Nikon D300 and 24-120 mm lens

tmjohansen

The girlfriend gave me a few presents early before leaving town and out of the box came a Nikon D300 and Nikon 24-120 mm VR AF-S lens. I am excited to start using it but am a bit overwhelmed right now. Any one have one that can direct me to a good forum or any good info?

__________________
2010 40th Anniversary
2003 Toyota Highlander Limited
Nebraska Huskers Boston Red Sox

spearfish25

www.nikonians.org.

I think you have to pay $25 now, but it's well worth it. You can also Google specific topics to help you out. Given the D300 doesn't have 'canned' shooting modes (eg portrait, landscape, etc), you should definitely Google 'exposure' to get the basic balance of shutter and aperture choices, 'aperture priority', 'shutter priority', and 'programmed' shooting modes. 'P' is the place for you to start as it picks apertures and shutter speeds for you...it's as automatic as you'll get. However, no experienced photographer would ever use 'P'. Most people shoot in 'A' where you choose the aperture and the camera chooses the shutter speed. 'S' is the opposite with you selecting a shutter speed and the camera picking an appropriate aperture. 'M' is full manual where you pick both settings. ISO is the sensitivity of the sensor...higher will allow faster shutter speeds in lower light, but the cost is more grainy noise and loss of contrast and color. Frankly, there is just too much to explain here. I think one of the books will be your best option by far unless you already know the basics. From there, the sky's the limit. The D300 has great customization that you can really tweak to your preferred style. And I'd argue any day that the D300 is still the best DX format camera on the market (for very technical reasons).

There's a book called "Mastering the Nikon D300" that would help you (the tiger photo starting chapter 8 is mine...though I have no financial interests in this book), and the Magic Lantern Guides are good for beginners too. If you've never used a DSLR before, the D300 will definitely be overwhelming at first.

__________________
2013 Cadillac V-Wagon, RIP Z

optiontrader

I've owned my D300 since they were first released, and really haven't had an itch to upgrade (with the exception of going full-frame, but I've got too many good DX lenses now).

Did you get the D300 plain vanilla, or the D300s?

You'll find opinions on the 24-120mm lens are all over the place, but I think it works just fine on your D300. My only reservation is the short end 24mm will be kinda a "strange spot" when using it (you'll want just a tad wider).

Nice take for the holidays! Have fun - you'll probably get bitten by the bug too, when you see what having great optics on a camera can do.

__________________

40th Anniversary Z - 3M Paint Protection Film, CA Legal Tint! (70/40)

doubleG370Z

check out dprewiew.com alot of excellent info alot cameras.

AllForTheCash

That's a great gift!! I'm looking to get the Canon 7d (was also considering the Nikon 300s!) May have to get the 300s now

__________________
2010 370z Brilliant Silver/Frost - Touring - Sport - Navigation - 6MT

tmjohansen

It is just the D300. A friend of mine runs his own photography studio and had one he no longer used. It looks brand new and has less than 5000 exposures. It was a back up camera for him that he never needed.

Thanks for the info everyone. Does anyone do any type of HDR pictures? If so, what software do you use?

__________________
2010 40th Anniversary
2003 Toyota Highlander Limited
Nebraska Huskers Boston Red Sox

BeachZTT

We keep a D300 for a back up as well. It was originally my wife's but she upgraged to a D700. You will love it. That one isn't even broken in yet.

Have fun and Merry Xmas!

__________________
'10 ZR Black Cherry Sport/Touring/Nav, Swift Springs, Stillen G3s, 15mm-F 20mm-R Spacers, SPC, Spoiler Solutions Rear Wing, Stubby Antenna

optiontrader

We use Photoshop CS4 with HDR. I don't do it much; it puts too much of a "surreal" quality to the photos. Photoshop combines the photos automatically, but of course, you've gotta have good stuff going in. I probably don't know how to do it right yet.

__________________

40th Anniversary Z - 3M Paint Protection Film, CA Legal Tint! (70/40)

Cmike2780

I use Photomatix and run it thru Photoshop for adjustment.
I have a few examples if you click the link in my sig.

__________________

[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

wilsonp

That would be dpreview.com and it is a great forum for technical/equipment questions - not so much for image/art questions.

Wonderful camera btw - congrats!

I agree the 24-120 is a bit strange on it, you might consider the 18-105 to replace it someday, depending on what you shoot. It is a great Nikon lens for every day use.

__________________
2014 Cayman S PDK Sport Chrono White/Black
Was 2009 370Z Touring Sport+Nav 7AT Metallic Black/Persimmon
Was 1991 NSX Auto Black/Black

tmjohansen

Here are a couple pictures I took on Christmas day with the new camera. While likely not the most spectacular pictures you have ever seen, I am starting to got maybe 20% comfortable with the set up. The first picture is of my brothers yorkie, Bentley (6 years old). The second is of my own yorkie, Morgan (3.5 years old). Both named after English car companies.

__________________
2010 40th Anniversary
2003 Toyota Highlander Limited
Nebraska Huskers Boston Red Sox

Cmike2780

Nice start & cute dogs.

For now, I would leave the flash off. Built-in flash tend wash out the image and leaves hard shadows. The only time it would really be useful is taking portraits outside in certain lighting conditions.

Do this instead:
-Set the camera to aperture priority
-Use available light in the room.
-First set the white balance. Hold down the white balance button (WB) and turn the command dial until it reads "PRE". Let go of the (WB) button and hold down again until it starts to blink. Take a "picture" of something "white" that shows the quality of light in the room. Note that this is just to set white balance, so your just capturing a reference for the camera. It will read "good" if you did it right. The Auto WB setting can do this... well automatically, but it doesn't always get it right and pictures can sometimes look different from shot to shot taken in the same area. Setting the WB to PRE will get you to the perfect shot with less trial and error.

-With the WB out of the way, you can now just play around with the aperture. Smaller number equals bigger aperture (lets in more light to the sensor and shorter depth of field) and larger number equals smaller aperture (lets in less light to the sensor and longer depth of field).

Get this inexpensive lens if you like doing portraits:

AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D (around $100) It takes really great images that will make you look like a pro. The larger aperture gives a nice bokeh effect. There are more expensive prime lenses out there, but this lens is good place to start and the results are will surprise you.

Hope this helps.

__________________

[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

wilsonp

I agree with leaving the flash off (I try never to use mine) but if you have an external flash, a bounce flash can work to soften the effect.

__________________
2014 Cayman S PDK Sport Chrono White/Black
Was 2009 370Z Touring Sport+Nav 7AT Metallic Black/Persimmon
Was 1991 NSX Auto Black/Black