Need Help setting up d300

rhdesigns · March 22, 2009

Hey everyone,
I bought a d300 around 6 months ago to shoot motorcycle races. I was in an accident that put me in a wheelchair, so im trying to make money at the tracks. I have not been able to figure the camera out and am stuck on what settings to use. I sort of understand the aperture and shutter speeds and things like that but dont no what settings to use on the d300 because of all the different terms. I was wondering if someone could give me all of the basic settings that i should start with so that i am somewhere in the ballpark when i try to dial it in. Im not sure on what i have to do to change the aperture and shutter speed. What does everyone set all the settings to for focus, tracking, iso, and things like that? A few of my shots come out ok, but most are blurry. I would like to be able to shoot and stop the motion in the picture. I would also like to know what i settings i should work with when shooting races at night using a sb900 flash.
thanks
ryan

ian408 · March 22, 2009

I'm going to move this into Cameras because it's got some specific camera questions in it.

As a general guideline, you probably don't want to completely stop motion. You need to learn a technique called panning that will allow you to show the motion in the wheels and backgrounds yet leave the rider in focus. You do this setting a specific shutter speed and letting the camera do the aperture. What ISO you set is really dependent on lighting conditions.

I'd also say that there are no specific settings anyone can give you that will make your pictures come out perfect every time. What I'd suggest is hooking up with a camera club or maybe a friend who can give you some pointers. A camera club is a great place to learn fundamentals.

Another thing you could try is to shoot in program mode. The camera decides everything for you. Then, look at the shots--compare the images you make and their settings. Learn from those you like and even those that didn't come out quite right.

More general rules. The higher the ISO, the noiser the image. To avoid noise, keep the ISO as low as you can to maintain the shutter speed/aperture that you want. 1 over the focal length of the lens is a good guideline to help determine the lowest shutter speed you should use. For example; a 50mm lens would mean that 1/50 of a second is as slow a shutter speed you'd want to use to have a stable shot. For a 200mm lens, 1/200th of second would be the lowest--again, this is a guideline. Some people are able to hand hold much slower shutter speeds. The smaller the aperture, the bigger the number and the more of your scene will be in focus. Conversely, the smaller the f number, the less of your image will be in focus (in front or behind what you focus on). If you are shooting at f/2.8 with a zoom lens, your focus needs to be on the subject and spot on for the picture to be sharp.

For motor sports, Try using shutter priority. Start at 1/500th of a second and maybe ISO 400.

This photo was taken at 1/640th @ f/13 and ISO 400. The focal length of the lens was 300mm.

Hope that helps.

catspaw · March 22, 2009

if you are interesting in putting in the hours to really master this D300, I have two basic suggestions:

1. Thom Holgan's book: http://bythom.com/nikond300guide.htm

2. Understanding Exposure: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Photographs-Digital-Updated/dp/0817463003/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237779740&sr=8-1

the first will help you master and understand every single aspect of your camera. the second will solidify the understanding you have and add on to it, showing you how changing those settings can affect the output photo you get. The 2nd book can typically be found in a library but is cheap enough to be worth the purchase.

Good luck! it's a great camera, but like any 'toy'

you gotta learn all aspects to play nicely.

NikonsandVstroms · March 23, 2009

rhdesigns wrote:

Hey everyone,
I bought a d300 around 6 months ago to shoot motorcycle races. I was in an accident that put me in a wheelchair, so im trying to make money at the tracks. I have not been able to figure the camera out and am stuck on what settings to use. I sort of understand the aperture and shutter speeds and things like that but dont no what settings to use on the d300 because of all the different terms. I was wondering if someone could give me all of the basic settings that i should start with so that i am somewhere in the ballpark when i try to dial it in. Im not sure on what i have to do to change the aperture and shutter speed. What does everyone set all the settings to for focus, tracking, iso, and things like that? A few of my shots come out ok, but most are blurry. I would like to be able to shoot and stop the motion in the picture. I would also like to know what i settings i should work with when shooting races at night using a sb900 flash.
thanks
ryan

First thing to do is hold the mode button and use the rear wheel...for motorsports you want S

as mentioned above set it for something like 500 or above (again using the rear wheel)

Set your white balance for the conditions (on the top left of the camera is a button "WB" hold this and there are little pictures on the LCD move it to the sun cloud shade ect for your conditions with the rear dial)

To set ISO again on the top left there is a button ust hold it and rear wheel it to what you want...with a D300 stay below ISO 800 I would say

rhdesigns · March 23, 2009

thanks for the help everyone. Im going to try and play around as much as possible this weekend. I went through the pictures that i shot last weekend, and found that most of them turned out very clear and bright. The sunlight was right on the area i was shooting so they turned out good. I still have to work on the speed shots. My website is
rhdesigns95s.smugmug.com
check it out if you can and let me know any advice you may have for me
thanks again

rhdesigns · March 23, 2009

i understand the concept of the aperture, but with the camera i am unable to understand how to set up the f-stop. When i zoom in and out i notice that the f number changes. I have tried to read through the manual and cant seem to find the information that will make sense to me. How can i set the f-stop? and change the shutter speed?

catspaw · March 23, 2009

rhdesigns wrote:

i understand the concept of the aperture, but with the camera i am unable to understand how to set up the f-stop. When i zoom in and out i notice that the f number changes. I have tried to read through the manual and cant seem to find the information that will make sense to me. How can i set the f-stop? and change the shutter speed?

Your local library will have the Understanding Exposure book, or can get it for you. Definitely read through it and it'll make sense to you.

Toshido · March 23, 2009

Depending on the lens the F stop will change as you zoom. i think that might be what is confusing you at the moment.

MooreDriven · March 23, 2009

I would recommend David Busch's Nikon D300 over Thom Hogan's based on your level of experience. Thom's book is very good, but VERY detailed.

Something you'll find that will help your photography a lot is faster glass. It sounds like you are currently using the kit lens which has a variable aperture. If you have a 2.8 lens, these are typically fixed for the entire focal length. The Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 is a good example. These lenses are expensive, but if your selling your images, you'll more than justify the cost.

I visited your website and noticed a few of the images were back-focused. Look at the ones with the banners in the background versus the riders. The signs are in focus, while some of the riders are a bit out of focus.

Hope this helps.

catspaw · March 23, 2009

MooreDriven wrote:

I would recommend David Busch's Nikon D300 over Thom Hogan's based on your level of experience. Thom's book is very good, but VERY detailed.

true true. I based the choice on which ones I prefer, but I'm a detail nut

Pindy · March 23, 2009

+1 on the Thom Hogan guides.

In addition to the excellent advice given here, you'll likely want to be in CONTINUOUS AF (the mini switch next to the lens), with the AF tracking mode on the middle position.

CF a1 set to release+focus (your mileage may vary)
CF a3 9- or 21-point
CF a4 Normal (probably)

Just a thought.

Qarik · March 23, 2009

I am late on this thread ..and I am gonna play mean guy here..just a bit.

Outside of shooting in full auto. I would seriously read the d300 manual and play with the camera until you can figure out how to smoothly change aperture, shutter speed, and iso before you even attempt any kind of sports shooting. It's the most basic operation of the DSLR.

rhdesigns · March 24, 2009

i totally agree with you on that. I checked out like ten books from the library and understood most of the set ups. I will take the time to learn the ins and outs of the camera, but at the current time, it's tough for me to get a chance to use the camera. I would just like to know where to start so that i can play around and see the results. Right now a good bit of my settings are off so that when i try to see what does what, it always comes out the same.

rhdesigns · March 24, 2009

i read through the book and found the section on the shutter speed and the aperture settings. I did read the book when i got the camera but i guess i forgot about that section. I dont no how i didnt find it again prior to today though. Thanks to everyone for their help

MooreDriven · March 24, 2009

The DXXX camera's are very configurable. This can lead to a lot of confusion. I've had mine for a year now and learn something new all the time. It's a continuous learning curve. But that's what make's it fun. I'm no pro, or even serious amateur, but I quickly outgrew the D50 I started with.

Take your time, read as much as you can, experiment and learn from it. The books referenced in the responses will give you more information than you likely need, but at least you'll find the answers to your most of your questions.

Good luck and have fun.

foto41 · March 27, 2009

What kind of motorcycle racing? Where are you going to shoot at?

rhdesigns · March 28, 2009

we follow some of the dirttrack and motocross. We follow the district 7 series for both, some district 6 for dirtrack, and mama for motocross. For motocross we go to tracks like Budds Creek, Seaford, Virginia Motorsports park, southfork, rocket, the landing, evansville, and a couple of other tracks. For dirtrack we try to hit the local races like timonium, trailways, seaford, delta, susquehanna, shippensburg, path valley, and other tracks in PA. Where do you shoot?

foto41 · March 31, 2009

rhdesigns wrote:

we follow some of the dirttrack and motocross. We follow the district 7 series for both, some district 6 for dirtrack, and mama for motocross. For motocross we go to tracks like Budds Creek, Seaford, Virginia Motorsports park, southfork, rocket, the landing, evansville, and a couple of other tracks. For dirtrack we try to hit the local races like timonium, trailways, seaford, delta, susquehanna, shippensburg, path valley, and other tracks in PA. Where do you shoot?

I shoot roadracing mainly in the TX/OK region. I also shoot the AMA ArenaX Series for Cycle News (all but the West Coast). I shoot with a D300/D700 combination. To our earlier question, indoor motoX I shoot half and half (flash/no flash) Either way, ISO determines my choices. I try for as low as possible, but indoors usually takes 1600-3200 to get a shutter speed fast enough to catch action. Generally 1/800th at f/4. No flash I set up in Shutter Priority. With flash, I will lower the ISO and go to Manual. Depending on the arena and what I am trying to capture I will shoot between 1/160th and 1/800th, f/4-f/6.3. I also like Center Weight Metering and 9 Focus Points. Use your Flash in iTTL and adjust power +/- to liking. Making money is a whole other story. Smugmug is a great choice for marketing to a target audience like motorcycle racers. I find that the more novice the racer the more likely they will buy from you. No stories are being written about them, so pics to show friends is all they have. Anyway, good luck!

rhdesigns · April 1, 2009

thanks for all of your help, do you have a site that i could check out?

foto41 · April 1, 2009

rhdesigns wrote:

thanks for all of your help, do you have a site that i could check out?

www.foto41.com

OhEddie · April 2, 2009

Books!!! Read lots and play with your camera.

Here's another that hasn't been mentioned...

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Nikon-D300-Darrell-Young/dp/1933952342

Need Help setting up d300

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