| Product: |
Nikon D90 Digital Field Guide - J. Dennis Thomas |
| Date: |
11/08/09 (66 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Clear illustrations and explanantions
Disadvantages: Won't lay open of its own accord!
Having just bought a new camera, in my case a Nikon D90, the new user may then start to wonder whether they've done the right thing with £750. The source of this dismay can be laid firmly at the door of the official 287-page manual.
Even for myself, a seasoned Nikon DSLR user of some 4 years, there was a lot to learn especially as the camera contained some innovative features never seen before on a camera, let alone a Nikon. A GPS add-on to note where you took the photo - what's that all about?
The Nikon manual tries its best; the problem is that there are literally hundreds of permutations within the camera's on-screen menu, all needing at least a passing consideration, even if it is to take the coward's way out and assume that the default setting is the best for everything.
However, the manual fails in a couple of ways - firstly, all illustrations are line drawings with the exception of one or two monochrome photos, and secondly, it falls into the trap of showing you how to 'work all the switches', both physical and on-screen, without really giving you enough insight into WHY you'd want to alter a setting.
As such, it's very easy to acquiesce and stick to basic 'point and shoot' modes and never move on. Since the camera costs all that with a decent lens and it's hardly what you'd call pocket-able, this is a huge mistake. My wife is still regaling people with the old 'guess how much he spent on a camera' routine so knowing how to use it is the least I can do to counter this, combined with a quip about it being 7 of her hair-dos! I'm hanging fire on the cost of make-up for another rainy day.
Clearly to get the best from this camera, and any other DSLR that you may have bought, some extra and hopefully clearer help is needed.
This is why I also bought the D90 Digital Field Guide, authored by J. Dennis Thomas and published by www.wiley.com. This book is one of a series of D.F.G.s, not all by the same author, but no doubt following a similar pattern.
The only minor niggle is that having bought it for full retail price in a real live bookshop in Norwich for £13.99, I then find it can be had for well under a tenner on the web - quelle surprise!
STRUCTURE
There's nothing earth-shattering to report here. Quite logically, the book kicks off with a section on 'getting to know' the camera with a pre-chapter named 'Quick Tour', followed by chapter 1, 'Exploring The D90', all generously dotted about with colour photos of the bits in question.
Thus, once satisfied that you're not going to break anything, or possibly THINK you have by forgetting to insert a memory chip (this locks the camera), you are ready to start taking photos.
Chapter 2 - Essentials, talks you through exposure modes, areas of focus (the camera can focus on up to 11 spots to get an aggregate, or just one to concentrate on a specific subject). In doing so, it explains WHY you'd want to use one mode over another. For example, instead of telling you how to switch to Shutter Priority Automatic, (where you choose a shutter speed - the time the sensor is exposed to light - and the camera adjusts the aperture - the hole that lets the light in - to match) it explains the pros and cons of why you'd want to set a) a slow speed and b) a fast one. The former giving deliberate blur to the background on 'panned' shots whilst the latter could be expected to capture a pole-vaulter at the peak of his/her jump, wobbly bits frozen for posterity.
Later chapters begin to introduce those dreaded menu settings, the permutations of which are legion.
I won't go into them all as to do so would just become a catalogue, but thanks to accompanying photos, I now know the difference between 'Rear- and Front-Curtain Sync'. This is one of the flash modes, allowing the flash to ignite during a longer shutter speed opening. Rear-Curtain mode allows for the action to be frozen AFTER some has already taken place, whereas its Front-Curtain equivalent freezes the action first and then records some more as a blur. This was admirably illustrated by two photos of a dart player launching a dart. In the first picture, we have blur as he draws the dart back, with his hand frozen poised to throw it (Rear-Curtain) whilst in the other, we see a blur of forward motion, with the point of release frozen. It's only when you see this stuff that visualizing it becomes a reality.
THE BITS NIKON WOULDN'T TELL YOU
Older Nikon lenses (apparently anything made in the last 75 years!) will fit the D90 - OK, the official manual tells you that too. However, what the manual doesn't tell you is that these older lenses frequently make a better job of the movie facility than the standard 'kit' lens, partly because a lens like the 55mm 1.4 standard lens from my trusty Nikon F has a massive maximum aperture compared to today's crop of do-it-all zoom lens, combined with what are arguably better optics.
It wouldn't really be in Nikon's best interest to blab about that. Likewise, you won't catch Nikon telling you which independent lens makers turn out good lenses at lower prices, but this guide does!
CRITICISMS
The book is aimed firmly at the North American market, having only prices in US $ and CAN $ printed on the cover. As such, some of its photos, useful though they are could alienate other English-speaking readers. Having said that, it's well written in a clear style that neither patronises the reader nor seeks to show how clever the author is.
Ironically, it has as many pages as the Nikon manual! Damn!
For something that's called a Field Guide, having it ring-bound would have been useful, so it can be lain down on a double opening whilst you try the adjustment or techique in question. Instead, it's a tightly-bound paper-back which closes every time you let go!
CONCLUSION
Could you use it instead of the manual? Yes.
Is it wise to discard the manual? No.
For one thing, it contains sections on 'troubleshooting' which I've already had occasion to refer to.
Glad I've got both? Yes
Summary: A series of guides to help you get the most from your DSLR
|
|
Deutschland 
España 
Italia 
France - 
