# Questions on Nikon D300



## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

When I was looking on ebay, I saw a lot of people advertise that their D300 had, say, only 657 clicks (or shutter actuations).

Now that I got mine, I can't find anything in the menu nor in the manual that says how to display the number of clicks.

Where do those people get that number?


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## PropellerHead (Jan 3, 2002)

Boile said:


> Where do those people get that number?


I downloaded a program that told me before I sold the D200. It's in the EXIF data. I googled.


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## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

dammit.
I'll have to wait for my CF card to be delivered before I can look at EXIF data.


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## PropellerHead (Jan 3, 2002)

Boile said:


> dammit.
> I'll have to wait for my CF card to be delivered before I can look at EXIF data.


USB cable? Ohhh yer concerned it isn't new....


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## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

I know there're quite a few BF members that own the D300.
Maybe this thread can exist to share info/tricks/issues that affect that body model.
I mean to post things here as I read the manual and learn more.

Here's the freeware that will reveal the "number of shutter actuations" in the EXIF data.
http://sportsphotoguy.com/shutter-actuations-in-nikon-dslrs/


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## Cliff (Apr 19, 2002)

PropellerHead said:


> USB cable? Ohhh yer concerned it isn't new....


He'd need Nikon's remote control software to operate in tethered mode, and it's not bundled with the camera.


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## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

PropellerHead said:


> USB cable? Ohhh yer concerned it isn't new....


The camera is definitely brand new.
One can tell by how things are packaged inside. Plastic bags were pristine and there was even a plastic protector for the LCD protector. Nikon Capture NX disc was sealed.
All those were deflowered by me. If I were to return this camera, I don't think anyone could make it look like what I received.

I was just curious to see what the camera ships with, like a brand new BMW ships with 8 or 10 miles on the odometer. 

The USB cable is still in the plactic bag. 
I can make the camera take a picture, but it displays on the LCD as DEMO and the minute I hit any button, it disappears.
Are you sure the USB cable will be able to transfer it to the PC? I think the camera will show up on my desktop as an empty filesystem. :dunno:


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## Cliff (Apr 19, 2002)

Boile said:


> Are you sure the USB cable will be able to transfer it to the PC? I think the camera will show up on my desktop as an empty filesystem. :dunno:


I am sure that it will not. However, it looks like a trial copy of Camera Control Pro is available. If there is a way to use the camera without any storage media in it, that software is going to be the enabling technology.


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## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

I wish I had come across this article when I was looking for a UDMA-enabled CF card. 
I ended up buying the Lexar Pro, mostly because Google didn't reveal anything against it, and it was slightly cheaper than the Sandisk. Also, I wasn't sure Sandisk was UDMA. You'd think they'd say that prominently on the card itseld, like Lexar does. 
I didn't even know there was a Ducati Edition. Amazon.com didn't mention anything about their Sandisks being Ducati. :tsk:
http://sportsphotoguy.com/best-cf-cards-for-nikon-d300/

And here's a follow up article from the same site.
http://sportsphotoguy.com/all-about-cf/


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## Cliff (Apr 19, 2002)

If you're going to be spec obsessed, then you ought to embrace what Rockwell says about measurbators (one of the few things he talks about that I agree with) :angel:

Lexar cards are fine - I use them.


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## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

Cliff said:


> If you're going to be spec obsessed, then you ought to embrace what Rockwell says about measurbators (one of the few things he talks about that I agree with) :angel:
> 
> Lexar cards are fine - I use them.


I'm sure it will be fine for 90% of what I do. But notice that the Lexar topped out at 6fps in RAW burst.
You know that I plan to buy a MB-D10 and try to achieve 8fps. Lexar may be my bottleneck. 
His tests were hands on, not based on specs.

I simply said that I wish I saw the article BEFORE buying my card.
I'm just trying to help the other people who comes after me.


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## PropellerHead (Jan 3, 2002)

Boile said:


> I can make the camera take a picture, but it displays on the LCD as DEMO and the minute I hit any button, it disappears.
> Are you sure the USB cable will be able to transfer it to the PC? I think the camera will show up on my desktop as an empty filesystem. :dunno:


No- I was thinking the USB cable would Xfer the information- which it would- but you still need a CF card. You witnessed a brain fart. Pretty sure the actuation- even if not written to a CF card- will add to the count.


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## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

PropellerHead said:


> No- I was thinking the USB cable would Xfer the information- which it would- but you still need a CF card. You witnessed a brain fart. Pretty sure the actuation- even if not written to a CF card- will add to the count.


Dammit. I must already have 50 then. Maybe 100 by the time my CF card comes in. :rofl:


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## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

Cliff said:


> If you're going to be spec obsessed, then you ought to embrace what Rockwell says about measurbators (one of the few things he talks about that I agree with) :angel:
> 
> Lexar cards are fine - I use them.


Since you're not a measurebator, you might be interested in taking advantage of this incredible deal. Best price on a CF so far. :yikes:
http://www.adorama.com/KGCF4GBU2.html?sid=1204752595381787


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## Cliff (Apr 19, 2002)

Actually, I've got enough memory at the moment. I think I've got 2 x Lexar 4GB UDMA 300x cards, 1 x Lexar 4GB 133x card, and a couple of Lexar 2GB 133x cards. Plus a few smaller/slower ones floating around.

What I would really like is a pigment-based inkjet printer and I will probably buy one of those before I leave for Oz (stuff's expensive down under). I'm a big fan of HP printers and their B9180 gets good reviews, and is priced pretty reasonably.


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## PropellerHead (Jan 3, 2002)

Boile said:


> Dammit. I must already have 50 then. Maybe 100 by the time my CF card comes in. :rofl:


When I bought the D200, I went to Costco and bought a 2GB CF card to hold me over until my go fast one arrived. The closest I came to filling one was the D70 on the Disney trip. Over 1K actuations and ~400 pics stored on the 4GB SanDisk. I got the 4GB Extreme III card free from a visiting telco tech.

FWIW, I have never noticed a slow down in writes across a SanDisk Extreme II, III, and IV of varying sizes. That probably has more to do with what and how I'm shooting than anything measurable/related to the CF brand, but it may help people who are as inclined as I was to order the fastest and most expensive thing out there.


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

PropellerHead said:


> FWIW, I have never noticed a slow down in writes across a SanDisk Extreme II, III, and IV of varying sizes. That probably has more to do with what and how I'm shooting than anything measurable/related to the CF brand, but it may help people who are as inclined as I was to order the fastest and most expensive thing out there.


I don't think you'll ever notice any slowdown unless you start shooting long bursts, like in sports photography. Doesn't camera have a buffer where the image is initially stored before being written onto a card? I thought fast cards make only sense if you want to save few seconds downloading images from the card to your hard drive.


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## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

F1Crazy said:


> I don't think you'll ever notice any slowdown unless you start shooting long bursts, like in sports photography. Doesn't camera have a buffer where the image is initially stored before being written onto a card? I thought fast cards make only sense if you want to save few seconds downloading images from the card to your hard drive.


All that is addressed in the articles in post #9.


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## F1Crazy (Dec 11, 2002)

Boile said:


> All that is addressed in the articles in post #9.


duhuch:


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## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

I still need to find out how to use custom settings let alone which options are best.
I thought this cheat sheet would be helpfull to newbies like me.
I found this sometime ago and downloaded it. Can't find the original link now, so I'm uploading the file here.
Change the extension to .xls before you open it.


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