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Nikon D300 Digital Field Guide | 
| Author: J. Dennis Thomas
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 3975
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.7
ISBN: 0470260920
Dewey Decimal Number: 771
EAN: 9780470260920
ASIN: 0470260920
Publication Date: May 12, 2008 (New: This Week)
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Product Description
Citing the Nikon D300's high-ISO performance, sophisticated autofocus system, 6 frames per second shooting speed, and an astoundingly sharp 3-inch LCD screen, all for less than $2,000, PopPhoto declared the Nikon D300 the camera of the year for 2007. Nikon D300 Digital Field Guide is filled with everything you need to know in order to take amazing photographs using your Nikon D300. This full-color portable guide walks you through the essential controls, features, and functions of the Nikon D300 digital SLR using step-by-step instructions and full-color images of each menu screen. This robust guide not only shows you how to adjust white balance, autofocus, exposure, and choose lenses, it also teaches you when and why you should adjust each of these key settings. The Nikon D300 Digital Field Guide goes beyond camera settings to offer you a refresher guide to the principles of digital photography, covering the essentials of lighting, composition, and exposure. Filled with amazing examples, this book also presents a variety of tips and tricks to capturing portraits, candids, sports, travel, macro photography, and much more.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Extremely helpful and succinct May 15, 2008
5 out of 12 found this review helpful
When I bought my D300, I had the best intentions to read through the
manual that came with it - I promised myself that if I was spending
this much on a new camera that I'd really take advantage of its full
potential. But I found the manual to be frustrating and not
surprisingly, boring. My biggest complaint was that the manual
explained the function of a button or setting without ever teaching me
how it would actually affect my photos. So I bought this book hoping
it would increase my understanding of how to use my D300's controls to
get the best possible pictures. I wasn't disappointed. This book
takes you through your camera's settings and menus step-by-step,
explaining not only the function of each setting, but also when you
should use it and how it will make your pictures better - exactly what
I was looking for. It also has a large section that talks about the
basics of digital photography. While I had heard a lot of these basic
rules of photography before, I felt like it was a great refresher
course and I learned some new tips for getting great pics. I
feel more confident using my D300 after reading this book and my
pictures have improved as a result. Highly recommended.
 OK for Beginners May 13, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
In his introduction, J. Dennis Thomas acknowledges that his book covers much of the same ground as the "D300 User's Manual" from Nikon, but in a manner that's easier to comprehend and more interesting to read. It seemed to me that Thomas didn't quite reach his goal.
Part I of the book starts out with a quick tour of the camera which describes how to set the most basic functions necessary to use the D300, followed by a physical description of each of the controls on the camera. The author then follows up with a slightly longer discussion of the camera's functions, followed by a line-by-line description of each of the camera's menu items. In Part II, the author provides generic discussions of Nikon's family of lenses, photography essentials like exposure and composition, the use of light, a long chapter devoted to snippets on different kinds of photography, like architectural or landscape photography, and then a chapter on viewing and editing images in-camera. There is an appendix which describes a few accessories in the broadest possible terms.
Every equipment guide has to aim at a broad range of users from beginners to professionals, although the Nikon D300 is such a sophisticated machine that it is more likely to be used by more experienced photographers. I suppose that a beginner might find new information here, but only if he didn't want to go through the small print, black-and-white only, manual that comes with the camera. On the other hand, a lot of essential information was not discussed. For example, although the author often refers to options offered by the camera relating to the differences between the JPEG and RAW formats, he never gives a full explanation of the benefits of one format over the other. Another example is in his description of the number of focusing points available in dynamic area mode. Although he describes the difference between 9, 21 and 51 point modes (more points--duh!), he doesn't explain why it doesn't make sense to just use the most points for any occasion. The author doesn't tell you that the more points you select, the slower the camera focuses because it must sample each point for changes in the scene.
There were even a few cases where Thomas included less material then the Nikon manual. He describes a menu item called "Print set (DPOF)" which did not even seem to appear on my D300's menu! After frantically trying to figure out what was wrong with my camera, I looked in the "D300 User's Manual" where I found that this is a menu setting that probably isn't even available until certain other conditions have been set up. (I eventually found the item by scrolling backwards through the playback menu.)
Most of the material in part II is just too broadly brushed to be very useful. A new photographer might learn that there is such a thing as a soft box, but never learn how to use one with the D300.
Some material provided is misleading as in the image that's included with the explanation of histograms that shows the histogram divided into five sections while the D300's histogram is divided into four sections. In other cases, illustrations that would help one understand the discussion were not available, as in the failure to include a screen capture in the discussion of picture controls.
Although this volume may be enough for beginners who don't want to go through the tiny print, flimsy paged "D300 User's Manual" provided with the camera, more serious users would be better off with "David Busch's Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography" (even though I must acknowledge that Thomas does provide a better explanation of fine-tuning auto focus lenses).
 'Riddled with errors' is an understatement! May 10, 2008
22 out of 24 found this review helpful
The reviewer who said this book was packed with errors was being kind. Some sort of technical fact-checking should have been done to fix the multiple errors, goofs, and obvious typos that appear in every chapter of this misguided guidebook.
Some of the errors provide the wrong information, or leave out a crucial fact. For example:
Page 7: Figure QT.4 is labeled wrong. Center weighted mode is labeled as 3D Color Matrix II, Matrix is labeled as center weighted mode.
Page 18: "Press this button and rotate the Main Command dial to change the white balance (WB) setting." No mention is made of rotating the sub command dial to change the bias.
Page 18: Incorrect description of AF-S lenses.
Page 18: "Reflected through a series of mirrors..." Wrong. Although some Nikon cameras do use a series of mirrors, the D300 uses a single front-silvered mirror and a pentaprism. A "series of mirrors" involves a different technology called pentamirror.
Page 27: In the description of the electronic analog exposure display, the author says, "When the bars are to the left you are underexposed; when the bars are to the right, you are overexposing your image." Wrong. It's the exact opposite. There are even plus and minus signs in the viewfinder to tip you off.
Page 28: In explaining exposure compensation value, the author mis-states: "When pressing the Exposure Compensation button and rotating the Sub-command dial, the EV compensation is displayed." Wrong. Just press the button to display the EV compensation. Or press the button and rotate the main dial to change it. The Sub-command dial has no function or use here.
Page 43: White balance bracketing. The author fails to mention that, unlike exposure bracketing, only one shot is taken per bracket set during white balance bracketing. The D300 saves multiple JPEG copies of that shot using different white balances. A rather important distinction, I think.
Page 45: "The focus indicator light in the viewfinder displays when the camera is in focus." Wrong. Actually, it stops -blinking- when the lens is in focus. It does appear when the "camera" (lens, actually) is out of focus.
Page 69: "Image quality, size, and JPEG compression can also be changed by pressing the QUAL button and rotating the Main Command dial." Wrong. You need to rotate the sub command dial to change the image size.
Page 70: The author states about 14 bit depth that "there is much more color information for smoother color transitions in your images." Here, and in Chapter 2, the author seems to have the notion that 14-bit files do nothing but provide extra colors for gradations. Dynamic range means a lot more than that, especially with the D300, where 14 bit provides extra "headroom" in the shadows (but not in the highlights) compared to 12-bit depth.
Page 82: "e4 Modeling Flash When using the optional SB-600 or SB-800 Speedlight, pressing the Depth of Field preview button fires a series of..." Wrong again. Surprise. This feature, of course, also works with the built-in flash, which is not mentioned.
Page 82: "e7" Ignores that bracketing order also functions for WB bracketing, in a way different from the exposure bracketing described. This is one of the pesky details not copied from the OEM manual.
Pages 83, 84, 85. Incorrectly describes setting of function, preview, and AE-L/AF-L buttons. Readers will be terribly confused when they discover (on their own) that setting certain functions locks out other settings. This is explained on page 304 of the Nikon factory manual.
Page 87: "I recommend taking your camera to an authorized Nikon service center for cleaning." I don't know whether to laugh or cry over this one. Of course readers will be terrified of this simple procedure if the author doesn't know how to do it, either, or provides any instructions. This is a D300 we're talking about, not a D40. Non-snapshooters need to learn how to clean their sensors from time to time, even if automatic sensor cleaning is included in the camera.
Most of the descriptive material about setting up and using the camera appears to be condensed from what is provided in the Nikon manual, with many important options, details, and warnings left out to save space. The Dust off ref photo menu entry description doesn't give you a clue as to when or why you might want to use it. The terrific wireless transmitter or GPS capabilities? Not a clue as to what they do. There's no mention of the absolutely wonderful improvement in handling of non-CPU lens data compared to the D200. Why not?
The lack of detail can be infuriating for someone who wants to learn how to use their D300 from this book. The author says that you can get up to 8 fps continuous shooting when using "batteries other than the EN-EL3e with the MD-D10." What batteries are those? Throughout the book he uses the phrase "a number of" rather than the actual number of something, or recommends going to the Nikon web site to find information you'd expect to find in this book.
I can't imagine that Nikon D300 users would be looking for a "field" guide that is a summary with less information than is found in the user manual, especially since some important distinctions are ignored or left out, and replaced with downright incorrect advice. Avoid this one.
There are much, much better D300 guides available May 7, 2008
31 out of 35 found this review helpful
This brief overview barely scratches the surface of what an advanced digital SLR like the Nikon D300 can do. It's barely half the size of the manual that comes with the camera. How could it be anything else?
There are much, much better guides to the new Nikon D300 camera, each of which doesn't stop at telling you how to make settings and use features, they tell you why. Thom Hogan's "Complete Guide" has more information in any chapter than you'll find in this entire Digital Field Guide, but it's an e-book. The best choice, though, is probably the Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography by David Busch. Like the Digital Field Guide, it, too purports to provide a mixture of features and setup instruction with photographic advice, but does a much better job with both.
The Field Guide is weakest in explaining the Nikon D300's features, which is odd, because that's what you buy a camera specific book for. This is most obvious in the section on the complex and often confusing Custom Setting menu. The Digital Field Guide allots only 11 pages to this menu, mostly a rehash of the menu entries and their options that you'll find in the Nikon manual. The Busch book, in contrast, devotes 43 pages to an exhaustive analysis of how these settings should be used, and augments that with an additional 12 pages of tables with recommended Custom Setting Menu Bank and Shooting Menu Bank settings for Studio, Portraits, Long Exposures, Sports Indoors, Sports Outdoors, Landscapes, and Bracketing.
Interested in learning about the D300's exciting new capabilities, like Live View, the MB-D10 battery pack, or sensor cleaning? You'll find anything from a sentence or two to a couple pages on these topics. Mystified by autofocus or want to know the difference between phase detection and contrast detection? Busch covers that in nearly 20 pages. The Digital Field Guide's entry-level camera approach doesn't have room for that much detail. Instead, we're given such gems of insight as "Metering mode dial. This dial is used to choose the metering mode. Turn the dial to the desired mode. You can choose Matrix, Center-weighted, or Spot metering." Wow. A new D300 owner would never be able to figure that out on their own.
One of the strengths of the Nikon line is the huge number of lenses available. Busch devotes 40 pages to that, including detailed lens by lens recommendations about what should go in your kit. The Digital Field Guide breezes through the topic in 14 pages.
I suppose that if you are an absolute beginner and want an introduction to the Nikon D300 that is more concise and less detailed than the thick manual that came with the camera, this book will serve. On that basis, it deserves three stars. If you're a supertechnoid and want to know how many milliamps the LCD draws, the Thom Hogan e-book is the ultimate reference. But if you are a serious photographer who wants to know the whys and wherefores of using the Nikon D300, you owe it to yourself to purchase the Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography instead.
Advanced Camera, Beginner Guide? And errors galore. May 6, 2008
31 out of 40 found this review helpful
There are so many errors in this book that I can't even recommend it for the beginner photographers it is aimed at. It's amazing that a field guide for an advanced camera would lack depth. If a Nikon D300 is your first camera or digital camera, you may find the first three chapters on setup helpful, but anyone who knows a little photography should steer clear.
First, this is a tiny book with only about 234 pages of actual information. A typical Magic Lantern Guide provides roughly twice as much information. The rest of the book is filler, with listings of accessories, camera specifications, online resources, glossary, etc. There simply isn't room to explain everything you need to know in the space available.
Worse, a precious 70 pages are wasted with beginner-level descriptions of how to take snapshots of "real world applications." If you think you can learn how to take sports photos, landscape photography, macro pictures, travel, or wildlife photography in four pages each, go ahead and follow the author's questionable recommendations. But, I expect that most Nikon D300 owners would be either looking for something a little more advanced or, perhaps, favor dropping this material to allow room for advice on using the camera's features.
Unfortunately, this book isn't suitable for beginners because it is riddled with errors, which range from incorrect descriptions of how to use D300 features, to absurd general photography advice. For example:
- We're told about the Quality Button: "Press this button and rotate the Main Command Dial to change the image size and quality." Sorry, but if you want to change the image size from L, to M, to S, you must rotate the Sub-Command Dial.
- About the focus ring, the author says, "With some lenses, such as the Nikkor AF-S lenses, you can manually adjust the foucs at any time." That simply isn't true. I suggest the author mount any AF-S lens that lacks the M/A-M switch (if he owns one), such as the original 18-55mm zoom, and try to manually adjust focus with the lens set in the A position.
- The author notes, "As with wide-angle lenses, telephoto lenses also have optical aberrations, such as perspective distortion." Even a beginner photo class will teach you that apparent perspective distortion is most certainly not an optical aberration. The author should Google "coma," "spherical aberration," or "chromatic aberration" to learn what an optical aberration is.
-The section on filters is a total mess. The author recommends using UV filters to filter out the UV light that digital sensors are immune to. We're told that ND filters "can also be used to slow down your shutter speed" (Amazing! My D300 requires using the main command dial.) The description of how polarization works is wrong and makes no mention that, for proper effect, the Sun should be 90 degrees off the lens axis, nor what types of reflections don't respond to polarization at all. The IR filter description is wrong, too.
These errors do a disservice to beginners, who have no way of knowing where the mistake lies in claims like "small to medium umbrellas lose about a stop and a half to 2 stops of light" or in "continuous lighting, also known as hot lights."
If you're a serious D300 owner, I recommend looking elsewhere. On the plus side, the photos in this book are all first rate.
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