V1.02
Thom Hogan’s Complete Guide to the Nikon D300
Page 390
Autofocus Settings Summary
Focus Mode
AF Area
Initial
Final
Final
Mode
Area
Area
Area
Selected
Selected
Shown?
by by
Single Servo Single Point
User
User
Yes
Single Servo Dynamic Area
User
User
Yes
Single Servo Auto Area
Camera Camera Yes
Cont Servo
Single Point
User
User
Yes
Cont Servo
Dynamic Area
User
Camera No
Cont Servo
Auto Area
Camera Camera No
The big problem most first time D300 users have is that this is
a very different system from previous Nikon cameras. In
particular, I see these aspects causing the most confusion:
•
Single Servo no longer uses predictive focus.
A subject in
motion when AF is first detected is not tracked on a D300,
where it was on many previous Nikon models with this
setting.
•
Group AF is gone.
None of the variants of Group
autofocus appear on the D300 as they did on the D200
and D2 series. There is also no Wide/Narrow choice nor
any patterned groups. If you were using one of these
options, you’ll have to convert to a new technique.
•
Closest Subject Priority (CSP) is gone.
As much as I’ve
harped on negative aspects of CSP, there certainly were
times when it was useful. The D300 has no method in
which you can force it to focus on the nearest object or
nearest object in a group of sensors. Again, if you were
using those facilities on your previous camera, you’ll need
to find a new method.
•
The camera doesn’t always tell you which autofocus
sensor was used.
See the summary chart, above. In most
Continuous Servo modes the camera doesn’t tell you
which area was used for focus. Over time you’ll learn to
trust the camera, but until you do, remember that you can
always review the focus selection point after the fact by
