Nikon D300S User manual

DIGITAL CAMERA
En
User's Manual

Where to Find It
Find what you’re looking for from:
Help
Use the camera’s on-board help feature for help on menu items and other
topics. See page 21 for details.
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 Table of Contents ➜0x–xvii
Find items by function or menu name.
iThe Q&A Index ➜0iv–ix
Know what you want to do but don’t know the function name?
Find
it from the “question and answer” index.
iThe Index ➜0398–403
Search by key word.
iError Messages ➜0378–384
If a warning is displayed in the viewfinder or monitor, find the
solution here.
iTroubleshooting ➜0373–377
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” (0xviii–xx).

i
Package Contents
Be sure all items listed here were included with your camera.
Memory cards are sold separately.
•Warranty
•User’s Manual (this guide)
•QuickGuide
• Software Installation Guide
• Software Suite CD-ROM
• Registration card
(U. S. A. only)
• D300S digital camera
(03)
• BF-1A body
cap
(026, 355)
•BM-8monitor
cover (016)
• BS-1
accessory
shoe cover
(0347)
•EN-EL3e
rechargeable Li-ion
battery with terminal
cover (022, 24)
• MH-18a quick
charger with power
cable (022)
• DK-5 eyepiece cap
(091, 191)
•
DK-23 rubber eyecup
(091, 191)
• EG-D2 audio/video
cable (0239)
• UC-E4 USB cable
(0224, 229)
•AN-DC4strap

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
bold .
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. The SD logo is a trademark of the SD Card Association.
PictBridge and the SDHC logo are trademarks. HDMI, the HDMI logo
and High-Definition Multimedia Interface are trademarks or registered
trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC. 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.
0This icon marks references to other pages in this manual.

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
k
S
Z
r
J
l
t
I
Q
U
n
s
d
N
Q&A Index
Table of Contents
0iv
0x
01
017
067
073
085
095
0101
0133
0153
0169
0181
0203
0223
0243
0339
Framing Pictures in the Monitor (Live View)
x
Recording and Viewing Movies
y
047
057

iv
Find what you’re looking for using this “question and answer”
index.
❚❚ New Features
❚❚ Camera Setup
Q&A Index
Question Key phrase 0
How do I take high-quality NEF (RAW)
photos? 14-bit NEF (RAW) 70
Can I use the monitor as a viewfinder? Live view 47
How do I shoot movies? Movies 57
How do I record photographs using two
memory cards?
Primary slot,
secondary slot 72
Can I control how photos are processed? Picture Controls 154
How do I preserve details in shadows
and highlights? Active D-Lighting 164
How do I focus on erratically moving
subjects? 3D-tracking 265
How do I tell if the camera is level? Virtual horizon 311
Can I adjust focus separately for
different lenses? AF fine tune 312
How do I remove dust from the low-pass
filter protecting the image sensor?
Cleaning the low-pass
filter 358
Question Key phrase 0
How do I focus the viewfinder? Viewfinder focus 36
How do I keep the monitor from turning
off? Monitor off delay 274
How do I keep the shutter speed and
aperture displays from turning off? Auto meter off 39,
273
Can I display a framing grid in the
viewfinder? Viewfinder grid display 275

v
❚❚ Menus and Displays
How do I set the clock?
Time zone and date 29,
302
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 301
How do I change the self-timer delay? Self-timer 273
How do I turn the speaker off? Beep 275
Can I reverse the exposure indicator? Reverse indicators 299
Can I display the menus in a different
language? Language 28,
303
Can I save menu settings for use on a
different D300S camera? Save/load settings 310
How do I restore default settings? Two-button reset 182
How do I restore shooting menu
defaults? Reset shooting menu 256
How do I restore Custom Setting
defaults? Reset custom settings 262
Question Key phrase 0
How do I get more information on a
menu? Help 21
How do I use the menus? Using the menus 18
Can I get quick access to frequently-used
settings? My Menu 333
Can I get quick access to recently-used
settings? Recent settings 337
What do these indicators mean? Viewfinder, control
panel, information
display
8, 10,
12
What information is in the information
display?
What does this warning mean? Error messages and
displays 378
How much charge does the battery have
left? Battery level 37
Question Key phrase 0

vi
❚❚ Taking Photographs
How do I get more information about
the battery? Battery info 307
How do I keep the file number from
being reset when I insert a new memory
card? File number sequence 277
How do I reset file numbering to 1?
How do I clean the camera or lens? Cleaning the camera 357
Question Key phrase 0
How many more shots can I take with
this card?
Number of exposures
remaining 38
How do I take bigger photographs?
Image quality and size 68, 71
How can I get more photos on the
memory card?
How do I make an NEF (RAW) copy of the
next photo? +NEF (RAW) 294
Can I control how the camera focuses? Autofocus 74
Can I choose the focus point? Focus point 78
How do I take a lot of photographs
quickly? Release mode 86
Can I change the frame advance rate? Shooting speed 89,
276
How do I take pictures with the self-
timer? Self-timer mode 91
Can I take pictures under low light
without the flash? ISO sensitivity 96
Can the ISO sensitivity I choose be
adjusted to ensure optimal exposure?
ISO sensitivity auto
control 98
How do I freeze or blur moving objects? Exposure mode f
(shutter-priority auto) 108
How do I blur background details or
keep both foreground and background
in focus?
Exposure mode g
(aperture-priority auto) 109
Question Key phrase 0

vii
❚❚ Viewing Photographs
Can I set both shutter speed and
aperture manually?
Exposure mode h
(manual) 111
Can I make photos brighter or darker? Exposure compensation 118
How do I make a time exposure? Long time-exposures 114
Can I vary exposure or flash level
automatically over a series of photos?
Exposure and flash
bracketing
120,
289
Can I create multiple copies of a photo
using different white balance settings?
White balance
bracketing
125,
289
Can I vary Active D-Lighting
automatically over a series of photos? ADL bracketing 129,
289
How do I adjust white balance? White balance 133
Can I take pictures with a flash? Flash photography, flash
mode, red-eye
reduction
171
How can I reduce “red-eye”? 175
How can I record multiple shots as a
single photograph? Multiple exposure 184
Can I pick the standard exposure level? Fine tune optimal
exposure 272
How can I reduce blur? Exposure delay mode 278
Can the flash be used at shutter speeds
faster than 1/250 s? Flash sync speed 281
Question Key phrase 0
Can I view my photographs on the
camera? Camera playback 204
Can I view more information about
photos? Photo info 207
Why do parts of my photos blink? Photo info, highlights 209,
247
Question Key phrase 0

viii
❚❚ Retouching Photographs
How do I get rid of an unwanted photo? Deleting individual
photos 220
Can I delete several photos at once? Delete 221
Can I zoom in on pictures? Playback zoom 218
Can I protect photos from accidental
deletion? Protect 219
Can I hide selected photos? Hide image 245
How do I tell if parts of my photos may
be overexposed?
Display mode:
highlights
209,
247
How do I tell where the camera focused? Display mode: focus
point
208,
247
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 0
How do I bring out details in shadows? D-Lighting 319
Can I get rid of red eye? Red-eye correction 320
Can I crop photographs on the camera? Trim 321
Can I create a monochrome copy of a
photograph? Monochrome 322
Can I create a copy with different colors? Filter effects,
Color balance
322,
323
Can I use the camera to create JPEG
copies of NEF (RAW) photographs? NEF (RAW) Processing 327
Can I overlay two NEF (RAW) photos to
make a single image? Image overlay 324
Question Key phrase 0