Once you really know your Nikon N80/F80 camera, you'll uncover the wonderful opportunities it offers. This new feature-laden, affordable single-lens-reflex (SLR) camera from one of the world's most respected manufacturers was designed for the serious, advanced-amateur photographer. With an in-depth look at the camera's capabilities and functions, you'll be able to use such features as the Matrix metering mode, exposure compensation, auto exposure bracketing, autofocus mode and area selection, tracking focus, and more. The uses of accessories including lenses, flashes, and filters are explained, as are advanced flash techniques such as slow sync and rear-curtain sync. More informative and user-friendly than the manufacturer's instruction book, and with plenty of hands-on suggestions to put the photo enthusiast well on the way to sophisticated picture-taking.
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
187 of 190 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Caveat Lector,
By David B. Ward (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Nikon N80/F80 (Paperback)
On page 20 of the Magic Lanter Guide for the Nikon N80, the reader is encouraged to take camera in hand and try out the controls as they are described in the book: if the authors (or proofreaders) of the book had done so themselves, then maybe the book would not be so rife with errors.I purchased the book based on the generally high reputation of the Magic Lantern Guides and my hope that the guide would illuminate those areas where the camera's Owner's Manual was lacking. After almost 30 years of use, my old Nikon F was starting to show its age, and my new N80 was my first experience with auto-focus, auto-exposure, auto-anything. For me, at least, the N80 Owner's Manual was a bit obtuse when it came to explaining the intricacies of the N80's auto-focus system. The Magic Lantern Guide did, in fact, provide a bit more help in this area -- at least its examples seemed clearer. The book is also well-illustrated and full of examples which might be of use to a novice (or almost novice) photographer, but... It appears that portions of the book were copied/pasted from books on other Nikon cameras or were based on pre-production models or preliminary spec sheets. For instance, throughout the book are references to focus-assist symbols (">" and "<") in the camera's viewfinder. They sure aren't present in my N80. Page 152 talks at length about variable effective apertures and the use of Custom Setting 19 to modify the effects thereof. There is no Custom Setting 19 on the base N80; the F80S has a Setting 19, but it is used with the date-imprint feature. What these types of errors call into doubt the veracity of the text when it deals with issues of compatibility with accessories, etc. I can't trust the book when it tells me that a particular feature of a flash, for example, is available for the N80, when the text describing the flash interface was lifted from a different camera. Bottom line: wait for a second edition, and in the meantime, study the Owner's Manual carefully.
41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worthwhile,
By
This review is from: Nikon N80/F80 (Paperback)
This is a useful manual for the N80, even if the text is imperfect. Unfortunately, the publisher merely released a new printing in May 2001, not a new edition and therefore missed a chance to correct the errors that the other reviewers on here have previously mentioned. The reviewers who suspect that some of the technical information was extrapolated from Nikon's F100 camera are clearly right. Not only does the text occasionally describe functions unique to the F100 and not present on the N80, but also on page 179 the author forgot to switch the text and inadvertently calls the N80 camera a F100! That being said, the book has redeeming qualities. I disagree with the reviewer who felt that the Nikon Manual was perfectly adequate. Although the manual supplied by the manufacturer is fairly complete, I was still left with some questions after reading it. Perhaps this is because the whole autofocus SLR concept is new to me. If you are used to more traditional SLR's, this is a whole new ballgame. Comparing this Nikon to my 20-year-old Nikon is like comparing a computer word processor to a typewriter. This manual helped bridge the culture shock for me. And despite some inaccuracies, I have learned some useful information from this manual. One of the better speedlights for this camera is the Nikon SB-28, which is available as the older SB-28 or the newer, more expensive SB-28DX. However, the improvements in the SB-28DX can only be used if one is using the Nikon D-1, not the N80. Sparing me the unnecessary expense of buying the DX model of the speedlight more than paid for the purchase price of the book. And I picked up some other helpful tips as well. The book is useful, but flawed. Its small enough to tuck into your camera bag and for most of us, it probably has something to teach about this complex and wonderful camera.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Resource for those new to Nikon cameras,
By MikeC (Gilroy, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Nikon N80/F80 (Paperback)
I have been using a manual focus Minolta for over 15 years, so when I got my N80 I was new not only to Nikon equipment but also to auto focus and the myriad of features available on 35mm cameras today. I felt that I needed more infomation than the user's guide could offer.The originial edition of this book was published in Germany, and the basis for this edition is apparently a translation of that edition. It may be for this reason that parts of the book are not as readable as other books that bear Peter Burian's name, for example the "National Geographic Photograhy Field Guide." Having said that, this book expands on the user's guide in a number of areas, and I have found it very useful in learning about my N80. For example, there is a detailed discussion of the various possible combinations of the auto-focus area and auto-focus mode options. Likewise, it describes in detail the various metering options and when you might want to use which. As another example, the book gives a thorough description of how and when to use the the self-timer. I'm sure that must have been mentioned in the user's guide, but it must have been brief, because I certainly didn't see it. Overall, if you're new to Nikon or new to auto-focus cameras this is a very useful little book.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
