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<p>I have been photographing races (triathalons, marathons and bicycle races) since 1973 when I photographed the first Honolulu Marathon with a Nikon F2 and a 105mm lens. I use the same techniques today that I used with my non-auto focus film camera back then and I still capture an extremely high percentage of SELLABLE photos. My race camera today is the rugged D2H but any camera will do. My check list includes: 1. Know your location and where the race participants will most likely pass at your location. 2. Check your background out for a shot that will include something that gives away the location of the event. 3. Measure a pre-focused distance to where you want to take the photo of the participants and put small pieces of gaffers tape or duct tape or use an existing mark on the street at that location. 4. Use Manual focus with a shutter speed of 1/250th to 1/500th (depending on time of day). 5. Snipe each racer as they cross your pre focused tape marks or other markings you wish to use. You can then use a Pocket Wizard on your camera and trigger a remotely pre-focused wide angle camera from a different angle at the same time for TWO sellable photos of each racer. My favorite lens is a fast- simple 50mm. The photos sell and I am consistently hired to photograph at major race events. Keep it simple!<br>

I shoot and meter manually using a handheld incident light meter to guarantee no post production exposure correction in Photoshop or Lightroom. It also keeps my employers very happy.</p>

<p>David, I have repaired hundreds of Nikon FM2n bodies for event companies during the pre-digital age. You should remove the three bottom cover screws, lift off the bottom cover and examine the battery compartment. Don't worry, nothing should fall out and there are no secret springs or strange connections to worry about. There is a blue and black wire that should be firmly soldered to the small tab on the battery compartment near the front of the camera. Check these wires for disconnect, poorly soldered or corrosion on or around them. These would cause your meter not to work assuming the three wires on the TC lever switch are also fine. The TC lever switch is under the top cover and takes a little more to remove for inspection , but by no means is it difficult. The FM2n is one of the best built cameras for easy repair ever made, Unlike most which are an engineer's dream, and a technician's nightmare.</p>

<p>I agree with Bernard about the snug mounting rails issue. I had to work the shoe of my SB-800 several times in and out of the SC-29 mounting rails - and the hot shoe end also until I had the SB-800 communicating properly with the camera. Now it is very happly "broken in".</p>

Your shot was taken at 1000 ISO. The color dotsa in the shadows that your flash did not fill, is just noise caused by the CCD gain control.

I also like the Gary Fong unit, But you can buy it much cheaper from another manufacturer via ebay. Perform a search under "Nikon 800" and you will find this Lambency unit which I purchased and compared and is identical to my Gary Fong Lightsphere for a third of the price with some extra color filters.

ALL Nikon digital cameras with an external two button format option require you to hold the two buttons down until FOR blinks in the upper LCD display at which time you release the buttons and press them again. The two buttons are usually colored RED, have a red dot next to them or the text is in red. This makes it easy to find from camera to camera which two buttons you need to use for the Format.

The procedure is very much like a Format option on ALL computers where you tell your computer to FORMAT your hard drive and it sends up another window asking you if you are sure you want to do that. You then have to answer again with a yes or ok. This two step procedure is for your own safety in not removing the dirctory to valuable photos before you back them up.

Chappell Graduation Images (www.chappell.com) is buying lots of used D70 and D70s cameras at around $450 each. Their partner company, Marathon Foto is grabbing up all the used D2H cameras they can find at around $750 each. It just so happens that the D70 is the number one camera used in about 75% of the graduation ceremonies in the USA. (They like the CF cards). The D2H is the main Marathon camera.

I know, because I repair for these massive Event Photography companies and others like them.

1. Get the D300 without the Battery Pack.

2. Download the three D2x Picture Controls from Nikon into it.

3. Set the D300 Picture control to your favorite D2x seting.

4. Sell the D2x for the same price as you bought your D300.

I agree with Dave Petley's answer. No. The Phase One 39 Meagpixel back for medium format cameras (not DSLR) comes really close depending on the lens you use for capture. I started my career shooting with a Super Speed Graflex 4x5 with only a 135mm lens when I was a teenager. I bought my first 35mm Nikon F2 with a great lens collection when I was 21. I will never forget looking at my first journalistic photographs from my Awesome 35mm and the intense disappointment I suffered from having been spoiled by the detail and quality I was accustomed to from my 4x5 negatives. My brain has retrained since then to my new resolution and detail specs. Just look at Ansel Adams original photos and you understand the difference.

In film and digital when it comes to Professional Large-Scale and Commercial Publishing...Size matters. I am VERY happy with my D300 and my D3 today and find each tool to be used for very different shooting scenarios. Technology marches on and these tools in 3 years time will seem primitive as we move into the world of DSLRs without mechanical shutters.

I am still waiting for my BL-3 to come in from Ritz which I ordered at the same time as my D300 and Battery Pack back in mid November. I recieved the D300 and Battery Pack quickly. I can't wait to get some REAL Battery power into that MB-D10! I did try Tony's temporary fix and it has been a nice tease until I get the real thing.

Hi David,

I use the older 45 CL-4s and my previous answer was strictly aimed at the "safe trigger voltage use" of the Metz flashes with your camera. I use my Handle mounts in manual at W(inder) and 1/4 power most of the time, as I have a need for a flash that won't melt down after 2000 flashes in 20 minutes. I shoot graduation ceremonies (shake and grins) and I fire two photos for each student with a gap of around 2 to 3 seconds between students. The Handle mount Metz 45 doesn't even get warm doing this kind of work. My battery pack is Two 3000 mAh (6 Amps) 7.2 Volt RC batteries connected to the 7.2 volt battery contacts in the flash via a Jury Rigged Metz Battery insert. The other contacts are for 9 volts. As far as functioning like or better than the SB800 I use a Metz 58 AF 1 which actually has more features and is more powerful than the SB-800. It supports iTTL and dTTL plus All the same CLS functions as an SB 800 with a few extra twists for CLS Lighting control which I find very useful. It also has High Speed Synchronization. The other thing I love is that is has a second "wink Light" on the front which allows me to bounce the Main head and still put a small, effective catch light in my subjects eyes without washing out the exposure on the face. AND...The flash has a built-in USB port for firmware upgrades from Metz and is LESS expensive than the SB-800.

I have a Metz 45 CL-4 and it works great with my D300. It is not an issue as the Metz 45 CL series trigger voltages will not harm the shutter flash contacts. As mentioned on page 362 of the D300 manual "Negative voltages or voltages over 250 V applied to the accessory shoe, could not only prevent normal operation but damage the sync circuitry of the camera or flash." The Accessory shoe and Synch terminal share the same voltage isolation and center pin buffer circuitry. Both of your above mentioned flash units are way below this for trigger voltage. Metz 45 CL-4 runs between 12 to 24 volts and the 54 MZ-4 runs from 4 to 8 volts depending on the condition of the trigger capacitor and trigger coil combination.

I appreciate a great Jury Rig! Great Post!

You could buy the DR-6 which fits on all the rectangular digital Nikon eyepieces or use the #2370 eyepiece adapter for using any round eyepiece accessoriey on a square Nikon finder.

If you are going to shoot surfers on a budget, I would recommend getting a 2X converter for your 80 to 200 which makes it a 160-400 f5.6. Spend the money on the Nikon 2X Teleconverter for that specific lens. It is worth it. Don't buy any Mirror Optics as they are all too slow if they are affordable and will perform horribly in a glare ridden environment like the beach and surf. I have some really good luck shooting surfers with the new Nikon 300mm 4-5.6 VR lens which handled great for Sunset Beach (Pipeline) in Hawaii. If you got a few more bucks to dish out and can afford a really strong stable tripod and massively large ball head, The Sigma 50 to 500 is surprisingly sharp and useful on a bright sunny surfing day and I have seen them used on craigslist, KEH and eBay. I have rented the Nikon 200-400 f4 VR from Calumet and it is Big and SWEEEEET! I actually got away with using a Monopod with it! Worth renting! It retails around $5K. Someone needs to buy me one as a gift.

I agree with Ric, Fast Quality Glass is everything! The camera has always just been a capture device for the lens. I earn my livelihood from photography and do Photo Equipment Repairs for specific Clients. My world is all about photography and the equipment. I have bought and sold and upgraded almost every lens Nikon hads made up to about 1995 and then I started getting real picky due to the onset of Nikon producing two grades of lenses. Basically, don't buy ANY lens that has a variable minimum aperture that ends in 6.3 (ex. 4.5-6.3) it will basically be optically mediocre and useless before or after 12 noon. Keep your D80 for a couple of years at least and learn to do manual exposures for your Serious Shots. Any Basic Photography book that talks about how to properly expose a slide or transparency will give you the right info for the digital world. Spend the bucks on Great Glass and have fun!

Here is a photo of my setup. Same for any flash bracket made. It only takes drilling a few well-placed sloppy 1/4 inch holes in a couple of places on an aluminum bracket and a couple of 1/4 inch 20 short bolts or accessory handles.

Usually when buying a lens, you should justify the need by the application. All fast 2.8 Nikkor lenses are great. Justifying the purchase of a pricey PRO quality lens is usually based on two criterion: 1-Your ability to tap into your abundant cache of disposable income or 2-Your ability to earn the money back by having the lens pay for itself with the fine photographic imagery work you can accomplish with it and your cunningness to keep your sale prices high and trendy with your customers so you can buy more.

Based on meeting the standard of either of the two conditions above, if you NEED it...get it.

I use a Stroboframe Quickflip 35 and Pro-T with a couple of extra 1/4 inch 20 holes drilled into the upper arm so I can mount my flash on an SC-17 or SC-29 TTL extension cord in the middle of the cross bar. Then I mount the Pocket Wizard or JTL Trigger on the Stroboframe Hot shoe adapter that comes with the unit, in an adjacent hole that I drilled. I then attach the wireless trigger Directly to the side of the SB-800 (flash synch outlet and TTL extension outlet are under the rubber cover on the left side of the flash).

I never have a problenm with missed flashes that way.

I checked the D300 repair manual and I can't find any reason why you are experiencing this issue.I would however check the connecting cord you are using in the configuration above and see if you experience the same problem. If it has the same symptoms, it is the pc cord or the connector on your Pocket Wizard that is bad.

How about almost doubling your present pixel size, getting a far better image processor and superior sensor, while still enjoying the weight and feel of the D1 by stepping up to a really affordable D2H. A used D2h is going for the price of a D40x and is an INCREDIBLY rugged camera with far better quality imaging and speed than the D1. Even if it needed a new shutter and mirror assembly, Nikon Inc. would charge you only $378.00 to refurbish it.

The small black triangle in the bottom corner is typical of a blown shutter blade. The pivot that the blade sits on is worn out, which will entail a shutter replacement. This would also indicate that the mirror cage has been throuhg a great deal of wear and tear also and will go next. I am a Camera Repairman who services Nikon D2H and D2X cameras on a monthly basis for large event companies that shoot major races throughout the world. These are typical symptoms of a well used camera. You should get in touch with Nikon first to find out what the minimum cost for a shutter and mirrorcage overhaul would cost and then bargain your price with th owner. Or...go to eBay and pick up a D2x fairly inexpensively. People seem to be dumping them like crazy, and they are AWESOME cameras!

I forgot to add that you should use a continuity checker on the positive and negative wires to make sure you solder the right polarity. I have converted three MKZ3 cables and they do not follow a pattern. One assembler used the black lead for the positive terminal and the white lead for negative. In another one the red lead was the negative and the black was positive. My third met the normal expectation of Black being negative and Red being positive. Basically...Assume Nothing when converting your cable.

My favorite Power plug for a "sure fire' connection is the W.S. Deans ultra plug. The plugs are usually available through RC car Hobby shops or Tower Hobbies online. It does not fail, is super easy to solder and provides a bomb proof, fast connection. I use the Quantum MKZ3 which is made for low voltage power.

Be careful when using NiMH packs as a 7.2 volt configuration can charge up to 10 volts and drain down to 5 before giving up. This unregulated voltage drain can wreak havoc with the current draw on a delicate shoe mount flash like the SB 800. The parts inside are not built to handle high current and unregulated voltage like a Metz 45 can. That is why I power my Shoe Mount flashes with 6 volt Rechargeable Lead Acid and my Handle Mount flashes with two 7.2 volt 3000 mAH NiMH RC car batteries. The larger flashes have higher watt components in them that can handle and dissipate the heat much faster. The Shoe Mount flashes use a lot of mini resistors and transistors and 1/8th watt devices all packed together in tight spaces with no room to breathe. This makes for thermal meltdown if everything isn't perfect.

I have found the 80mm lens to be not as useful as the 28mm or 35mm Underwater. I have shot in the Red Sea over several months and had a 28, 35 and 80 to use. The 80 is fine for unapproachble subjects such as Lionfish and sea snakes in shallow, well-lit water but demands too much in flash power underwater to be useful for every shot. The depth of field underwater is also much harder to guess on that lens when underwater. The 80 was best used above water as a general purpose lens to catch an aquatic mammal laying on the beach without getting too close and spooking it.

The Quantum Battery 2 is designed for 9 volt Flash units. The SB 800/600 is a 6 volt flash unit which can handle up to 7.5 volts with the addition of the "5th Battery."

The voltrage and current combination from a Quantum Battery 2 can damage your SB 800 and is not recommended.