The Sports Photo Guy

Current Prices (as of 5/17/2009):

D300 body only (“add to cart” for lowest price!)

Buy from Abe’s of Maine ($1,650)
Buy from Adorama ($1,697)
Buy from B&H (Camera Body) ($1,700)
Buy from eCost.com ($1,720)

Latest News:

D300 Does Wrestling

Last modified on 2010-01-26 10:58:08 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

No, not the macho soap opera that is the WWE, but the collegiate variety.  This sport presents unique challenges which the D300 is well equipped to handle.

Updated 1/26/10: Reflects new equipment lineup for 2009-10 season.

Wrestling is an interesting sport in that the action can be intense and over in mere seconds, while at times it can devolve into a slow-moving stalemate or pushing match.  A good sports photographer has to be prepared for both.  Compounding the challenges are the fact that wrestling matches are often held in some of the darkest holes known to the athletic world, making existing-light photography very problematic.  For example, the shot above was taken at 1/400 @ f1.4, ISO 2500.

My usual equipment when shooting wrestling is as follows:

• Nikon D300 w/MB-D10 grip & Sigma 50/f1.4G EX HSM DG
• Nikon D300s w/Nikon 70-200/f2.8G AF-S VR
• Nikon D40 w/Sigma 18-50/f2.8 EX HSM DC & Tokina 11-16/f2.8 ATX-Pro; SB-900 (commander mode)
• 2 SB-600s (mounted remotely)

The D300 & Sigma 50/f1.4 combo provides quick-focusing 8 fps shooting capability in very low light that allows me to capture the rapid action of a takedown or a reversal.  The Sigma 50 is sharp enough to reach into a fairly deep crop of an image shot across the mat and yields great images at f1.4.

But many of the best shots can be obtained with flash, and Nikon’s Advanced Wireless Lighting system makes off-camera flash setups a breeze for this sport.  The approach I use is very straightforward yet can yield a variety of lighting effects than maximize the drama of this intense sport.

Set up and positioning takes into account the “square”  arrangement of the typical wrestling dual-meet venue.  I position myself on the corner of the mat opposite the home bench.  I place an SB-600 in the opposing corners to my left and right.  This extreme wide angle shot shows my SB-600s firing and my shooting position in the bottom center of the frame:

The positioning of the lights and the dimensions of the mat are almost perfectly matched to the angle of view of the wrestling mat.  While it is sometimes possible to trigger both strobes simultaneously with the built-in flash of the D300 — as I did here in this shot where I backed up several feet from my normal shooting position — this is unreliable and is generally not the effect I’m looking for anyway.

Instead, I dial the flash exposure compensation down 1 to 2 stops for the built-in flash and typically 0.7 stops for the SB-600.  This provides for side- and/or back-lighting with direct fill-flash for whichever side of the mat I’m shooting.

Settings. Settings vary depending on whether I’m using the camera to control the remote SB-600s or without flash for the 8 fps capability.  The important settings are summarized below:

• With flash:
  • Custom setting a3 Dynamic AF area: 9 points, or 51 points with 3D tracking.  If I’m shooting tight with the 80-200 I’ll use 9-point, while a wide zoom like the 18-50 I find usually works better with 51-point.  The 3-D tracking works well to keep the AF on track with sudden movements; given the slight shutter lag with AWL, the AF system is able to readjust focus.
  • Metering: I use manual mode with an aperture of f2.8 and shutter speed of 1/250.  At ISO 200, this is more than enough to stretch a set of batteries in the SB-600s for a full match’s worth of action.  Let the matrix metering system control the output.
• Without flash:
  • Custom setting a3 Dynamic AF area: 21 points with the 50/f1.4; 9 points with the 85/f1.8.  The 50 generally doesn’t crop tightly enough for 9-point AF to be sufficient, but 51-point is too wide and risks inadvertently picking up distracting background elements.  While I seldom use the 85 any longer, it is sufficiently tight for 9-point AF to be preferable.
  • Active D-Lighting: I set this to High for the dark gym. Turn this OFF for use with flash.
  • ISO auto sensitivity control: On – One of my favorite techniques (Secret D300 High-Speed Auto ISO Trick) is essential for dark venues.  I have no reservations letting this float all the way to ISO 3200 on the D300.
  • High ISO NR: Off - As with basketball, I prefer NeatImage to Nikon’s built-in noise reduction.

 Purchasing Resources

D300 body only (prices as of 1/25/09)
Buy from Abe’s of Maine ($1,454)
Buy from Adorama ($1,479)
Buy from B&H (Camera Body) ($1,468)
Buy from eCost.com ($1,529)

Sigma 50/f1.4G (prices as of 1/25/09)
Buy Nikon mount from Adorama ($439)
Buy Canon mount from Adorama ($439)

Nikon SB-600 (prices as of 1/25/09)
Buy from Abe’s of Maine ($187)
Buy from Adorama ($210)
Buy from B&H ($225)

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Revised Basketball Gear, Settings

Last modified on 2009-01-21 04:36:18 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I’ve revised my articles on basketball to reflect my current camera bag as well as the settings I now use.

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EN-EL4a clone for MB-D10: Phottix Kosmo

Last modified on 2009-01-21 04:39:58 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

Chinese accesory maker Phottix has released a combination BL-3 battery chamber cover and EN-EL4a replacement, a single unit called the Kosmo, specifically for the MB-D10 grip.  I’ve added its details to the D300 Battery Compatibility article.

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D300 Firmware 1.10 Released

Last modified on 2008-11-09 15:55:07 GMT. 4 comments. Top.

Nikon has released firmware versions 1.10 (A & B) for the D300.  These are definitely worth installing!

Updated 11/9: I upgraded the firmware in one D300 while using the other D300 (A 1.01 B 1.00) alongside while shooting football this weekend.  The AF performance in the upgraded camera was noticeably better, feeling much more responsive and yielding nearly 100% keepers, compared to maybe 80-90% for the other body.  While I used only 9-point continuous AF in conditions that varied from sunny to heavy clouds, I think Nikon has made some meaningful “tweaks” to their autofocus.  I skipped firmware v1.03 but I would advise installing this upgrade ASAP!

The complete list of modifications and improvements can be found on Nikon’s download page.  The ones I find most interesting:

• Auto ISO minimum shutter speed value now goes all the way up to 1/4,000 – a long needed improvement in this function for sports shooters.
• You can now set Copyright Information EXIF field in the camera.  No need for clunky (C) annotations in the comment (caption) field.
• Claimed performance improvement in dynamic AF, contrast-detection AF, and automatic white balance.  We’ll have to see about these.

Be sure to follow Nikon’s detailed instructions for upgrading your firmware.  No shortcuts!

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Are You Ready for Some Futbol? D300 Does Soccer

Last modified on 2008-10-12 02:33:30 GMT. 5 comments. Top.

Collegiate soccer season is in full swing in the U.S., and I’ve been giving the D300 are good workout.  Click through for settings and techniques.

Soccer can be a tough sport to shoot, as the playing field is about as big as it gets and the action can be intense (sometimes accompanied by periods of great boredom; ever shot a 0-0 match decided on penalty kicks?).

Shooting Menu Settings.  The settings I use for soccer are pretty much the same as I use for most outdoor “field” sports.  The major ones are:

• Picture Control.  I use “Standard” (SD) modified to use Sharpness 5, Saturation +2, Hue 0.  Contrast and Brightness are handled by Active D-Lighting under strong sunlight, or +1 and 0 respectively under overcast conditions.
• Color Space.  I use Adobe RGB in-camera and convert to appropriate target space as the final step of post-processing.
• Active D-Lighting.  I use this when there are dark shadows caused by harsh sunlight conditions, typically Normal or High.
• High ISO Noise Reduction: ALWAYS off.  ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS.  I hate Nikon’s noise reduction, and it is seldom necessary under ISO 1600 anyway.  I use NeatImage selectively instead.
• ISO sensitivity.  I typically set ISO to 200 on the camera, and activate ISO sensitivty auto control with maximum sensitivity of 3200 and minimum shutter speed of 1/250.  But I get around the 1/250 setting by using the Secret D300 High-Speed Auto ISO Trick.

Custom Menu Settings.

  These are also settings common to nearly all sports action I shoot.  Changes from default settings are described below:

• a1 AF-C priority selection.  I use “Release + focus” for slower lenses and “Release” for faster ones.  Faster lenses typically include the AF-S 80-200/f2.8, Sigma 120-300/f2.8 HSM (without teleconverter), or the 70-300 AF-S VR.  Slow lenses include most screw-drive (conventional AF) types or internal focus motor lenses with teleconverters (the 80-200 AF-S combined with TC-14E is an exception, as this is still a “fast focusing” combination in my experience).
• a4 Focus tracking with lock-on.  I use the Long setting here, giving the fact that players are constantly criss-crossing in front of one another in this sport and “passes” are usually very long, requiring recomposition.  I use the “Short” setting with a sport like basketball, where passes typically take place within the frame and you need to shift focus without recomposing.
• f9 No memory card?  I ALWAYS set this to Release locked.  Why do you want to take shots that you will never see?

Equipment.  Soccer is definitely at least a 2-lens sport.  You’ll typically want a fast lens (f2.8-f4.0) in the 400-600mm class and a fast medium telephoto zoom in the 70-200 range.  I typically use the Sigma 120-300/f2.8 HSM w/Sigma 1.4x teleconverter for the long lens, which yields an effective 35mm equivalent of 250-600/f4 or thereabouts.  For the second lens, I normally rely on my 80-200/f2.8 AF-S, sometimes with teleconverter.  If you have the newer 70-200/f2.8 AF-S VR lens, even better, as long clears in soccer can lend themselves to slow shutter speed panning techniques as you follow players streaking down the sidelines.  The 70-300/f4.5-5.6G AF-S VR lens also works well for this technique, and makes an effective enough lens for “normal” action shooting at higher shutter speeds although the depth of field leaves a little to be desired.

Shutter Speed & Aperture.  If light permits, I will use one step above maximum aperture, either f4.0 or f5.6 for the equipment I typically use.  I prefer the additional sharpness slightly stopping down usually gives, even if this pushes the ISO all the way up to 3200.  Only when I can’t achieve a decent shutter speed at ISO 3200 will I shoot wide open.

For shutter speed, I use a value between 1/640 and 1/2000 (or higher) depending on what I’m trying to accomplish:

• Typical “ball in motion” shots – This is what I normally try to achieve, an effect that freezes player movement but allows for slight ball movement blur.  This varies but is typically somewhere between 1/800-1/1250 or so.
• Total freeze – 1/1600 or higher will usually stop all ball movement as well.  I don’t think this looks as “natural” but can be effective for the most dramatic “peak action” shots – and can actually artifically extend the peak action period.
• Low light – When you’re desperate, accept speeds in the range of 1/500-1/800.  Only go lower than 1/500 if you absolutely have to.

Positioning.  The soccer field is big!  There are lots of places to shoot from.  I’ve identified some typical locations that make for good action photos.  I usually shoot from one of four field locations:

Most frequently I situate myself along the sidelines opposite the outer edge of the penalty box (Position 1).  This gives me good coverage of the attacking team and corner kicks, while with the long lens I can still cover (barely) the opposite goal.  This is useful if you are primarily interested in covering a single team.

Position 2 is a slight variation except you’re totally focused on the attacking team.  You have poor coverage of either goal keeper from this position.  An elevated spot, if available, works very well here.

Position 3 takes this angle even further, giving you opportunities for dramatic shots of scoring opportunities from directly in front of the goal.  The price you pay is loss of angles on most other parts of the field.

Position 4 gives you an effective angle to cover the defending goal keeper, as well as interesting angles on corner kicks and crosses.  An elevated position is excellent here.

Of course, the positions shown can be chosen from any of the three corresponding parts of the field in addition to those shown.  Crowd, bench, and sun position, naturally, will affect your selection.

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Phottix BP-D300 Battery Pack

Last modified on 2008-12-03 13:04:07 GMT. 14 comments. Top.

The Chinese Phottix-brand MB-D10 replacement, the BP-D300, costs about half as much as its Nikon counterpart.  Is it any good?

In a word, yes.

Phottix BP-D300 Battery Pack (MB-D10 Replacement) on eBay

I’ve used a BP-D300 on my second D300 body alongside a D300 equipped with the MB-D10 for several weeks now, and I’ve found no performance differences whatsoever.  While differences exist in fit and finish, and one very minor control difference, the BP-D300 works great.

Viewed from the front (above), the BP-D300 is readily distinguishable from the MB-D10 by virtue of the hand grip – three “finger grooves” versus soft rubber on the Nikon.  Functionally controls are identical, although the Nikon’s superior construction is evident in two areas.  First, the the thumbwheel screw on the Nikon provides a more precise, snug fit to the camera body; the BP-D300 can wobble slightly from front to back.  In use, this has been unnoticeable, however, even handholding the grip with a good-sized lens like the 80-200/f2.8 AF-S attached.  The battery drawer on the BP-D300–whether one of the included for AA batteries or a single EN-EL3e, or a Nikon counterpart–sometimes needs a little bit of a jiggle to seat properly.

Turning to the back of the grip, we see the one functional difference: a sliding switch to lock/unlock the vertical shutter release button, in contrast to the circular switch surrounding the button on the MB-D10.  (Nikon’s switch placement is slightly more convenient.)  The remaining controls are largely the same; significantly, the 5-way directional button on the BP-D300 provides good feedback and control.

The BP-D300 comes with battery drawers for an EN-EL3e battery, or 8 AAs; a Phottix-branded EN-EL3e equivalent battery; and a car charger that can be used to recharge an EN-EL3e battery in the included drawer.  (This is a feature not shared by Nikon’s MS-D10EN drawer.)

If you’re looking for 8 fps performance and don’t want to resort to secret tricks, I would recommend a look at the BP-D300.

Phottix BP-D300 Battery Pack (MB-D10 Replacement) on eBay

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New Firmware Updates for D3 and D300

Last modified on 2008-07-02 07:31:26 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Nikon has released firmware upgrades for the D3 (to v2.00) and the D300 (v1.03).

The D3 firmware includes the following features (taken from Nikon USA web site):

•  Images captured with “Rotate tall”, in the playback menu, set to “On”, are not automatically rotated for display immediately after capture (image review).
• The following changes and additions have been made to “f4: Assign FUNC.Button > FUNC. Button + dials” ; “f5: Assign preview button > Preview + command dials”, and “f6: Assign AE-L / AF-L button > AE-L / AF-L + command dials” menus in Custom Settings:
• The “Choose image area” option has been separated into two options, “Choose image area (FX / DX / 5:4)” and “Choose image area (FX / DX)”
• A new “Shooting menu bank” option has been added.
• When “Choose image area (FX / DX / 5:4)” or “Choose image area (FX/DX)” is selected and the function button (Fn) is pressed, the image area setting is displayed in the top control panel, in the shooting information display, and at the bottom of the viewfinder.
• A “Copyright information” item has been added to the setup menu. When “Copyright information” is enabled, the copyright symbol ( © ) is shown in the shooting info display.
• “Recent settings” can now be displayed in place of “My Menu”.
• The virtual horizon can now be displayed with shooting in LiveView mode.
• The “Vignette control” setting can now be confimed in shooting information.
• The “Vignette control” item in the shooting menu now supports all types of G- and D-type lenses, except DX and PC lenses.
• The “Vignette control” compensation value has been optimized for shooting with “Active D-Lighting”  the shooting menu.
• Electronic analog exposure displays are now shown in the control panel and shooting info display while the exposure compensation setting is being applied.
• The degree of the “High ISO NR” setting can now be confirmed in the shooting info display while the “High ISO NR” setting item, in the shooting menu, is being applied.
• Design of the FX-format icon in the “Choose image area” setting has been modified.
• Ankara, Riyadh, Kuwait, and Manamah have been added to the “Time zone” options for the “World Time” item in the setup menu.
• When a GPS device is used and no heading information is available, –.–° is now displayed for the “Position > Heading” option in the “GPS” item in the setup menu.
• When shooting in LiveView mode using Camera Control Pro 2 (ver. 2.2.0) or later with a PC-E lens, the aperture setting can now be adjusted from the computer.
• Autofocus performance has been improved.
• Auto White Balance performance has been improved.
• An issue that, in some rare circumstances, caused the battery indicator to blink, regardless of actual battery charge, has been resolved.
• Errors in the German help displays have been corrected.

 

The D300 firmware includes only one change: to address the “dead battery syndrome” some users have experienced.  (For the record, I have not seen this in either of my D300s so I have no plans to upgrade.)

The new firmware can be downloaded from the following links at Nikon USA:

D3 – Windows
D3 – Mac

D300 – Windows
D300 – Mac

 

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D300 Does DIII Softball Championships

Last modified on 2008-05-21 04:13:18 GMT. 10 comments. Top.

I recently had the opportunity to shoot some of the action at the 2008 NCAA Division III Softball Championships. Check out some of the images as well as my settings for this sport.

Caught Stealing. 1/1600 @ f4, ISO 1250, Sigma 120-300/f2.8.

Women’s fast-pitch softball is an interesting sport with some important differences from baseball.  The D300 has a number of features that are well-suited to capturing the action.

One thing I relied on photographing the championships this year was the Secret D300 High-Speed Auto ISO Trick.  This allowed me to set my preferred shutter speed (usually 1/1600) as well as aperture (f4 or f2.8) and the camera would automatically adjust the aperture to fit lighting and scene conditions.  1/1600 is a good speed for women’s fast-pitch, as this will usually show an ever-so-slight amount of ball movement while freezing other aspects of the action.

 

Release. 1/1250 @ f2.8, ISO 900, AF-S Nikkor 80-200/f2.8D.

 Other settings I used are as follows (where they differ from factory defaults):

Shooting Menu 

• Quality: JPG Normal - Really more than enough quality; I find the D300′s out-of-camera JPGs are just about perfect.
• Image Size: L – Make every pixel count!
• JPEG Compression: Quality
• White Balance: Auto (varies by location, of course)
• Picture Control: Standard – I like this for sports, natural yet bright colors and decent skin tones.
  • Sharpening +5
  • Saturation +2
• Color Space: Adobe RGB
• Active D-Lighting: Normal/Low – Active D-Lighting is the bomb!
• High ISO NR: Off – In-camera NR is better than the D200′s “cartoonish” look, but I still prefer NeatImage for high-ISO images.
• ISO auto sensitivity control: On – Thanks to the Secret D300 High-Speed Auto ISO Trick, this is a very useful setting!  I allow ISO to float all the way up to 3200 depending on the lighting conditions.

Custom Settings

• a1 AF-C priority selection: Release + focus – I find that when shooting at the greater distances involved in outdoor sports, giving the D300 just a bit more time to acquire and lock focus is useful.
• a3 Dyanmic AF area: 51 points (3D-tracking) - It’s amazing how useful and accurate this mode can be.  With players generally spaced widely apart, it’s easy to lock on.  And the 3D-tracking is extremely useful for keeping the focus on, for example, the pitcher’s eyes during a herky-jerky windup motion.
• a4 Focus tracking with lock-on: Long
• d2 Viewfinder grid display: On
• d10 MB-D10 battery type: FR6 – I keep a battery tray loaded with AA lithiums as a long-term backup power source.
• e1 Flash sync speed: 1/250 (Auto FP) – Gives me maximum flash flexibility.
• e2 Flash shutter speed: 1/30 – If I’m shooting flash I will likely have a VR lens mounted (18-200).
• e7 Bracketing order: under/meter/over – It only makes sense…
• f1 Multi-selector center button
  • Shooting: Select center focus point – Especially with so many to choose from, I need to get back on center quickly!
  • Playback: Show histograms – I like my cameras to behave consistently with one another.
• f3 Photo info/playback: On – See above.
• f4 Assign FUNC. button: FV lock (button press) – Consistently use function button for this function.
• f9 No memory card: Lock – Yes, I’ve shot games with no card (or no film) in the camera, so I always set this function!

I also found myself dialing in a little exposure compensation: +0.3 of a stop during an overcast game, and +0.7 of a stop when shooting into a bright, early evening sun.  I find these values fairly consistent to use with the D300′s matrix metering.  I also took advantage of sun’s backlighting to get some under-exposed shots (dialing in -0.3 of a stop).

Windup.  1/1600 @ f4, ISO 900, Sigma 120-300/f2.8.

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Update on D300 Replacement Batteries

Last modified on 2008-04-19 20:54:08 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Two new third-party batteries that are compatible with the D300 have been added to my battery compatibility page.

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Deal Alert:D300 with 18-200 VR lens

Last modified on 2008-04-10 06:55:36 GMT. 6 comments. Top.

Nikon is offering a $300 instant rebate on the purchase of a D300 with an 18-200/f3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR DX lens when purchased from an authorized dealer through May 11.  This is a fantastic deal, considering the 18-200 was selling for above-MSRP prices on eBay not all that long ago.

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Overclock Your Nikon D300

Last modified on 2008-04-17 11:27:37 GMT. 8 comments. Top.

Don’t have the MB-D10 grip for your D300 but still want a taste of what 8 fps is like?  Try this secret trick to fool your D300 into shooting at 8 fps.

Warning: Using your camera in a manner other than that described by the manual could possibly damage your camera, void your warranty, or cause impotence.  Follow the steps described below at your own risk.

First, make the following custom setting adjustments:

• e5: Flash only
• e6: Flash only
• f4: Button press – Bracketing burst
• f4: Button + dials – Bracketing mode

Then set your camera to JPG or 12-bit RAW mode.  Set exposure manually.  Activate bracketing with the Fn + Command dial and set 9F (9 frames).  Set your shooting mode to single-shot (S).  Do not use flash.  Then hold the Fn button and when you are ready to shoot, press the shutter release and continue holding the Fn button.  The camera will fire up to 9 frames at 8 fps.

Don’t like relying on gimmicks?  Get your MB-D10 today!

To continue shooting after 9 frames, you will need to let up on the shutter release and depress it again.  If you fire fewer than 9 shots, you will only be able to shoot the remaining exposures in your 9-frame burst if you continue shooting again, without letting up on the shutter release again.

Since you have set auto bracketing to apply only to flash, your non-flash bracketing burst is fired at your manually set exposure — it is not  bracketed.[[63]]

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New D300 JPG Write Tests

Last modified on 2008-04-26 19:52:05 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I’ve reformulated my JPG performance tests, and re-tested more than a dozen cards.  The recommendations remain the same, with cards from SanDisk, Lexar, and PNY remaining the top performers, but the new rating scale does a better job, I believe, of differentiating JPG burst performance.

Deal Alert:

PNY Optima Pro UDMA 4GB CompactFlash — Just $59.99 with free shipping from Circuit City

PNY Optima Pro UDMA 2GB CompactFlash — Just $34.99 with free shipping from Circuit City

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Nikon D300 Battery Compatibility

Last modified on 2008-12-12 16:06:46 GMT. 13 comments. Top.

Lots of traffic on the Internet about the non-compatibility of aftermarket batteries in the D300, thanks to Nikon’s Department of Interfering with Competitiveness and Customer Screwing (DICCS).

Here’s what I know in terms of compatibility (√ works, X doesn’t work).  Listings in italics have not been verified by me personally.

D300 body:

√ Lenmar DLNEL3E (7.4V 1500mAh)
√ Phottix EN-EL3e repl “New Version” (7.4V 1600mAh)*
√ Adorama EN-EL3e repl “for Nikon D300″
√ Delkin EN-EL3e repl (7.4V 1600mAh)**
X  Adorama EN-EL3e repl “for Nikon D200, D80, D70s and D50″
X  Phottix EN-EL3e repl (7.4V 1600mAh)*

MB-D10 grip:

√ Lenmar DLNEL3E (7.4V 1500mAh) (w/ MS-D10EN)
√ Phottix EN-EL3e repl “New Version” (7.4V 1600mAh) (w/ MS-D10EN)*
√ Phottix Kosmo EN-EL4a+BL-3 repl (11.1v 2200mAh)***
√ Delkin EN-EL3e repl (7.4V 1600mAh) (w/ MS-D10EN)**
X  Lenmar DLNEL4 (11.1V 2000mAh) (works w/D2H)
X  Delkin EN-EL4 repl (11.1V 2000mAh) (works w/D2H)
X  Powersmart EN-EL4 repl (11.1V 1800-2000mAh)

*   The “New Version” Phottix batteries from eBay are compatible with the D300.  The seller (etefore) is still marketing the older, incompatible batteries as well, so be sure to read the auction description carefully for D300 compatibility information.
**  Delkin’s site claims compatibility but some users report otherwise.  I sent an inquiry to Delkin on April 5 and was told their battery product manager would get back to me, but to date I’ve heard nothing from them on the issue.  The Delkin EN-EL3e replacement I purchased direct in December of 2008 does work in my D300.
*** While marked as 2200mAh vs Nikon’s 1900mAh, I’ve found the Phottix Kosmo to be good for about 2,500 frames per charge against 5,000 frames for the Nikon original in very unscientific testing.

I can personally recommend the Lenmar DLNEL3E replacement batteries.  I’ve owned mine for about 18 months and have used them in the D300, D200, and D80 with no issues; they last longer than original Nikon EN-EL3e’s and are about $10 cheaper.

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D300 Does D3FF

Last modified on 2008-04-12 04:16:53 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

I took a pair of D300s to the NCAA Division III Final Four in Salem, Virginia, this weekend.

D300 w/MB-D10 & EN-EL4, 80-200/f2.8 AF-S, Auto ISO (2000), 1/500 @ f2.8 manual

What a great combination for almost effortlessly handling the fast action of college hoops together with the celebratory atmosphere of a championship tournament!  With a combination of lenses covering everything from 18mm to 300mm, I shot over 5,000 frames during four games and put many of the D300′s features to work.

Key again was the Secret D300 High-Speed Auto ISO Trick, which allowed me to set my shutter speed and aperture manually (typically 1/500 @ f2.8) and let the camera adjust the ISO in 1/6-stop increments to achieve perfect exposure.  I can emphasize how useful this feature was, not only for allowing me to cover action anywhere on the floor, but also for quickly switching to reaction shots of the crowd.  The 8 fps shooting speed of the MB-D10 & EN-EL4 combination was also very useful.

Support this site–buy your Nikon D300 via this link

10 frames @ 8 fps – 1/500 @ f2, ISO 400-640, Sigma 30/f1.4 

The sequence above shows how the AF system of the D300 is up to the challenge of following good college basketball – in this case, the passing and ball movement that characterizes top-tier Division III hoops.  This backdoor cut executed to perfection by Amherst College in the championship final was shot at 8 fps.  The focus in the 3rd frame, as #24 catches the pass, is slightly off – the defenders are in sharp focus – as I transition from the passing guard to the shooting player.  But the remaining frames are tack sharp where you’d expect them to be.  What’s more, ISO was continually adjusted, starting a 450, moving to 400 briefly, then up to 640 in several steps.  The sequence also illustrates the value of shooting with a wider lens like the Sigma 30/f1.4 – a longer lens could not have captured the nature of this play.  (See my old site for a comparison of the 30/f1.4 to the Nikon 50/f1.4 which it replaced in my camera bag.)

Support this site–buy your MB-D10 grip via this link

D300 w/Sigma 18-50/f2.8 HSM, 1/500 @ f2.8, ISO @ 2500 

At the end of the game, I was looking for something different from the usual “jube” shots the other dozen or so photographers would get from the floor, so I ran to the back of the Washington University student section where I captured this priceless image.  Knowing the D300 Auto ISO feature would handle the exposure, I kept my “game setting” of 1/500 @ f2.8 to give me a shallow depth of field while still freezing the frantic reactions of the joyful students.

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Secret D300 High-Speed Auto ISO Trick

Last modified on 2008-02-29 00:15:45 GMT. 31 comments. Top.

Somewhat by accident, I discovered a very powerful combination of settings on the D300 for shooting low-light sports action.

The secret: manual exposure mode in combination with Auto ISO (or what Nikon calls “ISO sensitivity auto control”).  This is a combination that does defy logic, in two ways.

First, Auto-ISO in combination with manual exposure is pretty counterintuitive (fellow photographer/writer Ken Rockwell calls it a ‘defect‘).  Back in the days of film, there wasn’t much to else to change when you set your aperture and shutter speed manually.  Sure, you could manually adjust your ISO, but you had to do it a roll at a time and push or pull process your film.  But allowing your digital SLR to adjust ISO based on lighting conditions while maintaining a constant shutter speed/aperture combination is a great feature for sports photography.

Second, Nikon only provides a “floor” shutter speed of 1/250 for Auto-ISO.  In program or aperture-priority mode, the D300 will start adjusting ISO at the minimum shutter speed set in the Shooting Menu for ISO auto sensitivity control.  This might make one think that shutter speeds of faster than 1/250 (more desirable for sports action) aren’t readily useable with Auto-ISO.  Au contraire!  The minimum shutter speed setting has no effect whatsoever in manual or shutter-priority modes, since shutter speeds do not vary in those modes.

Thus, I can happily set my D300 to, say, f1.8 and 1/320 in manual mode, and the camera will automatically fine-tune the ISO (in 1/6 steps, no less) to achieve optimal exposure.  At a recent basketball game, I could shoot anywhere on the floor or even into the crowd at automatically-adjusted ISO settings ranging from 800 to 2000, all while achieving perfect exposure at 1/320 and f1.8.

Consequently, I’ve added this very useful setting to my recommendations for shooting basketball and other fast-paced indoor sports.

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D300 RAW Burst Test

Last modified on 2010-06-06 15:40:59 GMT. 6 comments. Top.

After testing the Best UDMA CF Cards for the Nikon D300, which analyzed JPG burst performance, I thought I would take a look at RAW write performance.  The results contained a few surprises.

For this test, I fired off 3 bursts of 20 12-bit, lossless compressed RAW files, otherwise using the same settings from the earlier test.  The D300′s buffer can absorb 17 files under these conditions, so this is just enough of a test to begin to see major differences in write speeds.

Updated 6/6/2010: Added results for the SanDisk Ultra (200x).

Updated 4/12/10: Added results for the Delkin 625x CombatFlash, Hoodman RAW 675x, and Delkin 420x.

Updated 1/16/10: Added results for the Lexar Professional 600x, Trascend UDMA 400x, Super*Talent 600x & 533x, and Calumet ProSpec 420x.

Updated 12/26/09: Added results for the RiData 300x and A-Data 533x cards.

Updated 10/28/09: Added results for the SanDisk Extreme Pro and Extreme cards.

Updated 8/27/09: Added results for PhotoFast 533x Plus and 533x.

Updated 8/3/09: Added rating for Pretec 667x, Transcend Extreme Plus 600x.

Updated 4/2/09: Due to the switchover from MLC to SLC memory by many of the smaller card makers, I’ve readjusted the recommendations to reflect the new, generally faster speeds of many of the middle-of-the-pack cards.  The “Highly Recommended” class now truly stands out from the rest, and these are the first cards I personally put into my D300 and D300s.

Highly Recommended √+

• SanDisk Extreme Pro. The new king of SanDisk’s line, this card reached 6.7 fps with an effective throughput of 34 MB/sec.
• PhotoFast 533x Plus. This little-known card hit 6.7 effective fps with an impressive 31 MB/sec throughput.
• Lexar Professional 600x. Lexar’s current top-of-the-line card reached 6.7 effective fps and 31 MB/sec.
• San Disk Extreme Ducati Edition. This card initially topped the performance list with an effective 6.7 fps and nearly 29 MB/sec throughput.
• Transcend 600x Extreme Plus. This card equaled the Ducati, achieving 6.7 fps and almost 29 MB/sec throughput.  A real contender.
• San Disk Extreme IV Series. The two cards I tested – 8GB and 2GB – were just behind the Ducati and averaged an effective 6.3 fps and approximately 28 MB/sec.

Buy Extreme Pro Cards from Adorama: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
Buy Extreme Ducati Edition Cards from Adorama: 4GB, 8GB
Buy Extreme IV Cards from Adorama: 2 GB, 4GB, 8GB
Buy Lexar Pro 600x cards from Adorama: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
Transcend 600x 8GB Compact Flash (CF)Flash Card

Transcend 600x 16GB Compact Flash (CF)Flash Card

Recommended √

• Delkin 625x CombatFlash. 5.5 effective fps and a speedy 31 MB/sec throughput.
• Hoodman RAW 675x. 5.5 effective fps and 30 MB/sec transfer rate.
• Pretec 667x. Respectable 5.5 effective fps with a 25/MB sec transfer rate.
• Transcend 400x UDMA. Distinguishes itself from its 300x sibling with 5.5 effective fps and 25 MB/sec transfer rate.
• Sony UDMA 300x. This card fared somewhat better in RAW shooting than for JPG, coming in at 5.5 effective fps and 24 MB/sec.
• PhotoFast 533x. The standard version of the 533x performed well, with an effective fps rate of 5.5 and 24 MB/sec throughput.
• PNY Optima Pro. This card averaged an effective 5 fps and 24 MB/sec throughput.  Both the PNY and Extreme IV cards topped the performance charts for JPG burst shooting as well.
• Transcend 300x UDMA. Transcend’s 300x UDMA card hit an effective 5 fps and 24 MB/sec.
• Lexar Pro UDMA. The Lexar edged into the recommended performance tier for RAW shooting, with an effective 6 fps and 23 MB/sec throughput.
• Pretec 433x. Despite its official claim, this card doesn’t approach its listed speeds of 65 MB/sec read and 50 MB/sec write in real world testing.  It clocked 5.5 effective fps and 23 MB/sec.
• Hoodman RAW 300X. While a marked improvement over its 280X predecessor, this card only managed 5.5 effective fps and 23 MB/sec throughput in the burst test.
• SanDisk Extreme III 30MB/sec. The upgraded, UDMA-capable Extreme III series clocked in at an effective 5 fps and 23 MB/sec throughput.
• SanDisk Ultra 30 MB/sec. New entry-level card gets good marks at 5 fps effective and 23 MB/sec throughput.
• ATP Pro Max II UDMA. A pleasant surprise, the ATP card — an also-ran in JPG burst shooting – joins the RAW shooting journeymen with an effective 5 fps and 22 MB/sec throughput.
• Pretec 333x. Another also-ran in JPG shooting, the faster of Pretec’s original two UDMA models consistently recorded 5 fps and 22MB/sec in our RAW burst test.
• RiData 300x. 5 fps effective and 22 MB/sec earns RiData its first “Recommended” accolade.
• Lexar Professional 233x. Lexar’s most affordable UDMA card achieved a consistent 5 fps with 21 MB/sec throughput.
• A-Data Turbo 350x. More proof than manufacturer specs means little, this card reached a merely respectable 5 fps and 20 MB/sec throughput.  It’s much better than their “266x” card but not as good as 300x cards from Lexar and Transcend, either.

Delkin 625x (4GB)
Delkin 625x (8GB)
Delkin 625x (16GB)
Delkin 625x (32GB)

Buy the Hoodman 675x from Adorama: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB

Transcend 32GB Compact Flash (CF) 400X Flash Card
Transcend 300x 4GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card
Transcend 300x 8GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card
Transcend 300x 16GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card
Buy Lexar Pro UDMA 300x Cards from Adorama: 2 GB, 4GB, 8GB
Buy Sony UDMA 300x CF cards from Adorama: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB
Buy Extreme III Cards from Adorama: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
Buy Lexar Pro 233x Cards from Adorama: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB

Buy SanDisk 16GB Ultra CompactFlash at B&H

Marginal √-

• Super*Talent 600x & 533x. These cards turned in near-identical performance of around 4.5-5 fps and 16 MB/sec effective throughput.
• SanDisk Extreme. This so-called “60 MB/sec” card reached a measly 4 fps effective and 18 MB/sec throughput, earning this overpriced dog a spot on the Crap List.
• Kingston 266x Ultimate. The Kingston led a pack of cards whose performance was a bit disappointing, at just 4 fps effective and 14 MB/sec throughput.
• Ridata 266x Supreme. Ridata’s second effort reached 4 fps and 14 MB/sec throughput.
• Apacer Steno IV 300x. This entry hit 3.75 effective fps with 14 MB/sec throughput.
• Transcend 266x. Transcend’s faster UDMA card hit 3.75 effective fps and 13 MB/sec throughput.
• Delkin Pro UDMA 305x. Delkin’s card just topped 3.5 effective fps and nearly 12 MB/sec.
• A-Data Speedy 533x. A Crap List awardee due to its ridiculous label claims, this card reached just 3.3 fps effective and 12 MB/sec throughput.
• Hoodman RAW 280X. Hoodman’s card limped in at 3.3 effective fps and 11 MB/sec throughput.
• Calumet ProSpec 305x. This very likely re-badged card has mediocre specs of 3.3 effective fps and 11 MB/sec throughput.
• Calumet ProSpec 420x. Another re-badged “improvement,” it sucks even worse than its predecessor at 3.0 effective fps and 11 MB/sec, and made The Crap List.
• Delkin PRO UDMA 420x. Ugly 2.9 effective fps and 13 MB/sec throughput.  Belongs onThe Crap List with its twin the Calumet.
• BiWin 150-300x. This 16GB monster struggled to reach 2.9 effective fps and a 9 MB/sec throughput rate.
• A-Data Turbo 266x. A-Data was sucking wind at 2.7 fps and 11 MB/sec.

The ranks of the also-rans included the following sub-par performances: Pretec 233x (2.3 fps and 9 MB/sec), Ridata 233x Lightning (2.3 fps and 8 MB/sec), and Transcend 133x (1.7 fps and 6 MB/sec).  Two non-UDMA cards yielded the following results: Transcend’s 120x 2GB card hit 3.2 fps and 12 MB/sec, while the Kingston Elite Pro 133x 4GB card reached 2.2 fps and 8 MB/sec – quite respectable compared to some of the above UDMA cards.

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Camera Settings – Basketball (D300)

Last modified on 2009-11-21 01:22:26 GMT. 26 comments. Top.

To complement the article on the gear I pack for basketball season, here’s a rundown of the shooting and custom settings I use for that sport on my D300.

Only settings that differ from default are shown below; settings in bold, explanation in regular type:

Shooting Menu

• Quality: JPG Normal - Really more than enough quality; I find the D300′s out-of-camera JPGs are just about perfect.
• Image Size: L – Make every pixel count!
• JPEG Compression: Size Priority – I’ve found that the ‘Quality’ setting can affect high-speed shooting so I try to avoid it now.
• White Balance: Auto A2/M2 (varies by location, of course)
• Picture Control: Standard – I like this for sports, natural yet bright colors and decent skin tones.
  • Sharpening +6
  • Saturation +2
• Color Space: Adobe RGB – Of course, be sure to convert your images to the color space appropriate for your output medium; most often this will be sRGB.
• Active D-Lighting: Normal – Active D-Lighting is the bomb!
• High ISO NR: Off – In-camera NR is better than the D200′s “cartoonish” look, but I still prefer NeatImage for high-ISO images.
• ISO auto sensitivity control: On – Thanks to a Secret D300 High-Speed Auto ISO Trick, this is a very useful setting!  I allow ISO to float all the way up to 3200 depending on the lighting conditions.  Be careful about those lighted advertising panels that are found courtside in some venues; if they’re in the background, they will throw your metering off.

Custom Settings

• a3 Dynamic AF area: 21 points – I sometimes use 51 points.  It’s kind of a toss-up for basketball; the action is fast and unpredictable enough to warrant 51 points, but the number of bodies in close proximity can make 51 points problematic at times.
• d2 Viewfinder grid display: On
• d4 CL shooting speed: 1 fps – I use 1 fps shooting for strobes, White Lightning UZ1600′s set to quarter power.  Normally, I now use a D90 with strobes and shoot the D300′s with arena lighting.
• d10 MB-D10 battery type: FR6 – I keep a battery tray loaded with AA lithiums as a long-term backup power source.
• e1 Flash sync speed: 1/250 (Auto FP) – Gives me maximum flash flexibility.
• e2 Flash shutter speed: 1/30 – If I’m shooting shoe-mounted flash I will likely have a VR lens mounted (18-200).
• e7 Bracketing order: under/meter/over – It only makes sense…
• f1 Multi-selector center button
  • Shooting: Select center focus point – Especially with so many to choose from, I need to get back on center quickly!
  • Playback: Show histograms – I like my cameras to behave consistently with one another.
• f3 Photo info/playback: On – See above.
• f4 Assign FUNC. button: FV lock (button press) – Consistently use function button for this function.
• f9 No memory card: Lock – Yes, I’ve shot games with no card (or no film) in the camera, so I always set this function!

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Active D-Lighting on the Nikon D300

Last modified on 2008-01-14 04:15:12 GMT. 14 comments. Top.

I’ve been a big fan of Nikon’s D-Lighting technology, favoring it over Adobe’s Shadow/Highlight adjustment for more bringing out more natural-looking shadow detail.  With the D3 and D300, Nikon introduces a new technology called “Active D-Lighting,” which uses a new, on-the-fly approach to achieve a similar result.  How well does it work?

In a word, great.

Active D-Lighting: None on left, “Normal” on right

These shots, both of VMI’s Travis Holmes, were taken on the same night, on the same area of the court, albeit with different D300/lens combinations (the photo on left was shot with a Sigma 18-50/f2.8 HSM at 50mm, 1/400 @ f2.8, ISO 800; the photo on right with AF-Nikkor 85/f1.8D, 1/400 @ f1.8, ISO 400).

Nikon recommends setting Active D-Lighting to “Low” for high ISO images, and “High” for low ISO shots.  Here’s a comparison of the three settings, as well as Active D-Lighting turned “off,” with variations from the originally recorded setting of “Normal” made through Capture NX v1.3.

Clockwise from top left: Off, Low, High, Normal

These results compare favorably to improvements made in post-processing with the software-based D-Lighting adjustment in Nikon Capture:

D-Lighting: Off on left, strength “20″ on right

The value of the Active D-Lighting, of course, is that it is accomplished in-camera, and requires no additional post-processing.  This is great for my D300 workflow, as I have found that the out-of-camera images generally require no post-processing and I have begun to eliminate that step for the bulk of my images.

Clicking on each of the thumbnails above will bring you to a slightly larger (700 pixels high) version of each image.  If anyone feels the need to see the full-sized images, email me and I will send them to you.

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Best CF Cards for Nikon D300

Last modified on 2010-06-06 15:38:16 GMT. 29 comments. Top.

Nikon’s D300 was the first production DSLR to offer support for the higher transfer rates of UDMA-enabled Compact Flash cards.  While these cards — beginning with the San Disk Extreme IV series introduced in 2006 — have offered exceptionally high card-to-computer transfer rates (in an appropriate reader), only now are photographers able to take advantage of the incredible write speeds these cards offer with the D300 (also with the Nikon D3 and the Canon EOS 1Ds Mk III).  The results of my informal tests of more than a dozen cards are in, and the winner is…

Updated 6/6/2010: Added results for the SanDisk Ultra (200x).

Updated 4/12/2010: Added results for the Delkin 625x CombatFlash, Hoodman RAW 675x, and Delkin 420x.

Updated 1/16/10: Added results for Lexar Professional 600x, Transcend UDMA 400x, Super*Talent 600x & 533x, and Calumet ProSpec 420x.

Updated 12/26/09: Added results for the RiData 300x and A-Data 533x cards.

Updated 10/28/09: Added ratings for SanDisk Extreme Pro and Extreme.

Updated 8/27/09: Added ratings for PhotoFast 533x Plus and 533x.

Updated 8/3/09: Added rating for Pretec 667x, Transcend Extreme Plus 600x.

Updated 7/14/09: Added recommendations to top of All About CF page.

Updated 4/2/09: Tested Pretec’s 433x and Hoodman’s 300x cards.

Updated 2/15/09: Tested Sony’s UDMA 300x card.

Updated 12/20/08: Tested Lexar’s Professional 233x card.

Updated 11/6: Tested A-Data’s Turbo 350x and Calumet’s ProSpec 305x cards.

Updated 9/12/2008: Apacer’s Steno IV 4GB card claims speeds of 300x while SanDisk’s upgraded Extreme III 4GB boasts 30 MB/sec (205x) read/write speeds.

Updated 8/23/2008: BiWin’s $50 16GB UDMA card has claimed speeds of 150x (write) and 300x (read).

Updated 6/18/2008: Ridata introduces their 266x Supreme CF card, which improves their standing to marginal performance.

Updated 5/11/2008: The Transcend 300x UDMA CF card performs well in all phases of testing.  Transcend’s third UDMA card finally delivers!

Updated 4/5/2008: A reader with ties to the CF card industry reminded me of some fundamental truths about non-real-world ‘tests’ that should probably be reiterated here.  (In fact, those of you who were familiar with my earlier discussion of CF cards on the ‘old’ site will remember I specifically avoided the word ‘test’ in talking about these observations.)

Few laboratory measurements equate to real-world performance.  No photographer judges success by how many megabytes per second his CF card will read or write; success is getting the image on the card when you need it.  Consequently, I’ve developed a new testing regimen as well as a new ‘grading scale’ approach for JPG write speeds.  Simply speaking, I measure how many images a card can handle at 8 fps in a single burst before slowing down due to a full buffer.  I conducted measurements at both JPG-Fine and JPG-Normal, which give a camera-measured buffer of 26 and 37 frames, respectively.  Combining multiple measurements with a scale weighted toward JPG-Fine performance, I evaluate the tested cards as follows.  (Also see the RAW Burst Test article if you’re an NEF shooter.)

Grade: A (90+)

• SanDisk Extreme IV (8GB):  108
• SanDisk Extreme Pro (16GB): 106
• SanDisk Extreme Ducati Edition (4GB):  104
• SanDisk Extreme IV (2GB): 100
• Lexar Pro 600x (8GB): 98
• Transcend 600x Extreme Plus (8GB): 98
• Hoodman RAW 675x (4GB): 98
• PhotoFast 533x Plus (16GB): 96
• Delkin 625x (4GB): 96

Grade: B (80-89)

• Lexar Pro 300x UDMA (4GB): 89
• Transcend 300x UDMA (4GB): 89
• PhotoFast 533x (32GB): 89
• Transcend 400x UDMA (8GB): 88
• Pretec 667x (8GB): 87
• SanDisk Ultra 30 MB/sec (8GB): 87
• SanDisk Extreme III 30 MB/sec (4GB): 86
• ATP Pro Max II UDMA (4GB): 84
• Sony UDMA 300x (4GB): 84
• Pretec 433x (8GB): 84
• PNY Optima Pro UDMA (2GB): 82
• PNY Optima Pro UDMA (4GB): 82

Grade: C (70-79)

• Hoodman RAW 300X (2GB): 78
• Pretec 333x (2GB): 74
• RiData 300x (4GB): 74
• Lexar Professional 233x (2GB): 72
• A-Data Turbo 350x: 71
• SanDisk Extreme (8GB): 70

Grade: D (60-69)

• Super*Talent 600x (8GB): 66
• Super*Talent 533x (8GB): 65
• Kingston 266x Ultimate (2GB): 64
• Transcend 266x (2GB): 63
• Ridata 266x Supreme (4GB): 62
• Apacer Steno IV 300x (4GB): 62
• BiWin 16GB 150-300x (16GB): 60
• A-DATA Turbo 266x (4GB): 60
• Delkin CF PRO UDMA (2GB): 60
• Delkin CF Pro UDMA 420x (8GB): 60

Grade: F (below 60)

• Hoodman RAW 280x (2GB): 59
• A-Data Speedy 533x (16GB): 59
• Calumet ProSpec 420x (8GB): 59
• Calumet ProSpec 305x (2GB): 56
• Ridata 233x Lightning (4GB): 55
• Pretec 233x (4GB): 52
• Transcend 133x (2GB): 51

For comparison, some non-UDMA cards tested included the Transcend 120x (2GB) with a score of 64, the Kingston Elite Pro 133x (4GB) which scored 53, and the A-DATA Speedy (2GB) which limped in with a score of 50.

Buy Extreme Pro Cards from Adorama: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
Buy SanDisk Extreme IV Cards from Adorama: 2 GB, 4GB, 8GB
Buy SanDisk 16GB Ultra CompactFlash at B&H

Buy Lexar Pro 600x cards from Adorama: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB
Buy Lexar Pro UDMA 300x Cards from Adorama: 2 GB, 4GB, 8GB
Buy Lexar Pro 233x Cards from Adorama: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB

Buy Sony UDMA 300x CF cards from Adorama: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB
Buy the Hoodman 675x from Adorama: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB

Delkin 625x (4GB)
Delkin 625x (8GB)
Delkin 625x (16GB)
Delkin 625x (32GB)

Transcend 600x 8GB Compact Flash (CF)Flash Card
Transcend 600x 16GB Compact Flash (CF)Flash Card

Transcend 16GB Compact Flash (CF) 400X Flash Card
Transcend 32GB Compact Flash (CF) 400X Flash Card
Transcend 64GB Compact Flash (CF) 400X Flash Card

Transcend 300x 4GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card
Transcend 300x 8GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card
Transcend 300x 16GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card