Nikon D300 Slow Shutter Regardless of Shutter Speed?

Hi! 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 As soon as possible) 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?

I have owned a D300 since they were introduced in 2007 and have never had the problem you describe.

What you are describing sounds like you have moved the shooting mode into the self-timer position and when you press the shutter release, you have to wait for a certain period of time before the shutter actually opens.

If the shutter was staying open all that long, you exposures would be grossly over exposed.

Look on page 3 of your user manual and you will see a ring, number 1 in the illustration and on page 74, there's a list of optional release modes.

Read those pages and you may solve your problem.

After you have things sorted out, spend a few evenings with your camera in one hand and the user manual in the other, learning how to control your camera. Until you do, you may become frustrated and decide to start a different hobby

When you say, "it takes the picture VERY slowly." It could mean a long delay before the shutter actuates, the shutter is open a long time, or even it takes a long time after the picture is taken before another can be taken. Assuming it is the delay between pressing the shutter release and the shutter being actuated, then take it out of Self-timer mode.