Thanks everyone that has responded to my request for assistance. I'm blown away by the sheer number of you that took the time to give me some really great suggestions. I went ahead and ordered a neoprene camera cover which stated it would fit a D300 with battery pack like mine along with a medium length zoom and I've sent Cotton Carrier a note concerning mounting my camera with battery pack to their system. Someone on Amazon had stated there was a problem with his camera/battery pack working with the system he bought and he had to get another fitting from them to make it work, not really sure what was the problem he experienced with the fit-up of the basic system to his camera. Again many thanks to all who took the time to comment. This is a fantastic forum and I'm looking forward to spending time here in the future.

I will check out the Zing neoprene cases and as far as the lenses, all of mine have the metal mounts so I guess I'm good to go in that department.

Thanks guys for the timely responses. I think I'm okay on my current lens collection, I've got all Nikons and they are the 70-300, 18-70 as well as the 28-105 which is my primary one that I generally use. I also purchased the extra battery pack (MB-D10) with my camera which will come in handy as a multi-power source and will extend the use of my camera while hiking. I'll be sure to check out the binocular harness as a possible fix for carrying the camera which may well work with my daypacks as well as my backpack. I'll probably look for a camera case that is shaped to fit my camera which will provide some protection for the lens and body while I'm hiking. I have a Lowepro photo backpack but it's to big to carry inside my packs I use for hiking so I've ordered a smaller Nikon carrying case which won't hold all of my gear like my photo backpack but it will carry my essentials. Thanks again for helping me care for my camera on the trail with your excellent suggestions.

Thanks for the info about the rainsleeves, I've never seen one before. Also how would you attach a heavy body camera like the D300 to your chest or hip without it bouncing around while hiking but still be available as you mentioned to capture the moment?

Hi Dennis,

In '07 I went from my Nikon film camera to the D300 (the best I could afford at the time) but other than using it indoors for several family weddings, the usual grandkid shots as they were growing up and family get-togethers I've never really used it very much, all of the different settings sort of intimated I guess. As much time as I spend on the hiking trails I thought about pulling it out of storage and using it in place of my point & shoot that had served me pretty well in the backcountry. I was just concerned that using it in that type of outdoors setting might hasten its' demise with the sensitive electronics unless I took extra precautions (not exactly sure what those would be specifically). I also haven't spent a lot of time on the variety of menu settings that it has, for the time being I would assume setting it on the default auto settings would be best for me unless there are some common settings that would suffice under most daylight outdoor conditions without my having to take a photography class. Most of my pics will be concentrating on waterfalls and panoramic or vista type of settings. I know the basics as far as using shutter speed to stop action or slow the shutter speed as with the water flow to give it the silky look and the aperture setting to alter my depth of field but after that my knowledge fades out. Any advice as to sticking with the auto settings or trying to go manual as well as keeping it trouble free would be appreciated.

I'm from in and around the mountains of S.E. Tennessee. I've had my Nikon D300 for a number of years but used it very little until just recently now that I'm retired. My main passion is hiking and backpacking so I thought that with normal precautions I could let my D300 accompany me and get some better shots than my Sony Point & Shoot would provide. Anyone else still use a D300 on these forums that could give me some advice on taking pictures while on my treks?