When surgery was required on my right hand, I had to come up with a camera I could use with my left hand. Cameras are made for use with the right hand, so a pistol grip with a remote release was required. I already owned the vintage Nikon pistol grip and liked the quality construction and ergonomic feel of it. The original microswitch was replaced with a modern 2-position microswitch that functions just like the camera's 2-position release; it is connected to the D300 body with a factory made remote release cord designed for use with the D300, D800 and some other Nikon DSLRs. A secure mount was required. A custom Arca-Swiss compatible baseplate for the camera and a custom Arca-Swiss compatible clamp for the pistol grip were added. The Arca-Swiss compatible baseplate was made 2" wide in order to fit a ballhead with a 2" wide Arca-Swiss compatible clamp that I also use. For $600 you get all illustrated below. I am also offering to sell the camera body and basic accessories by itself. I am offering to sell the handgrip, etc. by itself. I am offering to sell the magnifying viewer, etc. by itself.

The legitimately imported USA version D300 camera body was purchased new by me from Jack's Camera in Muncie, IN. The new price was $1799.95 on 11/21/07. You will get a copy of the original invoice. At my suggested price of $350, it is still a very good camera today. The camera comes with the original box with all the original accessories that came with it new except for the rear LCD protective plastic. You do get the Hoodman protective LCD cover instead. You also get an accessory eyepiece hood and an 128mb compact flash card. The other items that came with the camera new include the original battery, battery charger, camera-to-computer cord, camera-to-video cord, body cap, eyepiece cap, user's manuals and quick start guides in English and Spanish, and a Nikon software suite CD-ROM, all in the original box. The accessory shutter release rubber dot is included. I found that rubber dot not just helpful, but necessary in reliably finding the shutter release by feel. The rubber dot may be removed. The camera has less than 53,000 shutter actuations. The shutter has an expected life of 150,000 shutter actuations. The camera has not been dropped or banged around. The camera is working perfectly. I have a LENSPEN SENSORKLEAR LOUPE KIT and I will inspect and, if necessary, clean the CCD before shipping out. The camera has a built-in sensor cleaning feature and many other great features. That information is readily available online from Nikon, etc., and that is why I have not taken space here for that info. If you are here you already know you want a D300.

My hand has recovered from surgery and the rehab process, so I do not need the pistol grip anymore. The pistol grip with all the hardware to couple it to the D300 camera is available by itself at my suggested price of $200. The pistol grip is also quite useful for following the subject with a super long telephoto lens mounted on a gimbal head like the Wimberley. The pistol grip works equally well for right-handed photographers. Do not buy it if you do not like attention; people think it looks cool and will ask you where they can get one. The pistol grip should fit any camera with an Arca-Swiss compatible baseplate. That is a 10-pin connecting cord that will fit the D300, D800 and some other Nikon DSLRs. Connecting cords for virtually any modern DSLR are available. Being custom made, both the baseplate and the clamp are minimalist, i.e., they are as small and lightweight as possible. Custom made accessories do not come cheaply. Just finding someone competent enough and willing to make them is a big deal.

I believe strongly in using the LCD to check my images for perfection. The careful photographer verifies that he has the image he needs before he leaves the scene. You can only do that if you can see the image as well as you can with this extraneous light blocking magnifier. This focusing magnifier was made out of a quality professional video camera eyepiece. It neatly fits into the Hoodman LCD protector with the folding hood removed. The magnifier comes with a cord in case you want to wear it around your neck. The focusing magnifier with the neck cord and the Hoodman LCD protector is available by itself at my suggested price of $150. The focusing magnifier is useful with virtually any LCD. It was sized to fit neatly within the Hoodman for the D300. It may not fit as neatly with a Hoodman designed for another camera. It may not cover the full LCD of a camera with a larger LCD. The Hoodman LCD protector is not likely to fit another camera. If you cannot use the Hoodman LCD protector please leave it with me for use by the person who buys my D300.