Customer Reviews

Nikon DSLR: The Ultimate Photographer's Guide (Digital Workflow)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Every new Nikon digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) comes with a detailed manual explaining the camera's controls and capabilities. These manuals have little information on the practical application of the controls and capabilities to the capturing of images and are often quite technical. Many purchasers of these cameras, especially first time DSLR users, need more help in learning to use these cameras.

This book presents a general overview of the current line of Nikon DSLRs. Chapters include basic information on exposure, digital feature selection, descriptions of the usual controls on a Nikon DSLR, descriptions of a few of the current models of camera bodies and lenses, discussion of flash photography, and an overview of Nikon's proprietary image processing software, Nikon Capture NX 2. Profiles of some successful Nikon camera users are also included.

It sounds like a good idea to have a book for beginning Nikon users that shows how to use the camera to actually take pictures. Such a book needn't show all the bells and whistles available on DSLRs but it should provide enough information to enable the reader to take pictures that will make them happy with their investment. Books usually are published that explain the use of each individual model but this is one of the few books to assay an overview of the manufacturer's entire line. Unfortunately, it is not very effective in accomplishing this task.

The explanations of exposure, color space, white balance and focusing are a good introduction to those tools. However the descriptions of the cameras, lenses, speedlights and Nikon Capture NX2 just seem to be a rehash of the manufacturer's literature, without any practical information. There is no chapter on composition, which is one of the most important areas with which a new user needs help. This is particularly strange given that author Tony Sweet is one of the great photographers of our age.

The book is profusely illustrated and some of the images are quite handsome, if small. Unfortunately few of the images have captions, and only a few are specifically referred to in the text. As a result, it is often unclear what teaching point they are meant to make.

The profiles of photographers vary in usefulness. Nancy Rotenberg explains her view of the role of photography in a way that many individuals will find useful. Other profiles merely provide a resume of the photographer's career.

New Nikon DSLR users need information on using their cameras beyond that contained in the manufacturer's manual. This book does not provide it.

This book provided a decent overview of the some of the current (as of December 2009) product line from Nikon. The title "The Ultimate Photographer's Guide" is a little misleading, as this book isn't about all the mechanics of photography. It provides information to get those interested in using Nikon Products started, going over the basics of Depth of Field, ISO settings, and Shutter Speed, and explains how the three relate to each other. However the information isn't immersive enough to make this an ultimate guide.

That being said, it did provide good information to get a beginner started down the path of photography. I liked the fact that they interjected the material with profiles from working photographers. This made the book much more interesting and provided some insight into the photography world, though a couple of profiles sounded more like resumes than a philosophical summary of what photography can mean.

The book also covered RAW image capture, and the Nikon Lighting system, not in great depth, but in enough detail to give the beginner an idea of what they are, and for what they are used. Most introduction books I've seen tend to skip flash altogether. Post capture image processing was briefly covered, but is really beyond the scope of this book

All in all, this was a good read, and would make for a nice introduction/reference for the budding Nikon Photographer.

I'll admit that I am a real newb in the world of higher-end DSRLs, and the Nikon manual was just too intimidating to sit down with and try to digest all of the features. This book is more approachable, and maybe that's why it is disappointing to the more experienced photographer. I especially appreciated the explanations of exposure, color space, white balance and focusing - these are topics I hadn't encountered before and found them wee covered here. Perhaps a bit spendy for the size (it works out to 17 cents a page......), but I'd recommend it for newcomers or if someone special gave you a great camera for Christmas.

This may be a great help to those Nikon D-SLR users who have lost the manual that came with their camera, but not so much to those who still have theirs. I have mine and refer to it often for help learning how to use the features on my D60 but was wanting something else to elaborate on the info in the manual, perhaps going into more depth on how to create specific kinds of images, etc.

The first thing I noticed about this book is that it doesn't even mention the D60; it goes straight from the D40 to the D80 without so much as acknowledging its existance. As the book states, there are plenty of similarities between the D-series models but not enough to satisfy my own personal desire for exact and accurate how-to instructions.

Each chapter contains a brief bio on a professional photographer, which I could do without. The book is already short enough (barely 160 pages) without this extra filler that adds very little to the instructive qualities that I was hoping to get more of. And speaking of filler, the book is also filled with lots of photos - very LARGE photos. I do like seeing the comparative photographs that show the effect of different shooting techniques, etc, but the size is just ridiculous and of course every single chapter begins with an entire page and a half of scenic pro photos that leave about 2 inches of space for the introductory paragraph. In one of the beginning chapters, there are three, count 'em THREE! half-page sized photos simply showing how the battery is installed. The battery! Um, can we cover stuff that ISN'T in the owner's manual and DOESN'T take common sense to figure out?

They call this "The ultimate photographer's guide", but the information this manual provides is hardly any better than what is already in the camera's manual. I would recommend looking for something that pertains to your specific model or even just something that has more photography skills-based information than just the common sense duh-statements about how to work your camera that this book is all about. Overall, I found it to be too basic and too skimpy on useful info. I say skip this one.

This book is simply too short, and short on information. There are photos of various lenses, and what the same sceme looks like when photographed at different settings, but....there isn't much "there" there. I was very disappointed in this book; it didn't provide me with any particularly useful information.

The Digital Field Guides, each model-specific (such as the Nikon D40/D40x Digital Field Guide and the Nikon D80 Digital Field Guide), are jam-packed with information and "how to" about the camera itself as well as actual suggestions for how to achieve the sorts of photos the photographer would like. Buy those instead.

I would say that the target readership of this book is photographers transitioning from simpler or point-and-shoot cameras to the more complex digital DSLR's especially, but not exclusively Nikon. There is much her that would apply to any other quality camera, but the focus is on the Nikon line. DSLR photographers, such as myself, who have mastered the basics but are ready to challenge themselves to get a bit more creative also benefit from this book.

The first parts of the book are straight-forward and unintimidating introductions to the design and geography of DSLR. These are the basics (described and illustrated) starting at the very beginning (such as installing the battery). There is an overview of menus and what each setting means. Topics not specifically related to cameras but important to know (such as the meaning, range, selection, and uses of the various color spaces--something I wish someone had explained to me when I entered the world of digital photography!)Everything that can be explained to make you more familiar, more comfortable, and less intimidated by these multi-faceted cameras is covered, and covered well. A nice plus are the photography tips along with the settings, so that you get a clearer idea of how a setting will directly impact your image.

There are brief explanations having to do with work flow to increase your efficiency; file extensions used in photography; file storage, file backup, and file processing information; and a particular emphasis on the benefits of taking advantage of the options that RAW (.NEF) files provide.

The authors progressively get more Nikon-specific, going into specific models and their particular distinctions. Almost all models are covered but some more recent (but not brand new) models such as the D-90 and my dream, the D3X are not mentioned.) Lenses are also discussed with on-point descriptions of what type of photography each type of lens is used for and why, as well as the various options for on-board or separate flash units.

They have an easy-going, informal teaching style and the book lends itself to front to back reading, not just general reference (although it is well indexed). There is a logical progression on how information is presented going from very introductory to more complex, from general to specific. There are several brief photography essays that appear between chapters written by guest photographers.

As much as I enjoyed the book and plan to keep it on my photography shelf, I deducted a star due to just the fact that the images are very often not captioned. Seeing "Figure 6.6" with no explanation of what "Figure 6.6" is or why it is relevant is annoying. Many books that use this system then include the "Figure 6.6" in bold text in the narrative somewhere nearby or provide an appendix listing the figures. Not here. There are "figures" that are illustrations directly related to what is on that page; there are "figures" that are self-explanatory; but there are "figures" that might appear there maybe to illustrate a point made somewhere else or maybe it's just a nice photograph. Given that the authors are so obviously knowledgeable and efficient, I assume that this is an editing error, but it is a big one.

But, otherwise, I found the book very informative, thorough, and well written.

This book is a beginner's get started manual for Nikon digital SLR cameras. White and Sweet apparently have some experience with Nikon cameras, although there is no indication in the book of their prior publishing or photography projects. The book covers the basic concepts of photography (aperture, shutter speed, and depth of field), workflow, some features of a few popular Nikon cameras, shooting modes, white balance, Nikon lenses, flash photography, and image capture software. End material consists of an index. The book is illustrated throughout with color photographs, a few of which are captioned.

I've been using a Nikon digital SLR camera (D50) for several years, having switched over from a Nikon film SLR camera that I used for 10 years. I had hoped to learn more about how to make the most from Nikon DSLRs, or learn some new tricks from this book. I found the first chapter of the book, "the exposure triangle" quite confusing, since the authors mention that there are 3 legs to the triangle: aperture, shutter speed, and....? They go on to a section on aperture and depth of field without explicitly naming the third leg of the exposure triangle. By the end of that chapter, my understanding of aperture, shutter speed and light (my guess at the third leg of the triangle) was more confused than it was before I opened the book. The various images included in the text didn't help since most of them aren't explained with captions and their relevance isn't always clear. After reading the text, I am similarly in the dark about workflow. According to the authors, it seems to be an important topic, but I'm not sure what the definition is or why it has any importance at all. The chapters on Nikon equipment seem to be simply rewrites of standard Nikon promotional copy with no advice or pointers about how to choose between different models. The specific camera models covered are: D40, D80, D300 and D3, no others. All in all, I learned a lot more about my camera by reading the Nikon user manual that came with the camera. That manual was also a lot more clear on issues of aperture, shutter speed, and depth of focus than this book, so I think I'll go back and read the manual rather than spend any more time trying to make sense of this book.

I've been interested in photography for over twenty years but became especially passionate about DSLR's over the last five. I've alway shot with Nikon having first been introduced to the brand in my professional eye care practice. Nikon is just great stuff.

I found "Nikon-DSLR: The Ultimate Photographer's Guide" to be a very helpful reference. With technology constantly expanding I find it really useful to have an overview of the camera system and workflow for reference. Jim White and Tony Sweet have a vast knowledge and experience base and I plan on keeping this gem on my top shelf. This book should be helpful for all experience levels and I recommend the read.

Dr. Ken Gregg

This "ultimate photographer's guide" (according to the book's cover) for Nikon DSLR owners does a very poor job at either explaining how to use Nikon's digital SLR cameras or guiding the reader to take better pictures. Its 165 pages of main text is divided into 9 chapters, with only two chapters (5 and 6) covering how to use a Nikon DSLR and another two (7 and 8) about lenses and flash units. What is covered, is covered in the very basics only, such as repeating what Nikon's user manuals say about the shooting modes. No hands-on guidance, no examples.

There are a large number of product photos; unfortunately, due to poor editing, most of the photos are not referenced in the text, and this (along with missing captions) sometimes proves annoying as the reader is not sure what the picture illustrates. E.g., figures 6.6 and 6.7 on p.101 on white balance but what do they really represent?

It's amazing how the publisher prices this thin volume -- thin in physical size and thin in content -- at such a high price. If you want to take better photos, take a photography class at your local community college. If you want to learn how to use Nikon equipment, read the user manuals carefully (even though they are clearly written by some Japanese engineer geek types) or buy a book specifically for the camera model you own. Skip this one.

I honestly have no idea what this book is for. "Covering all areas of DSLR Photography" is what is written on the back cover of this book. But typical of most photography books it covers nothing but has lots of photographs. This book includes some description of Nikon cameras, some description of how Nikon cameras work, and some unnecessary pages of unknown photographers. It is definitely NOT a how to use your Nikon camera to take great pictures.

There are mistakes and at times it is very confusing. For instance this line
"Obviously increasing or decreasing the shutter speed without making a corresponding adjustment to the shutter speed"

What? I believe they meant adjustment to aperture but even with a preliminary copy how could anyone make that mistake?

The book has several pages and pictures that step you through how to install the battery, put on a lens and even how to turn it on but who can't figure that out? But for any useful feature for taking pictures there is hardly any information of value. It discusses options it says are on all Nikon DSLRs but are not. One chapter starts talking about some of the buttons and how to use them then all of a sudden starts listing features with no explanations. It doesn't flow well at all.

You will find more information in the manual that came with the camera or even searching online. But if you like photographs you might find some value in this book.

I usually don't promote anyone or thing but the most helpful books I found on photography are written by Bryan Peterson. He's not camera specific but to me he explains photography so well understanding the camera is easier.