Nikon D300 User manual

En_04
DIGITAL CAMERA
En
User's Manual
No reproduction in any form of this manual, in whole or in part
(except for brief quotation in critical articles or reviews), may be
made without written authorization from NIKON CORPORATION.
Printed in Europe
SB8K04(11)
6MB00211-04
En
Q0310_UM_En_EUR_03_Cover.fm Page 1 Wednesday, November 19, 2008 2:20 PM

Where to Find It
Find what you’re looking for from:
Digitutor
Digitutor, a series of “watch and learn” manuals in movie form, is available
from the following website:
http://www.nikondigitutor.com/index_eng.html
iThe Q&A Index ➜pp. iv–ix
Know what you want to do but don’t know the function name?
Find it
from the “question and answer” index.
iThe Table of Contents ➜pp. x–xvii
Find items by function or menu name.
iThe Quick Start Guide ➜pp. 21–22
A brief guide for those who want to get started taking pictures right away.
iThe Index ➜pp. 419–425
Search by key word.
iError Messages ➜pp. 391–398
If a warning is displayed in the viewfinder or monitor, find the solution
here.
iTroubleshooting ➜pp. 383–390
Camera behaving unexpectedly?
Find the solution here.
AFor Your Safety
Before using the camera for the first time, read the safety
instructions in “For Your Safety” (pg. xviii).

i
Package Contents
Be sure all items listed here were included with your camera.
Memory cards are sold separately.
•D300 digital camera (pg. 3)
•Body cap (pp. 34, 368)
•BM-8 LCD monitor cover (pg. 19)
•DK-5 eyepiece cap (pg. 20)
•EN-EL3e rechargeable Li-ion battery with terminal cover
(pp. 30, 32)
•MH-18a quick charger with power cable (pg. 30)
•UC-E4 USB cable (pp. 224, 232)
•EG-D100 video cable (pg. 242)
•AN-D300 strap (pg. 19)
•Warranty
•User’s Manual (this guide)
•Quick Guide
•Software Installation Guide
•Software Suite CD-ROM
•Registration card (U. S. A. only)

ii
Symbols and Conventions
To make it easier to find the information you need, the following
symbols and conventions are used:
Menu items, options, and messages displayed in the camera monitor
are shown in brackets ([ ]).
ATrademark Information
Macintosh, Mac OS, and QuickTime are registered trademarks of Apple
Inc. Microsoft, Windows and Windows Vista are either registered
trademarks, or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries.
CompactFlash is a trademark of SanDisk
Corporation. Microdrive is a trademark of Hitachi Global Storage
Technologies in the United States and other countries. HDMI, the HDMI
logo and High-Definition Multimedia Interface are trademarks or
registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC.
PictBridge is a trademark.
All other trade names mentioned in this manual or the other
documentation provided with your Nikon product are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.
DThis icon marks cautions; information that should be read before
use to prevent damage to the camera.
AThis icon marks notes; information that should be read before
using the camera.

iii
Introduction
Tutorial
Image Recording Options
Focus
Release Mode
ISO Sensitivity
Exposure
White Balance
Image Enhancement
Flash Photography
Other Shooting Options
More About Playback
Connections
Menu Guide
Technical Notes
X
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Z
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Q
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iv
Q&A Index
Find what you’re looking for using this “question and answer”
index.
❚❚ New Features
❚❚ Camera Setup
Question Key phrase See page
How do I take high-quality NEF (RAW)
photos? 14-bit NEF (RAW) 59
Can I use the monitor as a viewfinder? Live view 79
Can I control how photos are processed? Picture Controls 146
How do I preserve details in shadows and
highlights? Active D-Lighting 165
How do I focus on erratically moving
subjects? 3D-tracking 270
Can I adjust focus separately for different
lenses? AF fine tune 327
How do I remove dust from the low-pass
filter protecting the image sensor?
Cleaning the low-pass
filter 373
Question Key phrase See page
How do I focus the viewfinder? Viewfinder focus 43
How do I keep the monitor from turning
off? Monitor off delay 280
How do I keep the shutter speed and
aperture displays from turning off? Auto meter off 46, 279

v
❚❚ Menus and Displays
How do I set the clock?
World time 37, 315
How do I set the clock for daylight
savings time?
How do I change time zones when I
travel?
How do I adjust monitor brightness for
menus or playback? LCD brightness 312
How do I restore default settings? Two-button reset 182
How do I restore shooting menu
defaults? Reset shooting menu 257
How do I restore Custom Setting
defaults? Reset custom settings 266
How do I change the self-timer delay? Self-timer delay 280
How do I turn the speaker off? Beep 281
Can I reverse the electronic analog
exposure display? Reverse indicators 310
Can I display the menus in a different
language? Language 315
Can I save menu settings for use on a
different D300 camera? Save/load settings 325
Question Key phrase See page
How do I get more information on a
menu? Help 29
How do I use the menus? Using the menus 24
What do these indicators mean? Viewfinder, control
panel, shooting
information display
8, 10, 12
What information is in the shooting
information display?
What does this warning mean? Error messages and
displays 391
How much charge does the battery have
left? Battery level 44
Question Key phrase See page

vi
❚❚ Taking Photographs
How do I get more information about the
battery? Battery info 321
How do I keep the file number from
being reset when I insert a new memory
card? File number sequence 283
How do I reset file numbering to 1?
How do I clean the camera or lens? Cleaning the camera 372
Question Key phrase See page
How many more shots can I take with this
card?
Number of exposures
remaining 45
How do I take bigger photographs?
Image quality and size 56, 60
How can I get more photos on the
memory card?
Can I control how the camera focuses? Autofocus 61
How do I take a lot of photographs
quickly? Release mode 74
Can I change the frame advance rate? Shooting speed 76, 282
Can I shoot a self-portrait? Self-timer mode 89
Can I take pictures under low light
without the flash? ISO sensitivity 94
Can the ISO sensitivity I choose be
adjusted to ensure optimal exposure?
ISO sensitivity auto
control 96
How do I freeze or blur moving objects? Exposure mode f
(shutter-priority auto) 106
How do I blur background details or keep
both foreground and background in
focus?
Exposure mode g
(aperture-priority auto) 107
Question Key phrase See page

vii
❚❚ Viewing Photographs
Can I set both shutter speed and aperture
manually?
Exposure mode h
(manual) 109
Can I make photos brighter or darker? Exposure compensation 114
How do I make a time exposure? Long time-exposures 111
Can I vary exposure or flash level
automatically over a series of photos?
Exposure and flash
bracketing 117, 297
Can I create multiple copies of a photo
using different white balance settings?
White balance
bracketing 121, 297
How do I adjust white balance? White balance 125
Can I take pictures with a flash? Flash photography,
flash mode, red-eye
reduction
171
How can I reduce “red-eye”? 174
How can I record multiple shots as a
single photograph? Multiple exposure 184
Can I pick the standard exposure level? Fine tune optimal
exposure 277
How can I reduce blur? Exposure delay mode 285
Can the flash be used at shutter speeds
faster than 1/250 s? Flash sync speed 288
Question Key phrase See page
Can I view my photographs on the
camera? Camera playback 204
Can I view more information about
photos? Photo info 206
Why do parts of my photos blink? Photo info, highlights 208, 250
Question Key phrase See page

viii
❚❚ Retouching Photographs
How do I get rid of an unwanted photo? Deleting individual
photos 222
Can I delete several photos at once? Delete 248
Can I zoom in on pictures to make sure
they’re in focus? Playback zoom 220
Can I protect photos from accidental
deletion? Protect 221
Can I hide selected photos? Hide image 249
How do I tell if parts of my photos may be
overexposed?
Display mode:
highlights 250
How do I tell where the camera focused? Display mode: focus
point 250
Can I view photos as they are taken? Image review 251
Is there an automatic playback (“slide
show”) option? Slide show 252
Question Key phrase See page
How do I bring out details in shadows? D-Lighting 334
Can I get rid of red eye? Red-eye correction 335
Can I crop photographs on the camera? Trim 336
Can I create a monochrome copy of a
photograph? Monochrome 337
Can I create a copy with different colors? Filter effects 338
Can I use the camera to create JPEG
copies of NEF (RAW) photographs? Color balance 338
Can I overlay two photos to make a single
image? Image overlay 339
Question Key phrase See page