Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

Having struggled to wrap my head around Nikon's instruction manual (with little success), this book was quite a relief. Well written and illustrated, Busch presents the D3 series with clarity and in a sequence that is logical and easy to understand.
I purchased the Kindle edition for the iPad- it looks beautiful in full color and is easy to navigate.

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.

The book is comprehensive, language is simple and to the point: excellent tool to understand a very sophisticated state of the art camera: NIkon D3x. Would recommend to photographers wanting to upgrade their understanding of new features.

If you are anything more than a beginner, this is a reference book, and not a book that you will sit down and read, because there is soooo much basic information. As I was reading it and getting irritated about all this entry level stuff, i.e. explaining that ISO controls how easily the sensor responds to light, I realized it must be difficult to bring up a term that someone might not know without explaining it. But it still gets old and boring.

On page 21 he says if you have the cards set to store Raw in slot 1, and JPEG in slot 2, and you don't have a card in slot 1, the camera simply won't record the Raw images. I don't know about his camera, but that is not the case with mine. I discovered it by accident. I had taken my Raw card out to download the night before, gotten distracted, and grabbed my camera not realizing I only had one card in it. The camera recorded both a Raw and a JPEG copy of the image in the card in slot 2. I double checked it prior to writing this review, as soon as you pop card 1 out, card 2 changes to Raw and JPEG.

The images examples (not the ones of the camera and screens) were okay, but not quite inspiring. Which I know this isn't a book about photography skills per se, but I always enjoy it when the author includes photos that encourage me to take their advice.

The positive aspect of this book is if there is an area where you need basic detail, it will probably be there.

This will go on my reference shelf, but it's not one I will carry in my suitcase.

Great book, lots of useful information.
This is probably the best book available in the market today.
Highly recommended for those person who carry Nikon D3 series.

David Busch's "Nikon D3s/D3X Guide to Digital SLR Photography" is spot on! He explains in easy to understand language, (compared to the manual), each and every aspect on the camera. I own the D3S and I had it set up by the time I finished the book. Reading the manual, which I did, would of taken many more days to complete. David gives you his opinion on settings, but leaves the options open for you to make decisions on. He also includes chapterts on exposure and lighting which are very valuable. I highly recommend this book for anyone struggling to set up their camera.

This has turned out to be a very helpful guide for me. I've been using DSLRs for about 18 months and recently upgraded from a D90 to the D3x as I'm making my attempt at professional photography. David's book has been very helpful in this regards. However, I purchased the Kindle version, and therefore find the illustrations limited by the technology. I'm sure the color book version would be even more beneficial to me. However, the advantage of the Kindle is that it is much easier for me to take this into the field to be used as a reference manual even after I have read through it.

This is undoubtedly the best camera guidebook I have ever seen and includes everything you could possibly want to know about the Nikon D3, D3s, or D3x, with step by step instructions for using each feature, the rationale behind selecting any of the available options, and plenty of tables and lists that summarize everything you absolutely have to know. Busch even includes a test chart you can use to adjust your lenses for front or back focus following the instructions in the book.

I prefer to rate this book on the quantity and quality of the information if offers, which includes 235 pages of detailed explanations of controls, features, and menu options -- considerably more advice than you find in entire other D3 series guidebooks. The remaining 400 pages are a valuable course in digital SLR photography, all of it applied to the use of Nikon's top of the line cameras. I've never seen an entire chapter devoted only to using autofocus, nor one that exhaustively examines Nikon's lenses.

What impressed me most was that even though this book is intended for the latest models in the D3 series, Busch took great pains not to leave we D3 owners behind. Although the camera illustrations and menus show the D3s for the most part, in every instance where there is a difference between the operation of the older D3 and the newer models or a difference in the menus, the author points that out (sometimes in parentheses.) For example, there is a photograph of the back of the D3s in Chapter 2, accompanied by a matching photo that shows the older D3, with the differences marked with yellow boxes, and five paragraphs explaining the differences. This book truly does an amazing job of covering every function of all three D3 series models.

One of the reasons I purchased this book was that I learned a great deal from Busch's Nikon D700 book. This one has been expanded greatly. When Adobe comes out with a new edition of Photoshop, I don't expect the author to come up with a new way of describing how to use the selection tools. So, I didn't mind that Busch retained descriptions of basic features from his earlier books. Despite a few typos here and there within nearly 600 pages of solid information, this is a Nikon D3/D3s/D3x book from start to finish.