Jim Church's Essential Guide to Nikonos Systems [Paperback]

Jim Church (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 29, 1994

Jim Church, noted pioneer takes you beyond Nikonos V, RS owner's manuals for great underwater photos.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The guru ...has done it again! No Nikonos user should be without this book--it's the underwater photographer's bible! -- Skin Diver

About the Author

Jim Church is one of the pioneers of modern underwater photography. Many of today's professionals got started with a camera in one hand, and Jim's articles and books in the other. Jim's articles and photographs have appeared hundreds of times during the past 40 years in photography, travel and dive magazines, newspapers and books. He is the author of eight previous books on underwater photography. Jim is a co-recipient of the NOGI Award for the Arts for his contribution to underwater photography. He resides in Miami Lakes, Florida.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Aqua Quest Publications (December 29, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881652041
• ISBN-13: 978-1881652045
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #890,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Room for a lot of improvement, but still essential, June 11, 2001

By 

John H. Henderson (Las Cruces, NM, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jim Church's Essential Guide to Nikonos Systems (Paperback)

My first reaction when opening this book was that it was light on text. Not necessarily bad if it says what it needs to succinctly. Unfortunately, this book didn't do that. Procedures could be explained more clearly, and could be illustrated with more and better figures and photographs. This semi-pro photographer often found himself reading a procedure and saying, "huh?" "Change the f-stop which way?" The advanced photographer will gloss over reading the description of f-stops and shutter speeds while the novice will be left befuddled. The book leans toward giving recipes for a situation rather than trying to teach an understanding of photography.

More explanation and pictures could be given of the equipment and configuration. A new underwater photographer with a camera is overwhelmed by the array of arms and attachments, but there is one paragraph on arms and brackets that basically says, "Get the best," without as much as figure to show how one looks or attaches to the camera. Then you get descriptions such as "attach the strobe arm so it tilts toward the camera body." Tilt in what plane? What does a strobe arm look like?

There are statement and procedures that seem odd to an experienced photographer. It is suggested that manual strobe exposure, which is typically only dependent of distance and f-stop, is also a function of subject brightness. The procedure for using TTL flash starts with looking up the flash distance for a full-power manual flash to set the f-stop. If you're going to do that, you might as well not use TTL (although this method does maximize depth of field, but, of course, this is not explained.) The TTL electronics are then used as little more than a proper exposure indication, and if you don't get a proper exposure with your camera set to the edge of the exposure range, you're to burn more film at another f-stop until it works.

This books focuses on the Nikonos V and the now-discontinued RS. Even though the author considers the IVA to be "a dud," the III and IVA are still viable cameras that a beginner, the audience for this book, is likely to have because of the lower procurement cost. (Currently on eBay, a V with 35mm lens runs about $475 while a IVA with the same lens is about $250.) An appendix on the features, and how operating and maintenance differ for these models, would be very useful. Church has written on these models in previous editions, so it shouldn't be difficult.

So, what is good about this book? The color photographs are very good, but are more of result examples than actually showing the equipment, but are inspirational. The guidelines on positioning strobes and estimating distances is invaluable, as are the maintenance sections. If you bought a used Nikonos without a manual, note that Craig Camera sells the manuals for a IVA for $20 while the book currently retails on-line for less than that. If you're trying to decide between the two, I'd get this book. This book also seems to be considered by many to be the definitive guide to Nikonos photography, and my search shows few, if any, other underwater photography books dedicated to this one line of cameras. So, like the title says, even though I feel that there is a LOT of room for improvement, this book may be, indeed, essential for the Nikonos beginner.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book that is a must have for any nikonos owner., May 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jim Church's Essential Guide to Nikonos Systems (Paperback)

This book is great for people who are new to underwater pictures. He starts out slow, but while newbies might find that some parts are too hard to understand, old users will feel right at home. After the middle of the book everything makes sense, and the book really does help. I promise.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It really is essential, November 30, 2003

By 

Jack Hall (Central California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jim Church's Essential Guide to Nikonos Systems (Paperback)

Jim Church is the true professor of underwater photography. His book is comprehensive and fairly clear. His approach is almost too analytical at times. I would have liked more photos and text explaining what he did and why and how it worked out, although he did offer quite a number of photo examples. His tips on strobe useage and his "secret guide to strobe exposures" alone are worth the price of the book. For a looser and more intuitive approach, read http://scubadiving.com/photo/instruction/.
this is an addition to, not a replacement for Church's book.
Overall, I would give the book an A- with about half of it worthy of an A+ and the remainder a solid B to B+.
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