Customer Reviews

Nikon D70 Digital Field Guide

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I have wanted a DSLR camera since I first read about their existence but affording one was the main issue. Then along came the Nikon D-70. Once I purchased the D-70 I knew I needed something other than the manual that nikon provided. I have found the Nikon D-70 Digital Field Guide by David D. Busch a very helpful, well laid out step by step manual. Composition is not a problem with me it's figuring out the cool ways to make that composition look its best possible. That starts with becoming familiar with your camera. The Nikon D-70 is the most versatile camera I have owned. With the Digital Field Guide I am learning more about its potential every day and I am taking better pictures each time I push that shutter release. I highly recommend this guide to any owner of a D-70.

Before buying this book, I examined another D70 book by the Larks, and one from Peachpit that was only $5.00. I decided to pay $15 for this one. It was 50 times better for only 3X the cost. It's amazing how much useful information was put into such a small portable book.

It is much more than a guide to using the Nikon D70s camera. Yes there is lots of information that explain the features and use of the camera. Very good are the illustrations in full color that show what each button does clearly, while explaining menu commands that can be hard to understand. But then the book goes further to explain photographic concepts in clear language. I finally know how to choose an F Stop or shutter speed and when to let the camera choose them for me!

While this book is pocket sized, the figures are still in full color and large enough to evaluate easily. Nor is it all pictures with very little text.

The chapters include:

Quick Tour: This shows you just what is needed to begin taking pictures right out of the box, even before you have learnt your camera.

Chapter 1: Exploring the Nikon D70: This looks more in-depth at the features of the camera and their use.

Chapter 2: Setting Up Your D70: This chapter tells you how to make the essential settings both common and not so.

Chapter 3: Photography Basics: Explains exposure, using histogram, depth of field, etc.

Chapter 4: Working with Light. How to use lighting, multiple lighting, flash and so forth.

Chapter 5: Lenses. Choosing lenses and what to do with them.

Chapter 6: Photo Subjects: More than two dozen different photography situations with all the settings to get perfect photos of them.

Chapter 7: Downloading and Editing Pictures. This was not my favorite chapter as it was very basic, but still useful for the beginner.

Glossary: Big glossary with lots of definitions of words that you might not be familiar with.

I recommend this book.

I've been a somewhat serious "prosumer" photographer since Photo Journalism 401 in college. I recently graduated from Sony DSC717 to Nikon D70S. After one glance at the D70S manual, I ordered this book, which also covers the D70S. What I think helps it a lot is the author is a photojournalist, but he takes it a step futher from the technology angle. He credits in the Acknowledgements the help from Mike Sullivan, "whose more than a decade of experience shooting Nikon-based digital cameras proved invaluable." It shows. He does a great job of bringing it all together, easy to understand, with NUMEROUS tips and techniques. He really know his stuff and covers the D70S as well.

What makes this book useful to the Nikon D70s owner is that more than two-thirds of the material covers topics that aren't mentioned in the manual at all. The first three chapters describe use of the camera, its controls, and features in much more depth than you'll find in the Nikon manual, with clear explanations of each function and when and how to apply it. This approach alone makes this book a much better introduction to the D70s.

The second two-thirds of the book goes beyond the manual with new material explaining the basics of digital photography with the D70s. It includes discussions of lenses, composing images with a DSLR, and several dozen different kinds of photographic situations and how to approach them. All in all a very satisfying book.

This book is for those of us who are intimidated by the technical aspects of the Nikon manual. While it doesn't talk down to its readers, it is more user friendly than the manual that comes with your new camera. The book is well laid out and logical in its approach, the index simplifies your search for specific items of interest, and the author focuses (excuse the pun) on areas of interest to those of us who are not professional photographers but who are interested in taking quality pictures.

Wow. I recently splurged on my new digital SLR, and this book is just what I needed to complete the kit. It's packed with useful information about the camera (way more understandable than the manual that Nikon supplied. It also has a central "mega-chapter" that is packed with professional shooting techniques in all kinds of situations, and plenty of other information on accessories, etc. Great color printing, too. I compared this with the Lark books out there, thought this one looked better, and happily I was correct. This one goes in my camera bag, as I'm sure I'll use it wherever I'm shooting!

I've been watching this book in Amazon's listings for some time, waiting for it to be finally released. It really looked like something I could use to perfect my Nikon D70 skills, because I have enjoyed this author's other photography books. I snatched it right up, and am glad to say I was not disappointed. This is the first guide to the Nikon D70 that's every bit as good as the camera itself.

Although I've already learned most of the controls, I was impressed by the large photos of the D70's key panels, all carefully annotated with labels showing what each control does. Beginners using this camera for the first time won't have to undergo the frustration I had in trying to master this camera.

What I really like, though, are the photo tips that I've found in no other book. Busch shows you exactly how to take photos in the most common shooting situations, with recommended lenses, settings, and approaches, along with some optional things to try. Each type of photography includes a little "Inspiration" blurb that is truly inspiring and which makes you think about what you can do with that particular photo type. The author is obviously a master photographer as well as a master teacher, and really knows how to show you ways to get pictures that are just as good as his. I love my D70, and I love this book!