Custom Setting #F5 Dof Preview Button Setting - Nikon D300 Complete Manual

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Fn button, I have one-button spot metering at my

fingertips; it's also easy to see the change in exposure

settings as I press and release the button.

5. Flash off might not sound like a useful function at first,

but think again. If you're trying to quickly evaluate the

ambient/flash balance in exposures (i.e. how much impact

the flash is having), being able to hold the Fn button

while taking an exposure gives you a quick way of getting

just the ambient exposure. Take one shot with flash and

ambient, one with ambient only. Now in playback,

bounce back and forth comparing the two. This is more

convenient than it sounds. Your alternative, if you're in

anything other than Shutter-priority or Manual exposure

mode, can be impossible to achieve by just pushing down

and popping up the flash (that's because of the various

constraints the other exposure modes may put on the

ambient exposure).

6. Whatever you set, don't set it without first considering

what you'll be setting for Custom Settings #F5 and #F6.

These three options have overlapping choices, so you

really need to consider them all as a group.

Custom Setting #F5 DOF Preview Button Setting

(Assign preview button)

New to the D300 (and D3) is the ability to program what the

DOF Preview button does. Like the Fn button (Custom Setting

#F4) you have the choice of making the assignments using

only a button press, or by using the button in conjunction

with the Command dials

Some settings allow you to choose an option for both press and press+dials. For

example, you can set the button to spot metering and still have it work with dials for

bracketing. But not all combinations are possible. Most settings force you to use the

button either via a single press or via pressing in conjunction with the Command

Thom Hogan's Complete Guide to the Nikon D300