D300 and D300s Tips and Tricks - Official thread

[DanWhite]

Nikonians Spreadsheet:
http://www.nikonians.org/forums/dcb...orum=149&topic_id=113811&mesg_id=113811&page=

Anyone have a copy of this, Since Nikonians went all paid my membership has been deactivated

it can be emailed to dan@danielglenphoto.com


Thanks
Dan

 

[Colin Giersberg]

Dan, I hope you received my e-mail to you about the Excel spreadsheet. I sent it last night, and I just joined up as a member of this forum today.

Regards, Colin

 

[MRCPix]

tip well get out and shoot alot.
I moved the commander mode setting to the my menu

 

[ZKcrew]

thanks for the tips. this is very useful!

 

[gina4xoxoxo]

my experiance with lens glass as with nice shiney cars.most folks wipe them just a little too frequently!ive seen more sweal scratches in lenses and shiney cars to make this statment.i inspectct the real eliment of the lens upon instillation.i wipe with soft lens cloth only to remove dust.same with my gun cleaning but thats another story and another direction

I've read about and have seen people clean their lenses in one of two ways and was always wondering what is 'correct'. Should you use your lens cloth in a circular motion starting from the inside center and circle around to the outside OR should you wipe up and down? I am so paranoid to wipe my lens that I never do it. It has some little tiny bits of dust on it but nothing major. Sometimes I just kind of 'brush it' with the lens cloth, like waving it so just the edge hits it to knock anything off. I've seen people blow on their lens like people do with dirty glasses and then clean it. Is this recommended?
Anyway, what is the proper way to clean your lens with a lens cloth?
Thanks!!

 

[threecats]

Since this thread has meandered well off the original intent I thought I would add something Tips and Tricks related


This guy has some of the best Youtube tutorials I have seen. Not one word is spoken nor needs to be.
Here's one. Others will be in the windows nearby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbanzFj-JxY&annotation_id=annotation_943879&feature=iv

 

[gina4xoxoxo]

While we're on tips and tricks here, does anyone have any tips for flash, especially off-camera flash, say, using it outside without a stand, etc., like just holding it in your hand and above your head or shoulders? I have the little adapter that goes in the hot shoe that prevents pinhole reflections in the eyes, but that's not really what I'm talking about. I'm talking about holding the strobe in your hand and lighting that way.
Is there a special way it needs to be set up or any special settings, etc., to do this?

 

[Naptown]

While we're on tips and tricks here, does anyone have any tips for flash, especially off-camera flash, say, using it outside without a stand, etc., like just holding it in your hand and above your head or shoulders? I have the little adapter that goes in the hot shoe that prevents pinhole reflections in the eyes, but that's not really what I'm talking about. I'm talking about holding the strobe in your hand and lighting that way.
Is there a special way it needs to be set up or any special settings, etc., to do this?

I usually shoot that way with the D300 and the SB800 using the hot shoe sync cord and a big softbox on the flash. Sometimes I;ll use a frame/bracket if I'm walking around a lot. I set the flash on TTL and balanced lighting with -1 or -2 EV depending on the effect I want. I handhold the flash about a foot over the camera and a bit left, since the camera's in my right hand. Then I just shoot and see what I get.

 

[Naptown]

Since this thread has meandered well off the original intent I thought I would add something Tips and Tricks related


This guy has some of the best Youtube tutorials I have seen. Not one word is spoken nor needs to be.
Here's one. Others will be in the windows nearby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbanzFj-JxY&annotation_id=annotation_943879&feature=iv

Hadn't seen these before, great find. Thanx. Have bookmarked them.

 

[gina4xoxoxo]

@NAPTOWNSAILOR: Thanks for the reply. Why do you have to use the sync cord? Can you not put the camera in commander mode? please don't laugh if that's a silly question-I'm new with the flash thing! :O)

 

[Naptown]

I could use commander mode, but then I'd have to read the manual some more. My arms aren't longer than the sync cord, so commander mode doesn't help me if I'm handholding the flash.

 

[gina4xoxoxo]

I don't have a sync cord so i was just asking to see if can, in fact, use the commander mode so i don't have to buy a cord???

 

[Naptown]

I'm sure you could.

 

[glumetu]

This guy has some of the best Youtube tutorials I have seen. Not one word is spoken nor needs to be.
Here's one. Others will be in the windows nearby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbanzFj-JxY&annotation_id=annotation_943879&feature=iv

excellent find, thanks for the share!!

 

[Naptown]

Nice thing about using the sync cord is that I don't have to change any menus in the flash or the camera. So I never forget to set things back to my usual settings. I only use flash for balanced fill.

 

[gina4xoxoxo]

When using CW metering, metering does NOT follow the focus point as it does with spot or matrix metering, correct, when recomposing?

Thanks!

 

[mudfoot]

Since this thread has meandered well off the original intent I thought I would add something Tips and Tricks related


This guy has some of the best Youtube tutorials I have seen. Not one word is spoken nor needs to be.
Here's one. Others will be in the windows nearby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbanzFj-JxY&annotation_id=annotation_943879&feature=iv

thanks for the link

 

[Aqualung]

When using CW metering, metering does NOT follow the focus point as it does with spot or matrix metering, correct, when recomposing?

Thanks!

According to my Thom Hogan guide, in matrix that's only true in Single Pt. (pg. 248) For CW, he doesn't make any reference to following the focus point, it's more of how much of the frame it uses. 75% of the central area, 25% of the outer area.

Note the nuances in Spot, depending upon the focus mode, it may not be the focus spot you selected, i.e. in Dynamic Mode w/ Continuous Servo, the camera is choosing the focus spot and thus, the Spot meter will follow what the camera chooses.

 

[mudfoot]

Someone suggested I repost this in this thread. Here goes.

What follows is a compilation of tips and resources seen on various sites such as nikonians.org and dpreview.com. This collection is for those that just bought a new D300 who may have questions asking for help may find some useful links in this thread for beginners as well as other folks Hopefully, with the help of the kind folks here, hope you find this informative.

Owner’s manual: http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/noprint/D300_en_noprint.pdf

Nikonians Spreadsheet:
http://www.nikonians.org/forums/dcb...orum=149&topic_id=113811&mesg_id=113811&page=

Elite's D300 Made Easy DVD:
Active D-Lighting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtWDS1va_Dk&feature=related
Live View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSABJjmk-gI
Demo Tips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3lhyUNapqs&feature=related

Live View White Balance: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1039&message=25928617

How to use Capture NX:
Setting files for capture NX (Jason Odell): http://www.luminescentphoto.com/capturenx.html
Capture NX Tutorials, tech guides and tips (Nikon site): http://www.capturenx.com/

Capture NX How-To Articles (Nikon site) - a lot of power in NX that isn't 'obvious':
http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bi...Jvd19jbnQ9MzQsMzQmcF9wcm9kcz00MiwyOTgmcF9jYXR

High Pass sharpening in Capture NX: http://dptnt.com/2007/11/high-pass-sharpening-using-nikon-capture-nx/

Lens glyphs: http://www.nikonimaging.com/global/products/lens/glossary.htm
Lenses Reviews: http://www.nikonimaging.com/global/products/lens/af/index.htm

Other helpful websites:
NikonCafe: https://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/index.php?
Thom Hogan: http://www.bythom.com/
Bjorn Rorslett: http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html
Rob Galbraith: http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/index.asp
Nikon Digitutor: http://www.nikondigitutor.com/eng/d300/index.shtml
Luminous Landscape: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/

thanks for compiling all of this info.

 

[martin_hurton]

When using CW metering, metering does NOT follow the focus point as it does with spot or matrix metering, correct, when recomposing?

Thanks!

I think that this is also somewhat true for spot metering if you spot the subject, lock and recompose? The exposure is correctfrom the area spotted and locked, but if your focus point falls somewhere else after recomposing then the flash reading uses this point...

Am I correct in thinking that in centre weighted metering the flash takes it's value at the flah, whereas in spot or matrix it is measured through the lens?

I haven't tried it yet, but using the FV lock before recomposing might work if you have the chance. Failing that I find matrix metering works REALLY well with the flash system.

I could be wrong though, but I have been experimenting a bit with this lately and this seems to be true.