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I hope you can help me with troubleshooting this issue.

In an effort to better understand my camera (I know, I know, I'm buying a book soon but I need this problem solved ASAP) I started messing around when the Menu settings and now when I press down my shutter, it takes the picture VERY slowly. I only shoot in manual mode and no matter if the shutter speed is 60 or 8,000 - the shutter release is extremely slow. When I change the aperture and ISO settings or even my lens, it still has the same problem.

I have my camera on the Continuous Low setting but it still take pictures slowly. Changing it to Continuous High doesn't change anything either.

I'd like to troubleshoot further before I bring it into a camera shop because I'm almost positive this is an operator error. Any suggestions? Thank you so much!!

Additional info: Typically when I am in Continuous Low or Continuous High modes and I hold the shutter down, it rapidly takes multiple photos. Now, when I am in either mode, it takes about 1 second to take one photo and it has a slight delay to take the next photo. It is slow from shutter open to shutter close, about 1 second. Before I messed with the Menu settings, it took photos in a fraction of a second

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  • \$\begingroup\$ By the way, the photos do not turn out overexposed or blurry and the timer is NOT on. Thank you! \$\endgroup\$
    – user29515
    Jun 8, 2014 at 17:56
  • \$\begingroup\$ Are you by chance in Bulb mode? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Jun 8, 2014 at 17:59
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    \$\begingroup\$ What does "slow" mean? Is it the time between when you fully press the shutter button and when the shutter opens? Does the viewfinder black out as soon as you press the shutter release? \$\endgroup\$
    – Dan Wolfgang
    Jun 8, 2014 at 19:52
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    \$\begingroup\$ I second @DanWolfgang's question. Please describe what IS slow exactly. From shutter button to focus? From focus lock to shutter open? From shutter open to shutter close? From shutter close to file write completed on card? From file write completed to preview ready? Alternatively: just make a video recording of the camera taking a picture, possibly recording the sounds as well (put the mike on the camera, close to the lens and camera body). \$\endgroup\$
    – TFuto
    Jun 8, 2014 at 20:00
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    \$\begingroup\$ @DanWolfgang Typically when I am in Continuous Low or Continuous High modes and I hold the shutter down, it rapidly takes multiple photos. Now, when I am in either mode, it takes about 1 second to take one photo and it has a slight delay to take the next photo. It is slow from shutter open to shutter close, about 1 second. Before I messed with the Menu settings, it took photos in a fraction of a second. \$\endgroup\$
    – user29515
    Jun 8, 2014 at 21:29

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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The first step I would take if you are not sure what all you have changed is to restore the factory default settings.

Note that with the D300 it takes several operations to restore all settings to default.

  • Two Button Reset Hold the Quality and the +/- button down simultaneously for over two seconds. (See page 182 of the D300 User Manual)

  • Reset Shooting Menu (p.257 of the User Manual)

  • Custom Setting Bank (p.266 of the User Manual)

What settings are restored by each of the above operations is outlined on pages 400-403 of the D300 User Manual.

I suspect Custom Setting d9, covered in detail on page 285 of the User Manual, is the culprit in your case. Changing Exposure Delay Mode from On to Off should solve the problem.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ The exposure delay mode is already off. I tried turning it on and then off again and the shutter open to shutter close still takes about 1 second (in continuous high or continuous low modes) as opposed to a fraction of a second like it used to before I messed with the Menu settings. I did the "two button set" and reset the shooting menu and custom setting bank like you said. I followed the instructions in the the user manual and I still have the problem. Any other suggestions? \$\endgroup\$
    – user29515
    Jun 8, 2014 at 21:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ What does the EXIF info for the resulting photos give as the shutter speed? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Jun 8, 2014 at 21:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ Have you tried setting the focus mode to manual focus and see if the problem is still present? Have you tried using a different lens? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Jun 8, 2014 at 21:48
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I've had the same problem on 2 different D300's and I think I've finally figured it out. Its 14-bit RAW mode! Switch back to 12-bit and see if that works. The only other thing I had previously suspected was and old battery that didn't carry the full voltage anymore. That may have still be the case in one instance.

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Two other possibilities are mirror lockup (Mup on the shutter release dial) and quiet/silent mode.

With the mirror lockup, one press raises the mirror, a second press takes the shot.

With silent mode, holding down the shutter release takes the shot, but delays returning the mirror until you release the button.

Unlikely to be these however, since you have tried Continuous Low and High, and I believe those are all on the same dial.

So from the sounds of it your issue is either the timer, or Michael's suggestion of the exposure delay mode which seems to give you a 1 second fixed delay.

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