2 of the settings I most highly anticipated on the D5300 are the options to configure back button focusing, and to force the shot on shutter regardless of focus. The D3100 did not have these options, and I can't begin to relate the frustration I felt from the D3100 refusing to take a shot because *it* did not think the shot was in focus.

That is no longer an issue for me with the D5300, and these were pretty near the first 2 settings I configured upon getting the camera. Seriously... I literally put the battery in and hunted these settings down.

First Setting: Back Button Focusing.

Back button focusing is really handy for when you want to focus a shot, re-adjust your composition, and then take a shot based off the original focus. The camera does not label the option as back button focusing, though. So, it does take a little familiarity to find the option.

The option is found in the "Custom Settings Menu" under the Controls subsection. Set the use of the AE-L/AF-L button to "AF-ON." This will tell the camera to use the AE-L/AF-L button on the back of the camera as your auto-focus control. Once that is setup, pressing the shutter 1/2 way down will no longer initiate the auto-focus on the camera.

(As a side note, if you are use to how the D3100 applied the left and right motion of the scroll wheel, and everything is reversed on the D5300. Then, setting option f5 to "+o-" will help immensely.)

The Second Setting: Forcing the camera to take the shot when you press the Shutter Button.

This was the setting I was most dying for... This was the one I almost jumped out of my chair for when I was finally able to set it. This is the setting that sets what the camera prioritizes before it allows a shot to be taken.

This is also under the "Custom Settings Menu" but is under subsection a Autofocus. It is the highlighted item in the picture: a1 AF-C priority selection. Set that to "Release" and every time you press the shutter button, the camera will take the picture. No more fighting autofocus!!!!!!