Nikon D40/D40x Digital Field Guide (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: shutter priority, aperture priority, photo subjects, Creating Great Photos, Lens Practice Picture, Exposure Practice Picture (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Nikon D40/D40x Digital Field Guide is filled with everything you need to know in order to take amazing photographs using your Nikon D40 or Nikon D40x. This full-color portable guide walks you through the essential controls, features, and functions of your Nikon D40 or D40x digital SLR using step-by-step instructions and full-color images of each menu screen. This robust guide not only shows you how to adjust white balance, autofocus, exposure, and choose lenses, it also teaches you when and why you should adjust each of these key settings. The Nikon D40/D40x Digital Field Guide goes beyond camera settings to offer you a refresher guide to the principles of digital photography, covering the essentials of lighting, composition, and exposure. Filled with amazing examples, this book also presents you with a variety of tips and tricks to capturing portraits, candids, sports, travel, macro photography, and much more.

From the Back Cover

Picture yourself capturing the perfect shot

A new world of photographic experiences awaits you as you move up to a digital SLR with your Nikon D40 or D40x. Get started with your new D40 or D40x right away with this guide's Quick Tour. Ready to customize your camera's settings? Chapter 3 tells you how. Want advice on getting perfect shots of sunsets, landscapes, people, or your son's soccer game? Check Chapter 7. But whatever you do, get out there and take pictures. And take this book along.

• Identify and use all your camera's controls and features

• Discover how lenses work and select the ones you need

• Learn to fix minor problems, including red-eye, by using the Retouch menu

• Get complete recipes for shooting events, fireworks, night scenes, landscapes, people, pets, water, action, and more

• Find out how to download your pictures and troubleshoot common camera problems

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (September 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470171480
• ISBN-13: 978-0470171486
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,179 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #1 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Digital Photography & Video > Camera Guides
  #31 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Equipment
  #40 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Digital Photography & Video > Digital Photography

• This is item 1 in The Digital Field Guide Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

142 of 143 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential guide for my step up to digital SLR photography, October 13, 2007

By	Suzanne Saunders (Rocky Mountains USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Last week I bought my first digital SLR - the Nikon D40x 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens. I decided to step into the world of digital SLRs after years of experience with different (and very good) compact or "point and shoot" digital cameras.

My current compact digicam is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3K 7.2MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black) - which I took to Peru, and with which I took some wonderful photos. As good as they were, I wanted to try for even better pictures, and happily bought my Nikon D40x SLR.

But after I opened the boxes and got my pristine new D40x ready to use, I suddenly felt lost and overwhelmed. Yes, there's an "auto" setting, but if that's all I use, I figure I might as well not have spent all the money to get into the digital SLR world. The owner's manual is, I'm sure, complete and accurate, but I found it difficult. It tells me the name of a button and something of how to use it, but I don't have the background to know what most of that means in terms of taking a photo.

Fortunately, I ordered this book from amazon - and it's saved the day. I'm still working my way through it, but I know it's a keeper - and it's going along whenever possible, for reference on the spot when I'm taking photos.

I'm no dummy, nor a total novice at digital photography. But I'm not a professional photog, nor a "camera geek" familiar with a lot of the technical terms and concepts.

The author strikes just the right note for me with the explanations in this book. At last - I'm starting to understand histograms, and feel more assured when changing ISO settings. I'm also learning the uses of all those dials and buttons on my new D40x.

Reading this book has conquered a vague sense of dread I felt about this new gadget ("what was I thinking buying this complicated expensive camera?"). Instead, I'm looking forward to using my D40x and learning more as I go.

I don't know if it exactly replaces the owner's manual supplied by Nikon, but I encourage anyone who's feeling baffled by that manual to get their hands on this book. It's made all the difference to me between puzzlement and comprehension.

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Help for us non-techies , October 4, 2007

By	C. Wellman "Aspiring photographer" (Bellingham, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have a couple of Busch's earlier books on photography and really like his feel for the needs of those of us who would like to get beyond the snapshot level with our new expensive digital cameras. In this one, beyond the obvious help with using the D40, I like the all-color format which helps me find sections so much better. And I really like the sections on taking specific kinds of photos, which have charts that streamline all the variables you need to address. A small thing... the size is perfect for slipping into my camera case while having a complete guide to help me on the road.

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best guide available, December 18, 2007

By	B. Hardy "clay60" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought both this guide and the magic lantern guide not knowing which was best. While the magic lantern guide is okay (better than the manual), this guide is far superior in organization and instructions. The color pictures add a lot. The sections on how to shoot different types of pictures is great. If you need a guide get this one!