I'm only 13 years late for the party, (D3)

[Steven Paulsen]

Back in the old days, I was a quite delighted, D300 user. My first FX cam was a Kodak, slr/n, which the retiring pro, practically gave me. The 2nd was a D700, but I was chasing pixels at the time.


I started using auto iso, (like 3200) when I  bought a used Df. Boy, is that like being lazy. I was trolling the auction site for another D700, for a student/loaner and made an offer on a D3, pretty, w/low miles, instead. Be careful. I ldid a lowball offer & they accept it.


Why do I like this thing so much? I am amazed how well it handles stopping down with marginal light. It reminds me of my F3, w/md4. (One push of the button and I'm out of film.)


It will even work with that confounded 70-300 P, lens. The only way I can toggle auto iso is change shooting banks. Is there a firmware where the Fn button can pull up the top entry in "my menu?"

[David H. Hartman]

It reminds me of my F3, w/md4. (One push of the button and I'm out of film.)

I remember having an MC-12A or B wired release attached to my F5. I pressed the release button and the MC-12A locked and the F5 blew through a 36 exposure roll Provia 100F before I could unlock it. I used Dymo label tape to disable the locking feature so this never happened again.

Dave

The MC-12A had a high quality micro switch. When shimmed carefully half press was easy to maintain and a slight additional press tripped the shutter. Backing off to half press was easy and consistent. My modified MC-12A(s) gave a hair trigger feel. The MC-12B had a cheap sliding switch and was a piece of junk.

[Erik Lund]

I removed the 'Lock' function of my MC-12A for the exact same reason  I don't recall an easy way of accessing ISO on D3, sorry,,, Do enjoy it!

[David H. Hartman]

Is there a firmware where the Fn button can pull up the top entry in "my menu?"

On the D850 there is a Function button Fn2. I've set it to open the first item in "My Menu." I did not find such a feature for my D300s or D800 so I doubt that there is such for the D3.

For my D850 I've created a My Menu (first page as follows)...

* Non-CPU lens data
* Choose image area
* ISO sensitivity settings
* Save/load settings
* Photo shooting menu bank
* Custom Settings bank
* Set picture Control
* Active D-Lighting

This makes access to these items quite easy. I use "Save/load settings" to save an NCSETUPM.BIN file to my primary memory card. From there I backup the NCSETUPM.BIN file to my computers. While in Windows Explorer and also in macOS "get infor" I write protect or lock the NCSETUPM.BIN and copy it back to my camera's primary memory card. Locking the file stops me from accidentally over writing my default settings as saved in the NCSETUPM.BIN file while in the field. Loading the NCSETUPM.BIN is unaffected so setting my camera to my defaults is quite easy. This lock of the NCSETUPM.BIN is very important to make this feature useful. If I accidentally try to over-write my default NCSETUPM.BIN I'll get an error message that says, "Cannot create file" and my defaults are preserved.


Now to set ISO quickly if My Menu> ISO sensitivity settings> was last used pressing the Menu button my my D850 and as I recall D800 and D300s as well places me in My Menu with ISO Sensitivity settings highlighted. This makes selecting various ISO settings relatively quick.

I hope this helps,

Dave

[mxbianco]

...

It [the D3] will even work with that confounded 70-300 P, lens. The only way I can toggle auto iso is change shooting banks. Is there a firmware where the Fn button can pull up the top entry in "my menu?"

There is no way to focus an AFP lens on a D3. You can mount it, but the stepper motor won't focus. It will stay focused at the distance you focused it last time on a compatible camera.
AFP lenses work only on these cameras:

• All series 1 cameras with FT1 adapter
• Nikon Df
• Nikon D5 and D6
• All Nikon Z cameras with FTZ adapter
• Nikon D850, D810, D810A, D780, D750, D610, D600, D500, D7500, D7200, D7100 (only with the most recent FW upgrades)
• Nikon D5600, D5500, D5300, D3500, D3400, D3300 (only with the most recent FW upgrades)

There are some ways that you can map the Fn button in a useful way. The configuration menu allows you to choose Matrix or Spot, Non-CPU type lens, choose image area, ... and also the SHOOTING BANK you'll be using. This is what serves you!

First, you have to configure two shooting banks (say A and B) so that bank A has Auto-ISO ON and bank B has Auto-ISO OFF. You've done it already, so I will not explain it here.
[on the top display you will see which shooting bank you are using: near the lower L corner you will have SHOOT A B C D (with one of the letters indicating which bank you are using)

You will have noticed that in the back of the D3, above the small LCD, there is an ISO button: this serves to adjust the base ISO level, and its value shows in the display. This is useful in association with Auto-ISO to set the LOW ISO level that Auto-ISO will use, or to set the ISO value altogether when Auto-ISO is OFF.

In the viewfinder, there will be (to the R of the f/stop) one of these: ISO (non-blinking) or ISO AUTO (blinking): this is useful when you change shooting bank to know if you are using Auto-ISO or not.

Now, let's configure the Fn button (it can be done with other buttons: Preview, and AE-L/AF-L, but the Fn is in the best position):
Click Menu...Custom Setting Menu...f Controls...f4 (Assign Func Button)
Func button + Dials...and select SHOOT (shooting Menu Bank) from the menu.
Press OK and you're done


Now every time you press Fn and rotate the rear or front dial (both are active), you will switch from Shooting bank A to B (and also to C and D, but one click of the dial is enough to pass between A and B and vice-versa). You will see the ISO change to ISO AUTO blinking and vice-versa in the viewfinder, no need to chimp through menus on the big LCD. The ISO / blinking ISO-Auto will also be visible in the small rear LCD.

Hope this answers your question
 
Ciao from Massimo

[Steven Paulsen]

Thank you.
I toggle between shooting banks, A for auto iso-on, D; auto iso-off exactly as the above response replied. I wish the letters were easier to see, but I can toggle off/on while keeping my eye on the finder.


The FX version of the 70-300/Af-p does work on the Nikon D3, with the latest firmware. My D300 is on loan, but with the same lens, is reported that it should function OK, also.


I sold all my dx cameras and lenses because of that silly, P lens.

[mxbianco]

I have version 2.03 of the firmware on my D3, should be the latest version, and my AFP-DX 70-300 4.5~6.3 won't focus with my D3. It does perfectly on my Df, D600, D810, D500, D3500, D5300, Z6, Z7, and all my 1 series Nikons

This is corroborated by this PDF on the nikonusa.com website:

https://www.nikonusa.com/images/learn-explore/photography-techniques/2011/which-nikkor-is-right-for-you/media/nikkor-lens-compatibility-chart.pdf

where it states that no AFP lens is compatible with the D3/D300/D300s.

EDIT: I read from this other site https://www.dslrbodies.com/lenses/lens-articles/general-nikon-lens-info/understanding-the-af-p.html that the FX version of the AFP 70-300 is partially compatible with the D3, with a problem retaining the focus point when meter powers off. So as long as you quickly shoot after focussing, it does work! So the conclusion on that article is that most of the AFP lenses don't work with the D3, except the AFP-FX 70-300.

Ciao from Massimo

[Hermann]

EDIT: I read from this other site https://www.dslrbodies.com/lenses/lens-articles/general-nikon-lens-info/understanding-the-af-p.html that the FX version of the AFP 70-300 is partially compatible with the D3, with a problem retaining the focus point when meter powers off. So as long as you quickly shoot after focussing, it does work! So the conclusion on that article is that most of the AFP lenses don't work with the D3, except the AFP-FX 70-300

The AF-P 70-300 FX works on the D3. It also works nicely on the D300. That it doesn't retain the focus point is no big problem, especially since it's a very fast focusing lens.

BTW, that lens is quite amazing. Very fast AF and good image quality, even at the long end. A real bargain in the Nikon line-up and my most used walk-around lens. A far cry from the AF-S 70-300 FX.

[mxbianco]

Agree that it's no problem, it does not occur in normal shooting, only if you do long exposures/sequences and the standby timeout kicks in. In 99% of real life shooting it's no prob.

Pity that the AFP-DX version does not focus on D3/D300!

Ciao from Massimo