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 enlarge | Author: David D. Busch
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $10.68
You Save: $9.31 (47%)
New (30) Used (4) from $10.68
Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 1073
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.6
ISBN: 0470171480
Dewey Decimal Number: 771.31
EAN: 9780470171486
ASIN: 0470171480
Publication Date: September 24, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
Handy book - Leaves the manual in its dust (and at home) March 29, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Basically, you will never look at your manual again. This book describes everything having to do with your camera, with much greater detail than just the basics of how to navigate the camera. Using color pictures and examples it also shows the effects of certain settings as well and a section just dedicated to composition. Does it cover everything? No, but realistically no one book can. This is a great addition to your camera bag when you go on the road or travel and want a more comprehensive and readible eye friendly "manual" to help you explore, understand, and tame this powerful camera.
Great value from the expert March 20, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Amazon got great value on this book. For a beginner, this book sure is useful. I have gotten some amazing shoots following the tips with my D40 using kit lens 18-55mm and 55-200mm. Highly recommended if you just got into DSLR with D40/D40X.
Better than the Product Manual... March 12, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is far more clear and reassuring than the product manual. It's also a handy resource for people new to Photography and an SLR. Bottomline, it's a great buy!!
 Excellent book for many beginners to intermediate users of the Nikon D40/D40x cameras February 18, 2008
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This book by David Busch gives a better insight into the use of the D40 and D40x cameras than does the guidebook that comes with the camera. The book contains many color photos to illustrate the discussion.
I was moderately familiar with the D40x camera using the Nikon guidebook before I looked at the Busch guidebook so I could skip a lot of the introductory material. I skimmed the chapters QT (Quick Tour of taking and saving the first pictures), Chapter 1 (gives detailed names and uses of the camera functions), and Chapter 2 (essentials of camera metering, adjusting exposures, adjusting ISO, noise reduction, and retouching photos). I looked more carefully at Chapter 3 (playback menu, shooting menu, custom settings, and setup menu) as there are a lot of detailed settings that are easy to forget. I did not look carefully at Chapter 4 (exposure settings)since I have done this with a number of cameras. First time users should find these chapters useful.
I looked more carefully at Chapter 5 (lenses) as it describes in detail the confusing lens-naming scheme of Nikon. Only certain lenses (AF-I or AF-S) with internal focusing motors will autofocus with the D40 and D40x since the camera has no focusing motor. I, for instance, use the kit 18mm to 55mm lens which will autofocus and also my old 70mm to 210mm lens with no autofocus motor for this camera. This is fine with me as I do not need autofocus with this latter lens. I often use the 70mm to 210mm lens with a Nikon close-up lens (5T, 6T) so I would much rather have manual focus. Nikon also has a decent, economical 55mm to 200mm vibration reduction lens with autofocus for these cameras that costs only about $250.
Chapter 6 is mostly concerned with continuous and flash lighting. The D40 and D40x has a small built in flash although I usually use the Nikon SB-600 external flash on autosettings for a brighter flash. The various flash settings such as front sync, rear sync, slow sync, red-eye reduction, and exposure compensation are often confusing so this discussion should be helpful to many.
Chapter 7 is a long chapter that suggests ways to approach taking photos under various conditions such as sunrise-sunset, infrared, action, black and white, flowers, and landscapes among many. One can pick sections they want to check. For example, the infrared section is the only place I have found some details on the use of these cameras for infrared (Nikon would not give me any information on the infrared sensitivity for these cameras but apparently they are sensitive to the near infrared). The cameras can be used with a Hoya R72 or Wratten 89b filter which will filter out the visible light and allow the infrared to pass. Also starting points to begin taking infrared photos are suggested (ISO 200, f/11, 8 seconds, use tripod etc) since exposure and focus have to be done by trial and error due to the different characteristics of infrared relative to visible light.
Chapter 8 describes downloading and editing images mostly using software from Nikon (Picture Project, Capture NX, and Control Pro). Nikon Picture Project comes with the camera and can be used to transfer images to your computer, do minor editing, and sharing your photos. Nikon Capture NX has to be purchased separately (about $150), and it can be used to modify images that in some operations make it easier to use than Photoshop Elements or Photoshop. For instance, similar colors can be changed over the entire image in one operation without changing other colors in the image. I often use Nikon NX for changing colors and then return to modifying the image in Photoshop.
Also there is an appendix and glossary. The appendix includes topics on updating the firmware of the camera (controls camera operations such as processing and links to external devices). Also the appendix suggests how battery life can be extended, fixing flash problems, reviving bad memory cards, and cleaning your sensor.
In short, this book should be a good book for the beginner to intermediate user who want to find out about the details of the camera so that the best pictures can be made under a variety of conditions. The beginner who wants to use the D40/D40x cameras more as a point and shoot camera can just set the camera in programmed exposure mode and still obtain a lot of good pictures without understanding all the functions of the camera. The advanced user who has used a number of Nikon digital cameras would not probably find much in the book of interest. Thus the star rating would vary a lot depending on your level of experience.
A Good Additional Source of Camera Information February 18, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book is good. I reveals most, maybe all, of the many features of the Nikon D40X. Since I read the manual that came with the camera I was somewhat familiar with most of the camera's features, but having an organized way to go through them again with suggestions as to how to best use them was well worth the cost of the book. The color pictures are a welcome addition to the text.
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