extractor to generate a Basic Jpeg from the RAW file for previewing which images to do further editing on. It allows for a larger full screen preview image using Window$ Picture and Fax Viewer, which other programs don't give. It is also quicker to scroll through images too imho. Saves shooting RAW+Jpeg just for s preview image. I only stopped using it on my new PC as it doesn't want to work with Vista. You can get the software here. It works with most if not all Nikon cameras btw.

I can't think of anything else at the moment. :shrug:

 

[Kaouthia]

You realise you can use AE-L to lock the exposure? I always hit it before recording.

That works in video mode? Does it work as an on/off toggle, or am I expected to hold it down the entire time?

 

[Mud]

That works in video mode? Does it work as an on/off toggle, or am I expected to hold it down the entire time?

It'll work as assigned, I have it set to toggle the exposure lock on pressing the AE-L/AF-L button. Luckily this doesn't conflict with my normal photography button assignments.

 

[Kaouthia]

Nice, thanks. I'd only had a quick play with the movie mode a couple of times (as I said, limited playing around) and I hadn't even thought of the AE lock button.

See, this is why we need that DSLR video forum.

 

[Mud]

Agreed, though I bought my D300s partly as an interim video body to play with whilst Nikon catch up to Canon on the video (quality) front. I don't take the D300s' video capability seriously.

 

[Kaouthia]

I don't take the D300s' video capability seriously.

Well, now that I know the exposure can be locked, I'm taking it a little more seriously. I'll still be using EX1's for most of the stuff ***.

 

[davekiddle]

I've only just noticed, that for whatever reason (?) when I left my camera out tonight taking 30sec exposures with a shutter release locked, it only saved 100 of the images to the card, despite there being about 3gb free!? Any idea why this is? From my calculations there should have been 3 times that many on there?

I think that's the max number of shots you can take in either Continuous Low or Continuous High - seems strange to have an upper limit though. (You can set it to less if you like - option d5 in the menu).

 

[Kaouthia]

Yes, I believe 100 images is the limit on continuous shooting. Why not use the interval timer? 30 second exposures starting every 31 seconds?

 

[_belial]

Yeah I found the option for the limit,but why is it there? Surely it can just write stuff to the card empty it's buffer then carry on? Seems daft that there's a limit there at all.

I could use the interval timer certainly, but that would leave me with a 1 second gap in the star trail when i've stacked them.

 

[Kaouthia]

Yup, I agree a 100 image limit is kinda silly, especially on such a long exposure.

I've never done star trails, is a 1 second gap really all that big on a 30 second exposure? Is it noticable when you composite them all together?

 

[Syx]

Perhaps in case it happens to be switched on in a bag with the shutter depressed? Fairly unlikely though, I must admit.

 

[wibbly]

Well my receipt has gone back to Nikon today, so now I sit and wait for my new SB900!

Mid Feb I'm thinking

 

[Mud]

I sent mine early Dec, emailed them today wondering if something had gone awry:

"The offer takes up to 30 days to process from receipt of application. Please bear in mind delivery times may also be lengthened due to the recent weather conditions. If your time is over 30 days then you can contact us on 01420525506."

 

[fordpop]

Can anyone PM me that excel file with the settings on from one of the other forums...............Nikonians I think it was.

I did download it, then lost it, then found it the lost the memory stick I kept it on

So if some one would PM is to me I'd be very grateful

Cheers