V1.02
Thom Hogan’s Complete Guide to the Nikon D300
Page 667
accidentally format a card with information you wanted to
keep.
• Verify that the files transferred correctly!
Open one or two
of the files to make sure that they transferred without
error. Many serious photographers also burn a CD-ROM
backup of their original files at this stage and securely
store this as their “original negative.” Personally, I use
portable hard drives for backup, as it makes the process
faster and I only have to keep track of one extra thing.
Both workflow solutions I use allow me to create the
backup at the time of download.
• Format the CompactFlash cards immediately after you
download the files from them.
Yes, I told you to format
them just before each shooting session, so this seems
redundant. But if you follow both instructions, any card
you notice with files on it probably hasn’t been
downloaded to the computer yet, giving you one last
chance to recover those original files before you erase
them.
• If you’re going to shoot again within the next week, put
your partially exhausted batteries on the charger.
Since
you can’t count on running into a drugstore and buy
batteries that’ll run the D300, you also need to stay
disciplined in keeping your batteries topped off, lest you
find yourself in a situation where you run out of power at
the most inopportune time (yes, it’s happened to me; don’t
let it happen to you). If you’re not going to be shooting
with your D300 in the next month or so, make sure the
battery has a mid-level charge (not full or empty) in it
before storing it outside the camera.
• Cancel any special settings you made.
In particular, set the
camera back to:
- No exposure compensation.
- Bracketing
OFF
.
- The lowest numbered ISO value.
- Your preferred exposure and flash mode.
- Automatic white balance.
