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D300 tutorials or resources
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I’ve a new D300 and looking for any useful resources on it, having used canon for a while i’m on a steeper than average learning curve.
Any linkies appreciated
Fintan
Good choice :) Had the D300 until I got the D700 last week and it’s an amazing camera. I came from the D200 before that so I pretty much know it like the back of my hand at this stage so if there’s anything specific I might be able to help. One thing I would set straight away is the Picture Control. I always used Neutral with contrast at -1 for landscapes (saturation and hue at 0) for very natural results then if it’s necessary I adjust contrast and saturation in Capture NX. I did find that opening RAW files in Photoshops own converter didn’t preserve the parameters set in camera, it gave awful looking previews that have to be adjusted before opening. Standard and Vivid are too over the top for my liking. Do a search for D2X Mode 1 for D300 and you can download a very highly regarded preset for portraits, save it onto a memory card and load it in the camera menus. Capture NX is a bit bizarre on first use but if you persevere it gives outstanding results.
Set the brightness on the LCD to -1 or -2, pretty much matches exactly my calibrated monitor.
If you use the Active D Lighting, I found that upping the saturation a notch gives better results though I never found it satisfactory under most conditions (hence my turning contrast down to -1 to see what tones are and are not there).
If you are using the meter, you can pretty much glue it on matrix, I found it very consistent and very intelligent when needed but I mostly used mine on manual.
There’s a quick primer on the notorious Ken Rockwell site here: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d300/users-guide/index.htm Most of it is good advice apart from his use of the Vivid picture control, a bit too bad-ass for me!
Hey Fintan,
As Ken knows, I’m a new D300 user as well, and I’m finding it quite different to my old D80, so a bit of a learning curve for me too ;-) I’m still working my way through the extensive menu system and trying to understand the way the different settings affect the finished result.
I came across Thom Hogan’s Review which is very detailed, and definitely worth a read. I’m also considering buying his eBook as it seems to be the definitive tome on this camera.
http://www.bythom.com/nikond300review.htm
Cheers
Robbie
8)FWIW, I have the ebook Thom Hogan did on the D70s and it really is much more readable than the official manual. Also included some useful docs and curves etc.
I’m sure the D300 will be just as good.
Definitely go for Tom Hogn’s guide, probably you won’t find anything better, great writing, easy to understand, and it is not only a guide for your camera, you’ll find plenty of useful technical info there.
It arrived today in the post. All the way from the States in less than 5 days..not bad at all!!
How comes it can take 2 weeks for something to get from Jersey..and less than a week from the USA.
Anyway…can’t wait to dive in… :D
I just received one of these “to go” guides from Thom Hogan. Great value for money. Much better than the Nikon manual
Just ordered a copy of the D300 guide – can’t wait !
On a related aside, has anyone seen anything similar on the Sb600 flash – I know Nikon do a 1 and 2 day couse just for the flash but thats only in the uk.
AlanTom Hogan also has a guide for nikon flash system http://www.bythom.com/flashguide.htm you can get them on amazon.
Cheers,
GregorI think the Thom Hogan flash guide would be very out of date now, might cover the now defunct D-TTL but I doubt it. Is there anything specific you would like to know about the SB-600?
Fintan not sure if you have seen this one yet some intresting stuff here
http://www.nikondigitutor.com/eng/d300/index.shtml
Mick
mgst wrote:
Fintan not sure if you have seen this one yet some intresting stuff here
http://www.nikondigitutor.com/eng/d300/index.shtml
Mick
Thanks for that Mick
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