Customer Reviews

Mastering the Nikon D700

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Every Nikon D700 owner can profit from this splendid book. The authors have gone to great effort to ferret out extra possibilities in the buttons and knobs, and most especially in the menus. Did you know that the center nib of the multi-selector can be programmed to bring up the histogram in Playback with a single poke? How very nice!
The authors start out with an overview of special new features like Live View and full frame, and then review some basics of photography, white balance and histograms and so forth, but very soon they are on their way into the menus where they have done their most excellent work.
The D700 menus are vast, involving at least 250 choices, too many to count. In many cases the authors have written little essays of advice in addition to their descriptions of the actual choices themselves. The reader gets a much clearer understanding of what the choices are and how and when to use them, and this is invaluable.
But better still are the 100s of little black and gold screenshots that follow along with each menu item, page after page in this book, on almost 200 pages in all. From these screenshots, the reader can navigate more readily through the myriad of menu choices and arrive at the exact spot. How very much this reduces the confusion of dealing with so many features that are available in this wonderful camera. Many readers will also find new capabilities in this camera that they might never have ferreted out for themselves.
The authors are quite determined that every reader learn (and use) the shooting and custom banks which store little collections of settings so that no one need to wade through pages of menu choices to find those exact bits needed that instant when a different shooting opportunity arises. A single click on the fly will change to these settings, and the photographer is ready to go.
The book concludes with a dandy 20- page review of Nikon's Creative Lighting System, again with the screen shots so that the reader can see exactly what to do and how to do it.

O'Reilly is famous for publishing missing manual books. This book is published by Rockynook under the NikoniansPress label. It is a book sponsored by Nikon enthusiasts, and presents the many features of the Nikon D700 in a clear readable format. The Nikonians is a Nikon user group numbering over 170,000 members. Their web site, http://www.nikonians.org/, is chock full of valuable information about shooting photos with Nikon cameras and is frequented by both amateurs and professionals. If you own a Nikon camera and are not a Nikonian, you should join. Their forums are particularly valuable in solving your photographic problems.

The owners manual for the D700 is actually well written, clear and concise. This book adds a practical adviser to the mix, explaining why using a certain choice in a certain situation will produce an outstanding photograph. It has appropriate photos of both camera menus and photographs explaining the results of the menu choices that one makes.

When you make the decision to purchase a camera body that will set you back north of 2 G's, you'll appreciate knowing all the tricks and methods that will reinforce the wisdom of that decision. This book does that, and should be part of your library.

Highly recommended.

This is by far the best Nikon D700 guide available to date. With clear writing, great illustrations and menu instructions, and plenty of person experience, it is clear that the authors know their business and are happy sharing it with the rest of us. There is no comparison between this and the Magic Lantern Guide for example, and the Digital Field Guide for the D700 is just far too incomplete.

This is a great manual, and you will find yourself leaving it on your coffee table and referring back to it from time to time as you make your D700 your own.

This book is a waste of time.. There are no master lessons here....
1. The reason I bought the book was so I could get a different perspective from the manual, not always written clearly, that comes with the Nikon D700. Instead what I received was a rudimentary book that told me repeatedly to refer to the manual. Thanks for making me read two books at once. Hint: No one wants to constantly be referred to the manual, which gave much more information that this book gave me, but not in a very readable manner. Having to refer to the manual while reading this book is clumsy for the reader, and it shows laziness on the author's part.
2. It seems to me the authors were trying to make Brownie points with Nikon. The book barely scratches the surface which the manual does very well. Not once did they criticize any of the many features on this wonderful camera. But there are certain improvements that Nikon could make to their menu. Only accolades for Nikon in this book, by the authors. There is no in-depth discussion of the benefits / disadvantages of certain settings and menu items. More importantly, there is no discussion on why you would want to use certain settings and in which situations.
3. I thought this was a book on mastering the Nikon D700, not on basic photography. For some reason the authors digress for pages on what depth of field is. They don't do a very good job and this is not what I bought the book for. I know what depth of field is. I want to know more about the camera.
4. I am saddened that Nikonians, a web based site for Nikon users, allowed this book to be published with their name on it. It is so incomplete.
5. A very thin overview of the D700 in a very thin book, with lots of nice pictures of the camera and settings. (In this aspect the book is better than the manual, as the manual's close-ups of the cameras menus and buttons, etc. are in black & white.)
6. ARGGGGHHHHH --- I feel ripped off by the authors who claim this book is more than it is.

To handle it properly and squeeze every drop of its potential, you must know exactly what each function and/or control of the D700 does. Otherwise, there is no practical reason for spending so much money in a camera this caliber: The D700 is the most precise, versatile, efficient and owner configurable semi-pro camera in today's market and you have the option of customize it to the most demanding calibration parameters, personal needs and settings, as no other camera of its kind can. That's why this book is so transcendental: it explains clear and thoroughly why and how each and every setting and tuning can be placed in the camera. Where the owner's manual gets short (even with its 400+ pages), and for that matter, other books of its kind, this volume fills the blanks. Indeed, this book could be considered a general digital camera operating manual. Now you'll know exactly what kind of extraordinary camera you have in your hands and how to explode all of its possibilities.

I purchased this book, "Mastering the Nikon D700" not as an aid to utilising the features of the D700, but as a guide to compare the features of my current Nikon DSLR with those of the D700 . In actuality, I purchased this as a precursor to one day purchasing a Nikon D700.

For me the book admirably met my needs.

What did I enjoy about the book?
The writing style was warm and helpful, rather than technical and mechanical.
The authors have adopted a style of `friends to friend' as they discuss the various features of and how to use to the better advantage these features on the Nikon D700.
This seemingly and somewhat interactive and unassuming style is both engaging and very helpful.
The layout of the book is logical and has a well considered `thumb through' for chapter identification and location.
The excellent illustrations demonstrating the camera menus and features are another highly commendable feature of this book. Guiding the reader to the precise location in the menu(s) or on the camera, these illustrations make for rapid cognition and comprehension.
I found the grayed out boxes with orange headings especially helpful pieces of information regarding practical uses and applications relevant to both general and specific camera use. So, having read these well identified sections, I gained knowledge and therefore usableMastering the Nikon D700 experience regardless of currently still waiting to be able to afford the Nikon D700 camera.
Because I'd just returned from another country where I should have affected White Balance on my Nikon D70s, but didn't. I had the very current and time-consuming experience of having to manually retouch many of my 1200 shots. So I gained timely and very practical understandings of the sections on White Balance and Loss less compressed NEF. Because I was holidaying I decided that I would shoot my photos in Jpeg format. The loss in photo data which I suffered made so much more difficult my re touching work. For me these are memorable lessons, but Mastering the Nikon D700 came at the right time for me and answered my practical and technical questions.
I will mention just one more area of learning for me from reading this manual. Before reading about it, I was entirely unaware of the technical reasons for Exposure Delay in Digital cameras. Now I am much more informed.

I've been shooting pictures for quite a few years and look for written material that will enhance my capacity as a photographer. This book has met my need admirably and help me to be a better photographer and hopefully increase my photo sales!

Has this book increased my desire to purchase a Nikon D700.
You bet it has....I can't wait to do so and see the increased quality that such a unit will bring to my photography.

Well done, authors Darrel Young and James Johnson together with Publishers Nikonians Press.

Ross Burton
www.roscovisuals.com

I got my Nikon D700 just in time for a trip to Norway with my band. I know it's going to be a lot to lug around in comparison to my hip-hugging Fuji f100fd, but that's the price you pay for wanting superior images.

Getting those images is challenging enough with learning how to use a new camera and thumbing through the manual to find out what this term and that term means. Many of them were totally unfamiliar to this old film winder. Then I got the book.

The book I refer to is the rockynook NikoniansPress publication, Mastering the Nikon D700, by Darrell Young and James Johnson.

Darrell Young's Mastering the Nikon D300, also published by rockynook, was highly acclaimed for its "breadth of content, depth of coverage, and warmth of delivery," and this book on the D700 is evolved from that previously released publication. James Johnson has taken the lead set by Darrell Young and has done an admirable job in describing, explaining, and showing just how to use this dazzling camera. Both men are fine photographers in their own right and have many years of practical and teaching experience.

What is so effective about this book is the anecdotal examples throughout. The Nikon manual can be used in conjunction with Mastering the Nikon D700, and the authors refer to specific pages as we wend through the chapters and discover the many features of the camera. Where the manual gives you the nuts and bolts, Mastering the Nikon D700 takes you many steps further by giving you choices and situations which are practical and easy to understand, making it a lot more fun.

Because this camera (it's a computer, really) has so many functions and features, more than once I have been stopped cold in my tracks as I meandered my way through the various menus just to "check it all out." I came upon terminology I'd never heard before. The Nikon manual might explain what the camera will do in a specific setting but there is no practical advice, and that's where Mastering the Nikon D700 takes over.

The color photos used in the book are much easier to look at and read than the clinical gray and white charts in the manual. I sat reading with the book and the manual, along with the camera, as was suggested by the authors. Good idea. I referred to the manual if I felt the need, especially in unfamiliar territory. Sometimes it helps to have it there. All lessons in the book refer, by page, to the manual if you want to do that. But if you have the book and the camera together and you just simply read and follow what the authors are saying you will soon become an expert on that, and each subsequent, lesson.



Throughout, Young and Johnson have distributed practical areas of interest such as reviews and important notes, all of which are highlighted in gray to make sure you understand the why's and wherefores. The authors obviously want to make sure that the reader is engaged in the practical aspects of the camera's functions, not just the technical.

Surprisingly, there are relatively few real photographs in this book. The ones that are there are basically set up to introduce each new chapter. They reflect the chapter at hand and are beautifully photographed. Most of the images in the book are of the camera, the functional buttons, and the various menus, in clear full color just like you will see as you prompt through the various menu functions and commands. Each is explained in simple detail.



I had to reread some of the lessons' paragraphs because this camera has the ability to do things I didn't know cameras could do. Like having Custom Setting Banks which direct your camera in all aspects of exposure and focus. And then there are Shooting Menu Banks, which set up your D700 to be like several different cameras. When I first saw these terms I was sure I would never understand them. Boy, was I wrong. Not only do I understand them, but once they were clear it took me very little time to set up the parameters I wanted, name the Banks, the Custom Settings, and go outside to try it all out. They worked just like the authors said they would.

Maybe you're an avid photographer who has had several Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras and you figure can muddle through the learning process with little trouble. I say to you that it's worth the price of the book just to have these two guys in your pocket. Really! The book isn't all that big, measuring 6" X 9" X 1/2", so you can carry it with you fairly easily. This camera is its own beast and needs that special attention to get the most out of it.

If you're just starting out in the DSLR world you will be amazed how fast you can learn to use this fine instrument. There is no need to be intimidated. Just a few hours with this book and your camera and you'll even be an expert in White Balance.

I would suppose that anyone willing to spend thousands of dollars for a camera, and then spend even more for the lenses, would want to get the most bang for their buck, get the best pictures they can get, and enjoy the almost unlimited photographic benefits this camera can generate. I doubt that there is a better, more informative, and easier to read publication on the D700 than Mastering the Nikon D700 from rockynook. Don't even hesitate for one second. Get it, and you'll have a lifetime of great picture taking at your fingertips.

[...]

This a well written, concise book on the D700. The book goes into just enough detail for the above average user to master their D700. It is also small enough that you can pack it and take it with you wherever you go. If you are looking for a more detailed book on the D700, I suggest you get D700 ebook by Thom Hogan.

This is the best book describing how to get the maximum use from your newly acquired camera that I have ever read. I have had a at least 25 camera's starting with an Argus acquired in Japan about 1946. I have had Exacta's, an Argus, several Canon's,and for my wife/daughter-in-law and me over a dozen different Nikon's. The D700 is a relatively complex device, this book makes it simple, and as complex as this camera is, made the instructions concise as they could be and still readable. Can't ask for more. Now if I can just master at least some of what is in this wonderful book. Robert L Brewer

It used to be that way, it was like riding a bycicle, more or less. Make or model didn't matter as you learned to ride one and you could handle all others. Today modern cameras can pose a challenge especially if you are like me that hate going through a 450 page manual, part by part or function by function description, then this book is for you as it is well written and illustrated and refernced to Nikon's camera manual pages. It helps putting together an extensive mind map of the functions and capabilities of the camera in relation with purpose, preferences and style and it's use in the real world. Paper, print and bindig are excellent.