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116 of 120 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Less Than You Need, September 7, 2005
This review is from: Nikon D70 Digital Field Guide (Paperback)
The manuals that accompany new digital cameras are packed with information on every single feature of the camera. Unfortunately, the feature by feature presentation doesn't do much to show you how to use the camera to take good pictures. This book aims at that target for the Nikon D70 digital camera.
The book provides a quick start up guide and then a more detailed list of the D70's features that is something like the presentation in the manual, i.e., descriptive without being too functional unless you know what you want to achieve. But once the introduction is over, there is information on photography basics like exposure, depth of field, the use of artificial light, focusing modes and lens selection.
The second half of the book discusses photo subjects, like architectural photography, flower and plant photography, and street life photography. Each of these sections offers some general ideas on the subject and presents a picture taken by the author. The author discusses his consideration of setup, lighting, lens, etc. in taking the picture.
This book aims at people who are converting from a point-and-shoot camera to a D70, and I suppose it may do as an introductory text. But no one should think that this book is going to make him or her a very competent digital photographer. This is because the discussion of the D70's features is superficial at best. For example the discussion of focusing indicates there are two autofocus modes, single servo and continuous servo, but never really explains when the photographer might select one over the other.
Similarly when the author describes the menu preferences, he never really tells you when each of the preferences might be useful. Moreover, he doesn't even discuss some of the critical menu items. While the D70 is not Nikon's most expensive camera it still is not inexpensive. Someone buying this camera will want to know how to get the most out of it. For example, most serious digital camera users will probably want to use the raw format occasionally. I expected a comparison of the raw format to the JPEG format. There was none. I also expected some discussion of the settings for sharpness, color mode, and similar settings available under the "optimize image" setting. Again there was none.
Occasionally I was confused by references by the author like "Adobe Elements 4.0". Busch is way ahead of Adobe on this one, since they are only selling Elements 3.0
If you are one of those photographers making the transition from a point and shoot camera to a D70, the book may help you ease the transition. But to really use the capabilities of this camera you will have to do a lot of other research.
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64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great reference for any D70 owner..., October 27, 2005
This review is from: Nikon D70 Digital Field Guide (Paperback)
This book is well written and full of color and is easy to read. It does rehash a lot of the same information from the owners manual, but it is very easy to follow and makes more sense than the owners manual. In fact, I haven't even looked at my owners manual that much and have learned most of what I know about the D70s from this book. It has some good tutorials on the different types of photography (i.e. portraits, landscapes, closeups, etc, etc) I would have rated it five stars if it was a little more indepth on some of the fuctions of the D70s, but all in all, this is a very handy book for a D70 owner.
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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Helpful Guide to the D70 and D70S, November 9, 2006
This review is from: Nikon D70 Digital Field Guide (Paperback)
For the past three Nikon cameras I have owned: the N60, N70, and N80, I purchased the "Magic Lantern Guides" which became indispensable. As any Nikon owner will probably attest, the manufacture's guides are confusing at best, and if you call customer service with a technical question, the help wasn't much better. My guess is that experts rather than writers compile the manuals and what is self explanatory to someone who perhaps developed the camera is not so easy for the average reader to understand. With a good guide, understanding the manual is a snap.
I purchased the camera, began using it and got good results without understanding much of what is in the manual, but I've been a serious hobbyist for almost ten years, so I knew the basics. My first attempts were fine, and I thought "How hard can this be?" However, when I set the camera controls incorrectly, erased photos of my niece's birthday party, I knew I needed help. I could not find a "Magic Lantern Guide" so I decided to try this guide by David Busch. I noticed he also wrote guides for the D50 as well as the more sophisticated D200, so I figured he had to know about Nikon cameras and since I was in a pinch, I purchased it.
The book is user friendly and is one of those "how-to" guides that is easy to understand but not condescending like some of the "For Dummies" and "Idiot's Guide" books can be. He begins by explaining the basics of the camera, continues with how to set up the camera fro use, and concludes with downloading photos from the camera using Nikon's software. The remainder mid-portion of the book deals with the basics of photography. This is where I found the book rather interesting. Busch does give a few suggestions that would help digital users transitioning from film, but he also offers suggestions about lens selection, apertures and shutter speeds for specific subjects, and practice exercises. This makes the book ideal for people new to photography. For more experienced photographers, we have all taken shots that have had lackluster results because we forgot the basics and for me, this book provided a great review. It also made me a bit more determined to break bad habits I developed with my film cameras.
The overall photography tips are better than the information on the camera itself. Still it's a helpful guide and since most people who buy the camera will probably be anxious to get out and use it, the book will be a great help in getting to know the camera.
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