David Busch's Nikon D3s/D3x Guide to Digital SLR Photography [Paperback]

David D. Busch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2010 | ISBN-10: 1435454340 | ISBN-13: 978-1435454347 | Edition: 1

After upgrading to the Nikon D3/D3x, "David Busch's Nikon D3/D3x Guide to Digital SLR Photography" will help you maximize your experience with your new camera. This book provides a complete overview of the long list of features included with the Nikon D3/D3x in a clear and concise way, cutting through the confusion that can come from a thick, densely-worded owner's manual. This guide explains the purpose and function of the Nikon D3/D3X's basic controls, how to use them, and why. It includes concise explanations of file formats, resolution, aperture/priority exposure, and special autofocus modes as well as focus zones, Bokeh, flash synchronization options, how to choose zoom settings, and exposure modes. Concepts are summarized into well-organized chapters with plenty of full-color illustrations showing what results will look like. "David Busch's Nikon D3/D3x Guide to Digital SLR Photography" will help users make the most out of their new digital camera.

Product Details

• Paperback: 547 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (March 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1435454340
• ISBN-13: 978-1435454347
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With nearly 1.5 million books in print, David D. Busch is the world's #1 selling author of camera-specific guidebooks, and the originator of popular series like David Busch's Pro Secrets, David Busch's Compact Field Guides, David Busch's Guides to Digital SLR Photography, and David Busch's Quick Snap Guides.

Most of his hugely successful books for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, and Panasonic digital cameras are the top-selling guidebooks for their respective camera models. His advice has been featured on NPR's "All Tech Considered."

Busch's dozens of other books devoted to digital photography include David Busch's Digital Infrared Pro Secrets and Mastering Digital SLR Photography. As a roving photojournalist for more than 20 years, he has illustrated his books, magazine articles, and newspaper reports with award-winning images. Busch has operated his own commercial studio, suffocated in formal dress while shooting weddings-for-hire, and shot sports for a daily newspaper and upstate New York college. His photographs and articles have been published in magazines as diverse as PhotoGraphic, Popular Photography & Imaging, The Rangefinder, The Professional Photographer, and hundreds of other publications. He's also reviewed digital cameras for CNet Networks and Computer Shopper.

As a writer, photographer, and contributing editor for ten magazines, he has more than 130 books and 2500 articles to his credit. A PR consultant for Eastman Kodak Company's photography divisions for nearly 20 years, Busch has published photography articles under his by-line in Popular Photography & Imaging, PhotoGraphic, The Rangefinder, The Professional Photographer and other photo magazines. His photos have appeared on the covers of magazines, and in both print and television advertising.

The graduate of Kent State University operated his own photo studio and was a principal in CCS/PR, Inc., one of the largest public relations firms based in San Diego, working on press conferences, press kits, media tours, and sponsored photo trade magazine articles. In addition to Kodak, CCS photography clients included Hewlett-Packard. He sold his interest in CCS in 1992 to become a full-time author, photographer, and reporter.

Since then, Busch has become one of the leading photojournalist/authors in the United States. He has had as many as five books appear simultaneously in the Amazon.com Top 25 Digital Photography Books, and when Michael Carr of About.com named the top five digital photography books for beginners, the #1 and #2 choices were his Digital Photography All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies and Mastering Digital Photography. Several of his digital imaging books have sold in excess of 50,000 copies.

Busch was a featured guest speaking on digital photography on Toronto's Breakfast Television show in 2005, was the keynote speaker at the Dayton Computerfest, and has been a call-in guest for 22 different radio shows nationally and in major markets, including WTOP-AM (Washington), KYW-AM (Philadelphia), USA Network (Daybreak USA), WPHM-AM (Detroit), KMJE-FM (Sacramento), CJAD-AM (Montreal), WBIX-AM (Boston), ABC Radio Network (Jonathan & Mary Show).

His work has been translated into Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Bulgarian, German, Italian, French, and other languages. his web site is http://www.dbusch.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Guide Worthy of the Nikon D3s and D3x!, March 8, 2010

By 

D. Thoris - See all my reviews

This review is from: David Busch's Nikon D3s/D3x Guide to Digital SLR Photography (Paperback)

I was not disappointed with this massive introduction to the Nikon D3s and D3x digital SLR cameras. It is packed with tips and sage advice, which the author says he collected from using the original Nikon D3, D3x, and, now, the D3s starting the first week each of these cameras were introduced. Although the emphasis is on the D3s and to a lesser extent the D3x, everything in the book applies to the D3 as well. If you own one of the older, less comprehensive books you can definitely benefit from the latest information Busch's book offers.

I have found that the other popular guides do a minimalist but adequate job with entry level cameras, but have been skeptical that any of those "expanded" user manuals would have anything to offer to the owner of an advanced camera like the Nikon D3 pro series. I was delighted to discover that this book goes well beyond the introductory level, and provides solid guidance in getting the most from these cameras. Some of the tips are simple, such as what to do with the annoying rubber cover that "protects" the PC and 10-pin connectors, why you need to use the USB cable clip, and, finally, an actual use for the command lock button! Other sections describe how to use the D3/D3s/D3x as a personal storage device when traveling, a $50 WiFi add-on that works only with the D3x, and some uses for GPS. The first 235 pages of the book are devoted to telling you how to use every single control and menu option, and when and why to use every choice. Newbies and veteran photographers alike will appreciate this part of the book, illustrated with large full-color photos.

This book works on several levels. Those who aren't gearheads can just absorb the clearly outlined explanations of exposure, selecting the best Nikon lenses, and using features like D-Movie. But Busch also covers topics that are totally ignored in the typical camera guide. He devotes a full chapter to dissecting the Multi-CAM 3500FX autofocus system, explaining how it works and showing you how to select the best AF options for particular types of shooting, including "pro secrets" like trap focus. For the technically minded, no other book includes an explanation of diffraction limitation on resolution and comparison of this effect between FX and DX sensors. If you're interested, an appendix includes simplied discussions of angle of incidence, pixel density, and other topics.

All in all, this is a rich treasure trove of information for the Nikon D3, D3s, or D3x user. Nikon's most advanced cameras deserve a guide this good.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only guide to the D3-series cameras you'll ever need, March 9, 2010

By 

B. Paz - See all my reviews

This review is from: David Busch's Nikon D3s/D3x Guide to Digital SLR Photography (Paperback)

In this masterful guidebook, David Busch offers the depth and Nikon insight of a Thom Hogan with the friendly, no-nonsense style of Scott Kelby. The result is a thick compendium of everything you need to know about the Nikon D3, D3s, and D3x cameras. This is the first manual available to cover the D3s and the D3x, and Busch clearly differentiates between the two with techniques that are aptly suited to these fundamentally similar, but different Nikon cameras.

Counting the 30 page introduction, two appendixes, and a comprehensive index, this book weighs in at nearly 580 full-size pages, roughly double the amount of information you'll find in the compact guidebooks. It's all meat, too. Busch devotes 100 pages to the first two chapters, designed to get you up and running with your D3 camera efficiently, including detailed roadmap illustrations that show the function of every control on the cameras. (There are separate photos of the D3s and D3/D3x, which differ slightly.) He then digs in with three separate chapters, amounting to 213 pages, that describe in detail each of the Playback, Shooting, Custom, Setup, and other menus.

Other chapters are devoted to Understanding Exposure (and getting the most from the cameras' 3D color matrix metering system), mastering autofocus options, and advanced shooting techniques, including movie-making (with the D3s only.) Anyone who has tried to keep up with all the lens options available for Nikon cameras will appreciate the full chapter that evaluates the author's experiences with most of the lenses in the Nikon line, past and present. The lighting chapter provides an excellent introduction to Nikon's CLS system.

You'd think that owners of a pro-level camera like the D3s or D3x would not need such a detailed guidebook, but Busch's comprehensive examination of these cameras and their capabilities should please anyone at any experience or skill level. I learned a lot, and you will, too.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete Guide to Nikon D3 Series Cameras, March 14, 2010

By 

Western Photo Reviews (Rochester) - See all my reviews

This review is from: David Busch's Nikon D3s/D3x Guide to Digital SLR Photography (Paperback)

If you've shelled out the money for one of Nikon's top-of-the-line pro D-SLRs, an investment in this book is a small price to pay to insure that you have the latest and most authoritative information on how to use your camera. Obviously, anyone with $5000 to $8000 to spend on a camera is most likely not a beginner, and Busch recognizes that in including much more advanced and detailed information in this book than you'll find in any of his other best-selling guidebooks(excepting his manuals for the Nikon D700 and D300s models.) Yet, even with the depth you'll find here, the author maintains his friendly tone and clear instructions. You'll feel as if Busch is there at your side, a shooting compatriot with both shared experiences and unique insight, offering tips on how to use each feature, and why you might want to use an option that is less understood.

For example, the very first chapter includes a section called "Changing Default Settings." Busch first shows you how to reset options to the factory defaults (he outlines four different levels of reset; a differentiation not pointed out in most guidebooks), then explains eight recommended changes from the defaults for both the Shooting Menu and Custom Setting Menu. If you purchased one of these cameras, and have changed only a few preferences, this section will be a real eye-opener for you.

Later in the book, you'll find 13 pages of tables listing every Shooting Menu and Custom Menu option, with Busch's personal recommendations for settings for Basic, Studio Flash, Portrait, Long Exposure, Sports Indoors, Sports Outdoors, Landscape, and Bracketing shooting situations. If any of these are your favorites, you can easily define your Shooting and Custom Banks to use the author's settings as a starting point, and then fine tune them to suit your exact needs. This is the sort of information that advanced amateurs, working pros, and wanna-be's need to refine and improve their use of these sophisticated cameras.

Busch addresses all the sticky points that cause confusion, even among veteran Nikon users. He clears up the mysteries of autofocus, with a full chapter devoted to the topic; there's a chapter explaining lens choices, including evaluations based on the author's own work with classic lenses like the 14-24mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, and 70-200mm f/2.8. (He even compares the "old" and "new" versions of the two latter models.) The lighting chapter, with a great deal of detail about Nikon CLS, has some interesting details on avoiding potential sync problems, including diagrams of how shutters operate.

We found this to be a refreshing and enjoyable look at Nikon's flagship digital cameras, and were pleased that the author took the time and pages to explain everything fully.