Nikon 300s 'basic' settings

[Geminineil]

Hi, I have a D300s and been quite frustrated with the 'softness' of many shots and the occasional sharp one. I was using a 70-300 lens.. and have this week got the very impressive 200-400. I would now like to be able to do the lens justice! Is anyone able to suggest some of the more important settings that I should focus on (excuse the pun). Generaly I am trying to capture smaller birds in the UK.

For example... High ISO NR On/Off High, Normal Low?

I have found the 51 point a bit slow so am now going to try 21 point AF.
Queries such as...
Long exp.
Fine tune optimal exposure
High ISO NR on/off?

Some that Currently I have:
Active De-Lighting (trying that on high)
AF-C on Focus
Dynamic Area (has been on 51)
Focus tracking Normal
AF Activation On
AF Selection 11
Centre Weighted area 8
AEL/AF-L Centre position

Any hlep very gratefully received... and just to say that I have managed to get some very good shots.. just a few too many seem to be 'soft' and not as sharp as I would hope for... (although the light in the UK at present hasn't been great.... just coming into Spring - hopefully) generally I hope to shoot ISO 500 or below...

Thanks in advance...

Neil

[Roy Priest]

Neil, thanks for posting this thread. I too recently bought a D300s as a present to myself for a post surgery gift.:D I will be following this thread with interest. I am also wondering about BIF settings.

[Nancy A Elwood]

I have found my Nikon 70-300Vr to be very sharp, so maybe work out the settings using the shorter focal length before trying it on the 200-400. I shoot mostly BIF set at 51 points, AF tracking normal or short, now what might make you think things are slow is your setting of AF-Focus only. I use that setting because I do not like going through a lot of blurred images, but it will make your shutter releases sometimes slower. I would say the most common setting is the middle one, AF-focus and release. I have the NR on whatever the default is and do not use auto ISO. Active d-lighting I have off. I use mostly Aperture priority mode and try to have the aperture at least at f/7.1 and the shutter speeds 1/1000 for flight shots, the iso up to 800. Image below taken with the 70-300VR with those settings, post processed in NX2. Hope that helps! There are no noob questions:).

[scott benson]

i use center point focus and AF-focus and release also nr off and active d off as this produces noise, manual mode with auto iso (100-1600) and try keep at f8 and as fast shutter speed as i can get.
heres some taken with my d300 and 150-500mm.

http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/DSC_3199.jpg
http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/DSC_3207.jpg
http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/DSC_3116.jpg

[James Shadle]

I have found the 51 point a bit slow so am now going to try 21 point AF.
Queries such as...
Long exp. ON
Fine tune optimal exposure I don't use.
High ISO NR ON

Some that Currently I have:
Active De-Lighting OFF
AF-C on Focus + Release
Dynamic Area 9 point or 3D starting with center sensor.
Focus tracking Long
AF Activation On
AF Selection 51
Martix
AEL/AF-L Centre position ?

[Lance Peters]

Hi - like James I am also tending to move away from 51 point to 21 point.

This article by thom hogan is a interesting read -entitled Blame the Equipment (Been guilty of that before)
http://www.bythom.com/blame.htm

[Geminineil]

Thanks for some brilliant replies - it is very much appreciated! Having bought the Nikon 200-400 earlier this week... it is probably fair to say that at the moment I am not entirely convinced with its performance.. having said that I think this is largely down to me... together with some fairly dark and dismal English weather.. I think that the lens and D300S will improve considerably with far batter light and maybe even some sunshine... (what camera wouldn't!)
I have been running mostly on shutter priority (minimum 500 and hand held) Having now searched and seen that the sharper images seem to be at or around f8 I might well give aperture priority a go. Essentially I am trying to photograph fairly small birds in the English countryside... I will upload a Blue Tit that I have to say wasn't that far away.... and is certyainly one of my better results.. the general problem is the images are not sharp enough but with an occasional one that is brilliant... I am currently trying spot metering as any 'in-flight' shots are just far too dark on either of the other two including matrix. How do you change the dpi or Bit Depth? or is this not relevant and the camera does it?

My Nikon ViewNX Software crashes after loading and I think maybe a problem with Windows Vista and yes I have removed downloaded and reinstalled about 3 times...

For information the settings on this shot are:
Bit Depth 24,
f5.6
1/500th
Exposure Bias -0.3 (where did that come from and how do I change that?
ISO 200
Focal Length 400mm
Metering Spot
Contrast Normal
White Balance Auto
Sharpness Normal (is this best done 'in camera' or post capture with software?
Shutter Prioity
Saturation Normal (where does that come from?)

Thanks for any comments and advice :)
Neil


http://www.flickr.com/photos/8779877@N03/4484066556/

[Nancy A Elwood]

Thanks for some brilliant replies - it is very much appreciated! Having bought the Nikon 200-400 earlier this week... it is probably fair to say that at the moment I am not entirely convinced with its performance.. having said that I think this is largely down to me... together with some fairly dark and dismal English weather.. I think that the lens and D300S will improve considerably with far batter light and maybe even some sunshine... (what camera wouldn't!)
I have been running mostly on shutter priority (minimum 500 and hand held) Having now searched and seen that the sharper images seem to be at or around f8 I might well give aperture priority a go. Essentially I am trying to photograph fairly small birds in the English countryside... I will upload a Blue Tit that I have to say wasn't that far away.... and is certyainly one of my better results.. the general problem is the images are not sharp enough but with an occasional one that is brilliant... I am currently trying spot metering as any 'in-flight' shots are just far too dark on either of the other two including matrix. How do you change the dpi or Bit Depth? or is this not relevant and the camera does it?

My Nikon ViewNX Software crashes after loading and I think maybe a problem with Windows Vista and yes I have removed downloaded and reinstalled about 3 times...

For information the settings on this shot are:
Bit Depth 24,
f5.6
1/500th
Exposure Bias -0.3 (where did that come from and how do I change that?
ISO 200
Focal Length 400mm
Metering Spot
Contrast Normal
White Balance Auto
Sharpness Normal (is this best done 'in camera' or post capture with software?
Shutter Prioity
Saturation Normal (where does that come from?)

Thanks for any comments and advice :)
Neil


http://www.flickr.com/photos/8779877@N03/4484066556/

I definitely use higher iso's than 200 and for subjects like the blue tit use shutter speeds over 1/1000. I use matrix metering about 99% of the time with exposure compensation when needed. Also, I would suggest going to Windows 7 on your computer. I bypassed Vista all together going from Windows XP pro to Windows 7 64-bit without any problems. My NX2 and CS3 programs run perfectly on the new Windows 7 OS. And yes using f/7.1 or greater will help quite a bit. I use the in camera setting of 12-bit, the 14-bit setting will definitely slow things down. I do not understand your 24 bit setting?? If you have a darker subject in a bright sky you would just have to dial in more exposure compensation. You expose for the subject using your histogram as a guide. Always have your settings so your histogram's information is mostly towards the right. Expose to the right of the histogram most always. I assume you shoot RAW so all the other settings, ie sharpness, contrast etc, really do not matter, for those can be changed, etc in post. But, I set my sharpness setting to 5 in the standard picture control just so that I can see how the sharpness will be in the LCD window out in the field.

[Deborah Harrison]

Some of the settings you are asking about such as contrast and sharpness don't apply if shooting RAW so it might help if you could let us know whether you're shooting RAW or jpegs. If RAW, the 300S slows down a lot if you use 14bit instead of 12 bit and, unless you are a high end pro I would suggest you'll achieve better results with 12 bit when focus tracking.
Don't worry about ISO - 800 is fine on the 300S and a minimal for active wildlife photography unless you have perfect light.
As far as processing, the Nikon program is not user friendly, you might want to download the free beta version of Lightroom 3 from Adobe labs. I use that for my basic workflow and RAW conversion (works just as well with jpegs) and fine tune in Photoshop if I need to.
As for the 200-400, it's a great lens but cumbersome beast, you'll do best with a good support for it!

[Geminineil]

Just to say that I am shooting in Raw + Jpeg and the Raw were 'compressed' - I am now wondering whether I should try 'uncompressed'?

I have just been playing around with the camera's settings inside tonight... hoping that tomorrow will not be raining all day and dark as today... and now I find that the 'exposure setting is constantly showing several bars to the left.. being 'over-exposed' and not sure why that is there... may just be that I am in the house..

Neil

[Nancy A Elwood]

Just to say that I am shooting in Raw + Jpeg and the Raw were 'compressed' - I am now wondering whether I should try 'uncompressed'?

I have just been playing around with the camera's settings inside tonight... hoping that tomorrow will not be raining all day and dark as today... and now I find that the 'exposure setting is constantly showing several bars to the left.. being 'over-exposed' and not sure why that is there... may just be that I am in the house..

Neil

Are you trying to handhold the 200-400? I would suggest not for now. Either a good tripod with a gimbal head or The Quick Action Harness, http://www.naturesportal.net/Service...ction-Harness/. One of our first customers use it with her 200-400 Nikon. Just use the 12-bit Nef file. Also just go for stationary objects for now while you get use to the bigger telephoto lens. The bigger lens take a whole different technique to use them well.

[Myer Bornstein]

I would use Raw uncompressed only. You can extract the JPEGS from the raw file and it gives you more pictures on a card

[Robert O'Toole]

Hi, I have a D300s and been quite frustrated with the 'softness' of many shots and the occasional sharp one.

For example... High ISO NR On/Off High, Normal Low?

I have found the 51 point a bit slow so am now going to try 21 point AF.


Any hlep very gratefully received... generally I hope to shoot ISO 500 or below...

Thanks in advance...

Neil

Hi Neil,

Helping people make sharp images with their equipment is something I have a lot of experience with, including people with the 200-400 Nikkor, leading instructional photo workshops year round.
First of all I wouldnt spend too much time with custom functions and settings these are very important but if the basics are not taken care of first its a waste of time.
Your D300s and 200-400 should be giving you razor sharp images with an occasional soft one, not the other way around.

Make sure your shutter speed is high enough, 1/000 for static or 1/1250 minimum for action. This has to be done to give you consistent results, I have made razor sharp images with a D300 and 200-400 handheld at 1/125th but I dont normally use this speed.
Make sure your subject is at least 50% of the frame. Even I have trouble locking on a subject if it is a tiny speck in the frame. Use a teleconverter or move closer if possible.
Make sure you can see the focus screen clearly. Adjust the diopter if needed.

High ISO NR On/Off High, Normal Low?

On Normal. This really kicks in at ISO 800. Use ISO 200-400 then skip to ISO 800 and higher. ISO 800 is less noisy than ISO 500 or 640.

I have found the 51 point a bit slow so am now going to try 21 point AF.

This is an example of what I mentioned earlier. I use 51 point 80%-90% of the time using a D300/D300s/D700. It works. If your image is soft, its not the AF system.

generally I hope to shoot ISO 500 or below

Shoot any ISO to give you high enough shutter speeds. If you are trying to make sharp images a sharp ISO 1600 image is better than a blurred ISO 200 image. Dont forget to skip 500-640 ISO. Don't hesitate to use the D300s up to ISO 1600 (exposed properly to the right of course).
Its very important to use the ISO that will give you a properly exposed sharp images. Dont worry about noise, thats what noise ninja and noiseware are for after all.

Hope this helps. Let me know if any of the above is not perfectly clear.


Robert

[Geminineil]

Thank you everyone for some brilliant advice... STILL waiting for the sun to come out.. (or at least not be overcast and raining)...

Robert can I ask what aperture you would suggest as being the sharpest with the 200-400? I have seen test shots on an internet website where F8 seems to be the sharpest at 400mm.

My guess is that the ISO and shutter speed will also impact this... I am generally taking photographs of relatively small British birds... which does make it extremely difficult to get up close... but occasionally I can...

Thanks

Neil

[Robert O'Toole]

Thank you everyone for some brilliant advice... STILL waiting for the sun to come out.. (or at least not be overcast and raining)...

Robert can I ask what aperture you would suggest as being the sharpest with the 200-400? I have seen test shots on an internet website where F8 seems to be the sharpest at 400mm.

My guess is that the ISO and shutter speed will also impact this... I am generally taking photographs of relatively small British birds... which does make it extremely difficult to get up close... but occasionally I can...

Hello Neil,

You are correct, ISO and shutter speed will impact the aperture. In perfect conditions F8 would be optimal but most of your photography I would guess will be in less than ideal conditions. Even so I wouldn't hesitate to use F5.6 or even F4 with the 200-400 for a proper shutter speed.

5.6 was probably my most often used aperture with my 200-400 and D300.

To photograph relatively small birds the best method I find if to use a hide and bring them to you. I lead a workshop to europe in May and all of our hides are expertly designed for a 300mm lens on a DX body or 500mm on a FX body, so a 200-400 is just about perfect there.

Best of luck with your 200-400. Hope my advice was useful.

Robert

[Ken Lassman]

Hi Neil,

My question is "Which battery are you using" ? Do you have the MB-10 battery pack, battery cap and the more powerful battery En-El 4a battery ....if not, there is a huge difference. I have the 300/2.8 VR lense which I realize is somewhat faster but I have used the 200-400 and I use the 9 point mode and shoot manual

[Desmond Chan]

Hi Neil,

My question is "Which battery are you using" ? Do you have the MB-10 battery pack, battery cap and the more powerful battery En-El 4a battery ....if not, there is a huge difference.

Would you mind elaborating on what the huge difference is?

Thanks !

[Ken Lassman]

The En El 4a battery has more power and focuses my lense much faster.... and you get 8 to 9 frames.....up from the 4 to 5 with the En El 3 battery

[Nancy A Elwood]

I would concur with Ken. The battery pack with the more powerful En El 4a battery does make a difference.

[David Shertzer]

James, Nancy, Robert and others:
Curious as to what your autofocus area mode selctor is set to. I presume dynamic? Or do you switch between dynamic and single pt. And under what conditions would you switch?

[Nancy A Elwood]

James, Nancy, Robert and others:
Curious as to what your autofocus area mode selctor is set to. I presume dynamic? Or do you switch between dynamic and single pt. And under what conditions would you switch?

David I always have it on dynamic.:)

[David Shertzer]

David I always have it on dynamic.:)

Thanks Nancy.

When I use dynamic, I find my focus pt changes on me unexpectedly. I have found it happens mostly on windy days with a still subject. The autofocus detects movement -- namely smaller limbs/branches. Maybe, I should change the focus tracking to normal or long instead of short.

[Robert O'Toole]

Thanks Nancy.

When I use dynamic, I find my focus pt changes on me unexpectedly. I have found it happens mostly on windy days with a still subject. The autofocus detects movement -- namely smaller limbs/branches. Maybe, I should change the focus tracking to normal or long instead of short.

Hi David,

This might be just technique. You should try to use AF-on only and once you lock just lift so it will not jump points.

BTW I use Dynamic 90% of the time and tracking on long and dont have any issues, but I also use AF-on only.

Hope this helps.

Robert

[David Shertzer]

Hi David,

This might be just technique. You should try to use AF-on only and once you lock just lift so it will not jump points.

BTW I use Dynamic 90% of the time and tracking on long and dont have any issues, but I also use AF-on only.

Hope this helps.

Robert

Thanks Robert. I do and have used the AF-On only for some time now . I think the key may be setting the tracking to either normal or long--which I will be trying out tomorrow.