Darin McQuoid Blog Reviews Tutorials River Directory

8 fps on the Nikon D700 and D300 without the battery grip.

    I bought a battery grip for my D700 but was only using it on day trips due to size and weight. It adds a considerable amount of both to the camera, but  the frame rate bonus nice (from 5fps to 8fps). Now there is no general consensus as to why the battery grip is needed to achieve 8fps, it could just be firmware (software in the camera) or actual voltage needs. Perhaps both, as this doesn't quite hit 8fps. Enough of that, on to the goods!

   The goods: a 9 frame 8fps burst without a battery grip, but only if the camera is in manual exposure mode. 

    First off we need to make some changes in the Custom Setting Menu. I'm not sure if the D300 layout is the same as the D700, but I'd imagine it's close enough that you can follow this.

Customs Setting Menu

e Bracketing/Flash
   e5Auto bracketing                       - set to Flash only
   e6 Auto bracketing (Mode M)     - set to Flash only

f Controls
  f6 Assign preview button
       Preview button press              - set to Bracketing burst
       Preview + command dials       - set to Auto bracketing

  Set the camera all manual mode with a shutter speed high enough to freeze action.

  Set the shooting mode dial to S for single shot.

  Activate a 9 frame bracket with the preview button and command dial.

   Hold down the preview button, and then the shutter release while continuing to hold down the preview button.

  Viola! It might be closer to 7fps than 8, but it's still a noticeable increase over 5.