I just thought I'd pull this out of another thread that I brought it up in, for a little more visibility and discussion. I am especially interested because Herb Chong indicated that it was not possible. It absolutely, 100% is possible, as I have mine set up to do it - but some people have reported it not working (as Herb did), and I'm not sure what the variable is.

From the other thread, here's how mine is set up:

Set e5 and e6 to "flash only"
Assign FUNC + dial to bracketing
Assign FUNC to bracketing burst
Set the shutter release to "S" (single shot)
Set your bracket to 9F to get a burst of 9 shots

Then you just hold FUNC and press the shutter to get 9 shots @ 8fps. Release and re-press to get another burst.

Sounds complicated except that I don't use bracketing where I wouldn't have time to re-set e5 and e6 in the menus, and I just leave the bracket on 9F. So, for daily use, all I have to do to get an 8fps burst is set the shutter release to "S" and hold FUNC when I shoot.

You can customize at whim. e5 and e6 just make sure that the same exposure is used between shots (if you're not using the flash). The key is mostly setting it to bracketing, single shot mode, and using bracket burst to shoot.

Has anyone else tried this? Since the grip is normally required, my guess is that certain combinations - especially ones that may draw more voltage, such as VR lenses - may not allow this.

I can't say I'll be using it much, but it's there, no doubt. Firmware 1.02.

If this is true, I probably would not have purchased the grip. Since I do have the grip and this sounds a bit cumbersome, I probably won't bother with trying it, but I am curious as to whether other people can verify this.

Gerald

I have seen this on other forums... I don't know if this is real... half of the people claim it is working, half of the people don't see a difference. We should find a way to measure Fps in a reliable way...

Guy

gugs wrote:
I have seen this on other forums... I don't know if this is real... half of the people claim it is working, half of the people don't see a difference. We should find a way to measure Fps in a reliable way...

Guy

Fire away and count the number of frames in a one second time span.

I just gave it a shot and it does work. FPS seem to be 8 by looking at the clock.

I just tried the 8fps thing with setup described above and according to the time/date stamp on the files it captured 8 images at 14:43:41. I think that's a pretty accurate measurement of the frames per second.

This is also good news since I just sold my MB-D10 to reduce weight. I probably won't use the feature, but it's nice to know it's there.

Regards,
Matthew

Well, now that we know the D300 is capable of 8 FPS without the grip, whats Nikons excuse for not including it as a standard feature?

Great... so it DOES seem to work... but then maybe there is another parameter playing a role because a few people seem not to see any change... (could be a focus mode or something else). It seems that Nikon blocked some functions with the firmware... they could make the High Speed burst (a normal one, not using this trick) available in another firmware release... anyway very interesting

Guy

Man, I'll bet this will burn through the EN-EL3e's quickly!

For me, the bonus of having the 8fps was only part of the reason for wanting the grip, while the extended battery life and vertical shutter release were bigger reasons. I rather like the size of the camera with the grip attached, though my wife doesn't. To each his (or her) own, I guess. The weight, well other than a little more stability and having that solid feel, more isn't really a benefit here. Still, I'll stick with the grip.

It is nice to know that you can do this if needed without the grip.

David

forget about that 8fps stuff. I've heard that by installing custom firmware your DX sensor will transform into a FX sensor! now that's sweet. The D300 is just crippled with the default firmware. you need custom firmware! You must make a pandora battery first.

eh...



Just kidding. I've tried the 8FPS thing and it seems to work. Not so sure about the focussing tho... oh well i have a grip... and i'm fine with 1 frame everytime i hit the shutter release button. sometimes twice in a second.!

Very interesting. If I didn't have the grip with all the 4a/battery cover I would have tried this. Though I do like to have the ease of the vertical shooting with the grip.

Interesting. I just did a little test with my daughter running towards me. Camera is in AF-C mode, using the AF-ON button and fired off 8-9 frames. All shots in focus.

But I have the grip and holding three buttons is cumbersome. Need to change things back to the way they were...

chemprof wrote:
Since I do have the grip and this sounds a bit cumbersome
I agree that it's not as easy as using the grip. As I indicated, though, depending on your shooting style it may be fairly quick and especially if you don't need it very often it may suffice.

gugs wrote:
I have seen this on other forums... I don't know if this is real... half of the people claim it is working, half of the people don't see a difference. We should find a way to measure Fps in a reliable way...

It's absolutely measurable. It clicks 8 times per second, how much more measurable can you get?

Here, this is how DPReview does their measurements:

it is a voltage issue. if you look at the voltage and instantaneous current capacity of all combinations, the EN-EL3e is singificantly lower than all the other combinations. under load, the voltage drops too much for the EN-EL3e and it can't deliver the required current, partly because of internal current limiting circuitry to prevent fires. apparently, there is enough variation that sometimes it's possible anyway. AA batteries may be lower in voltage, but their current capabilities are higher much higher. having a higher voltage source to begin with means that the current requirements are lower.

however, i am sure that Nikon doesn't want you using an El-EL3e this way because of safety issues. so figure that being able to do this means that it won't last long as the battery discharges and can't maintain being a good voltage source, and you are likely to have a much hotter battery than intended. some smart batteries have thermal cutouts. others just catch fire.

Herb...

binary visions wrote:
With the number of people who can't seem to get it to work and the fact that it's a battery grip that allows the extra frames per second, I'm guessing it's a voltage issue.

HerbChong wrote:
apparently, there is enough variation that sometimes it's possible anyway.

Seems to be the variation that prevents it from happening, since the vast majority of people who have set this up properly are successful and don't have any immediate indication of problems.

Doesn't mean there aren't long-term effects from using it this way but your previous suggestion was that I was flat out wrong in stating that it was possible.

firmware bugs exist and that is what i consider this to be. i can see Nikon removing this capability for safety certification reasons in some future firmware update. so the camera can do it, but aside from the risk of damaging all your equipment, it's cheap to do it right by adding a grip and far safer. just become something is possible doesn't make it a good idea.

Herb...

Dang, I would be careful about over-heating that EN-EL3 battery!!!! There's a reason that Nikon requires the grip with either 8 AA batteries or the EN-EL4. Do it once, maybe twice, but to consistently do it like you would when shoot high-speed action and you risk the battery getting hot I suspect. Also, it's not clear that the inside contacts on the battery comparment are made for it, unlike the grip contacts which clearly are. That's probably less of an issue that the battery heat.