Customer Reviews

Mastering the Nikon D90

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Manuals and guidebooks for cameras often look like they were written by the people who used to write VCR manuals. They are in black and white. There are some illustrations but they are either too simple or too complicated. The grammar is often mangled and the language is dense. Darrell Young's book, "Mastering the Nikon D90" is the exact opposite.

"Mastering the Nikon D90" is a marvelous book. And no, I am not related to Mr. Young or his publisher. I have read a lot of guidebooks over the years and this is one of the best. It is full of color photographs not only illustrating the controls of the D90 but also the application of principle to practice. The topics are arranged in logical order and thoroughly addressed. The language is clear and concise. Mr. Young describes the settings that he uses and why they may or may not be appropriate depending on the photographic style of the reader.

This should be the first book you buy when you get your D90. It will get you up and running in an efficient and enjoyable manner. If you feel compelled to read the manual, Mr. Young even refers to the appropriate pages in his book.

I have found this book to be more than a re-write of the manual and in every way helpful for someone anxious to develop better photographic techniques. I have now read it cover to cover and have employed most of what is recommended with the goal of getting more out of the D90 and better results. I can now say the book has helped me raise my abilities to take better pictures. In particular, the description of the autofocus system was very helpful in decoding the multiple decisions on how to set the camera for my kind of photography. If there was a short section, it would be the chapter on use of flash photography and my guess that is covered in the other "Mastering..." book on the subject, which I will buy. I would recommend this to the individuals who are intermediate to advanced amateurs who are anxious to take full advantage of their equipment.

I'd just like to thank the author for ruining the last two days of my life...........My version of this excellent book arrived and I've not been able to put it down. No bathing, no eating, no shaving.......I'm a wreck! I hope you are pleased with yourself!!!!!!

I bought my D90 and then bought two books and a DVD on how to use it. All helpful, but if I had bought this book first, I would have saved my money on all the other literature.
This book is much more than a re-written owners manual. It takes you through all the functions with "cause and effect" and then it gives you recommendations which are VERY helpful to a new owner of the D90.
My photographs have improved greatly after my first pass. Highly recommended!

RoyB
Dartmouth, MA

I got my Nikon D90 right before Christmas and quickly read the user manual. Ugg. Yes, it tells you what the buttons do, but why? Or when? I also got Darrell's Mastering the D90 book just a few days later, via Amazon, thank you very much, and just love it. Young's book is easy to read, well laid out, and it is easy to use later when trying to look up just one factor. This book really tells you what different options are and why you would want to use each of them. Of course it SHOWS you how to adjust the buttons/menus in order to apply each option. It is an especially good book to use over and over as you gradually acquire skills with the D90. And believe me, it does take time, as this camera is a complex camera with amazingly "pro" features.

Each time I would go to the book and read about some function or feature,it would then be translated into much better camera skills on my part. I didn't know how good this camera was until reading this book.

The book is particularly good for anyone who is relatively new to DSLRs and moving from the point and shoot world to the DSLR environment. I particularly liked the sections on focusing (how to and when to change the different focusing types: single point, matrix, etc...) Also the sections on white balancing and exposure are extremely helpful.

My suggestion for a person new to the D90 is to: read the user manual, start reading Young's mastering book, and start shooting. You don't even have to finish the book before you start shooting. Why? Because when you encounter a shooting problem or mystery, just go to the book, look up the index, and then seriously read that section, then go shoot again. Even shoot your room, your foot, anything to practice making the settings and adjusting them and seeing what the different settings do to the photos on the LCD. That is the beauty of the digital camera: instant results.

The author, Darrell Young, has been using digital cameras, and Nikon's in particularly, for a number of years. His writing style is easy to read and follow. He has close enough contacts with the official Nikon technical staff that he interacts with them to assist his learning of a camera. This pays off in the book with information that is NOT in the user manual and is not commonly known. Really neat stuff to know. The book covers not only the still photos aspects of the camera, but also the movie or motion picture capability.

First of all, the D90 is my first entry to the DSLR world. I am a serious amateur since 1979. Moving recently to the DSLR world was a great move given the sophistication involved, at least for me coming from the film era. I got other two books which I concentrated very much into them in addition to the manual, I really took them seriously. However, i ended with some unclear major issues. I heard about this book and I believe I am the first one to order and may be to read. But I am sure that I am the first to review on this reputable site. It is an excellent book and very well written. The book is referring to the manual whenever required for the easy setting. On the other hand, all the author's effort is focused on the major settings with a crystal clear explanation including what is behind it i.e white Balance, Picture Control, ISO Sensitivity and the great chapter on the Auto focus. He is also stating his own settings and explaining why. That is not it, he is recommending a variety of setting that would meet the needs of almost all users. This is the real plus of this book, focusing on major subjects and recommending settings. It is not a modified version of the manual.

When I recently got the D90, I said to myself my old stuff is much easier. Why should I cross the ocean. Really, after reading this great book, I believe I just crossed a very small river. Mastering the Nikon D90 made me really appreciate this investment.

All you need to start photography is a D90, a kit lens and this book. The rest is up to your creative mind. I've owned my D90 since February 2009 and would call myself an advanced amateur, just for the fact that I use the camera everyday and know it inside and out. I received a free advance copy of this book because one of my photos was published in it. I was over the moon that one of my photos had made it in the book and as I sat down and fingered through the pages, it wasn't long before i realized that I didn't know or understand half of what my camera was capable of. This book is a wealth of knowledge and it's presented in a way that is very easy to understand.
I'm in no way connected to the author or do I receive any compensation for extra book sales or for writing a nice review. This book is worth every penny and should be considered before wasting your money on another glorified manual.

I've been using DSLRs for about 3 years - so I rate myself as amateur with understanding "some" of the adanced features - I'm NOT a pro - so take this review in this context!!!

When it comes to photography, I appreciate when the literature contain good quality imagery and shows comparisons of the different settings. I found this book, well written; well organized, informative; it clearly has material above and beyond what comes in the manual (I don't like reviews that just paraphrase the manual).

I also like the staged approached the author took, meaning he introduced a foundation of advanced features (raw vs jpeg, white balance, color space) and then introduced more detailed concepts and explations in later chapters, kinda allowing the reader to step trough it at the appropriate pace, learning the right things at the right time.

So for someone with low-mid experience in digital photography this is a very good resource!

They say that a dirty book is a good book. Well, this must be a good book because as I was reading it, due to laziness to go downstairs to find a highlighter, I put dog ears in some pages I thought at the time I need to remember. The next night, I went through the dog-eared pages and highlighted all the info I need to remember. Not only that, there are a lot of info here that I really,, really need to remember because of our next trip and our next event after our trip so I have to not only highlight the info I need but also put flags on them. Thank God my brain didn't fail me. On our trip last weekend, I remember to use the techniques in this book without referring to them. Nor did I had any time to even pick up this book during our event -- I remembered all of them. Of course, with the help of another photographer his technique reminded me of the technique the author used in this book even if this other photographer uses a Canon.

This is a very easy to follow, very easy to remember technique book and I am glad to have bought it and learned from it.

This book is worth the price, just for the chapters on autofocus and video mode. (Yes it has a chapter on video mode, 21 pages, not the 1-2 pages of most other D90 guides.) Very well written, with excellent photos. At the end of each chapter, after carefully describing what all of the bells and whistles do, Mr. Young wraps it up with his conclusions and recommendations, telling you how and when he uses the settings. I was beginning to have serious doubts about the quality of the autofocus on this camera, until I read this book and discovered what I was doing wrong.

This is an outstanding publication written in a casual style that is easy to understand and follow. It is well organized and well illustrated and makes the D90 come to life. It is written for both the DSLR neophyte as well as the experienced user, a difficult task in itself, but well handled here. It starts with the basics and moves toward more complex topics, building a knowledge base as you progress. The author is highly experienced at writing about Nikon DSLR cameras and his experience pays off in dealing with a highly complex camera in a step-by-step manner that is neither too complex nor too simple. I'm truly glad I bought this book. I believe it is well worth the price I paid and I highly recommend it for D90 users.

NOTE: There is a one-star review among 20+ 5-star reviews. The one-star review must be bogus because I cannot believe that the writer and I were looking at the same publication. It should be disregarded.