As is the case with technology, you can always ask for more. I remember when I got my first film burner, er motor winder, for my Minolta XD-11. That thing could burn through film at about 4 frames per second! I could torch a 36 exposure canister of film in 9 seconds flat! I thought that was fast! Then, I met up with the Nikon F3, which could do the same in only 6 seconds with it’s optional motor drive. That camera, at that time, cost about $750 for the body, no motor drive included! That was in 1982, or so. You can get one on eBay with the motor drive for under $200 now! How things change!
As it is basketball season (does it ever end?), I am back to shooting games again. I love it. My D300, without the En-El4a battery or 8 AA batteries can shoot a respectable 6 frames per second. It’s rare to miss a shot; however, you’d be surprised at how much stuff happens in 1/6 second. It could mean the difference between seeing the player still hanging on the rim after a dunk and seeing the ball in the net, or not.
If I could just squeeze a bit more out of the camera, it would be nice. That said, though, the price of stepping up is steep. Assuming that I don’t want to use AA batteries, I’d need to purchase an En-El4a battery for $109, the charger $120, and the battery cover for the MB-D10 grip $40. All told, about $260.
Luckily, there are some people out there who like to experiment. In this You Tube video, someone explains how to get 8 fps (bursts) out of your camera without buying the grip. I tried it! It works!!! As I just discovered this last night, I’ll be trying it on Saturday at the game!
Now, I wonder of Nikon will fix this ‘hole’ in the next release of the firmware. Certainly, the camera is capable of the speed, you just have to know how to get to it! Thank goodness for people who like to experiment, custom shooting banks, and capabilities above and beyond that which is written in the manual!
I’m always on the looking for non-warranty-voiding tricks and tips to enhance the usability of my equipment! If you know any, please let me know!
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2 Responses to “D300 8fps without grip!”
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That pretty amazing.
Don’t you wonder how people discover these things?
@Earl: Yes, I do wonder! I’m not one to do so many experiments. I wonder if it was a ‘leak’ from someone who works for Nikon. You know, a friend tells another friend and soon there’s a You Tube video about it!