To be fair the only time my camera goes into Program mode is if I forget to change it. I'm well aware that I'm asking a lot of the camera's metering in the picture above, which is why I prefer to select my own settings and relevant compensation needed. I don't usually miss a shot altogether.
The shot was taken in RAW and no way can I get back the blown highlights. On this particular occasion I was not chimping (looking at my shots) because I was pre-ocupied with showing Caroline how to use her camera (I know - I should learn mine first!
) and didn't realise it was in program mode until the next location - my bad. Oh well, lesson learned...
Oh and Sam, there has been some discussion of this on Photo.net. I honestly think that the D300 is very poor in Program mode, as shot's taken in normal light with no definite highlights are still underexposed too often for my (and apparently a number of others) liking.