Jim Church's Essential Guide to Nikonos Systems (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

The guru ...has done it again! No Nikonos user should be without this book--it's the underwater photographer's bible! -- Skin Diver

Product Description

This book by pioneer underwater photographer Jim Church takes you beyond the owner’s manuals and teaches you how to get the most from the Nikonos V, Nikonos RS and Nikon strobes. The author distills his more than 30 years of experience teaching photography to cut through the jargon and speak to all skill levels. Step-by-step solutions to common shooting problems are easily found and cross-referenced in this well-organized text, which has gone through extensive review and field testing to arrive at this clear, easy-to-understand format. Packed with practical tips, it will help both beginning and experienced photographers shoot better pictures.

Some of the topics covered are: back to the basics; films and exposures; features of the V & RS; wide, close-up and macro lenses; extension tubes and framers; TTL, fill and multiple strobes; sunlight exposures; secret exposure chart; maintenance and testing.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Aqua Quest Publications, Inc. (January 25, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881652041
• ISBN-13: 978-1881652045
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #829,884 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Room for a lot of improvement, but still essential, June 11, 2001

By	John H. Henderson (Las Cruces, NM, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My first reaction when opening this book was that it was light on text. Not necessarily bad if it says what it needs to succinctly. Unfortunately, this book didn't do that. Procedures could be explained more clearly, and could be illustrated with more and better figures and photographs. This semi-pro photographer often found himself reading a procedure and saying, "huh?" "Change the f-stop which way?" The advanced photographer will gloss over reading the description of f-stops and shutter speeds while the novice will be left befuddled. The book leans toward giving recipes for a situation rather than trying to teach an understanding of photography.

More explanation and pictures could be given of the equipment and configuration. A new underwater photographer with a camera is overwhelmed by the array of arms and attachments, but there is one paragraph on arms and brackets that basically says, "Get the best," without as much as figure to show how one looks or attaches to the camera. Then you get descriptions such as "attach the strobe arm so it tilts toward the camera body." Tilt in what plane? What does a strobe arm look like?

There are statement and procedures that seem odd to an experienced photographer. It is suggested that manual strobe exposure, which is typically only dependent of distance and f-stop, is also a function of subject brightness. The procedure for using TTL flash starts with looking up the flash distance for a full-power manual flash to set the f-stop. If you're going to do that, you might as well not use TTL (although this method does maximize depth of field, but, of course, this is not explained.) The TTL electronics are then used as little more than a proper exposure indication, and if you don't get a proper exposure with your camera set to the edge of the exposure range, you're to burn more film at another f-stop until it works.

This books focuses on the Nikonos V and the now-discontinued RS. Even though the author considers the IVA to be "a dud," the III and IVA are still viable cameras that a beginner, the audience for this book, is likely to have because of the lower procurement cost. (Currently on eBay, a V with 35mm lens runs about $475 while a IVA with the same lens is about $250.) An appendix on the features, and how operating and maintenance differ for these models, would be very useful. Church has written on these models in previous editions, so it shouldn't be difficult.

So, what is good about this book? The color photographs are very good, but are more of result examples than actually showing the equipment, but are inspirational. The guidelines on positioning strobes and estimating distances is invaluable, as are the maintenance sections. If you bought a used Nikonos without a manual, note that Craig Camera sells the manuals for a IVA for $20 while the book currently retails on-line for less than that. If you're trying to decide between the two, I'd get this book. This book also seems to be considered by many to be the definitive guide to Nikonos photography, and my search shows few, if any, other underwater photography books dedicated to this one line of cameras. So, like the title says, even though I feel that there is a LOT of room for improvement, this book may be, indeed, essential for the Nikonos beginner.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book that is a must have for any nikonos owner., May 29, 1999

By A Customer

This book is great for people who are new to underwater pictures. He starts out slow, but while newbies might find that some parts are too hard to understand, old users will feel right at home. After the middle of the book everything makes sense, and the book really does help. I promise.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It really is essential, December 1, 2003

By	Jack Hall (Central California) - See all my reviews

Jim Church is the true professor of underwater photography. His book is comprehensive and fairly clear. His approach is almost too analytical at times. I would have liked more photos and text explaining what he did and why and how it worked out, although he did offer quite a number of photo examples. His tips on strobe useage and his "secret guide to strobe exposures" alone are worth the price of the book. For a looser and more intuitive approach, read http://scubadiving.com/photo/instruction/.
this is an addition to, not a replacement for Church's book.
Overall, I would give the book an A- with about half of it worthy of an A+ and the remainder a solid B to B+.
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