Nikon D50 Digital Field Guide
by David D. Busch
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Book Reviews of Nikon D50 Digital Field Guide
Book Review: Mandatory "equipment" in my classes
Summary: 5 Stars
I teach classes in SLR photography, and when students ask for a recommendation for an inexpensive, full-featured camera, I point them towards the Nikon D50. Not all of them go ahead and buy it, of course, and many of the students already have a DSLR. But for those who do own this entry-level Nikon camera, I strongly recommend that this book be the first "accessory" they buy. If they have a Canon Digital Rebel or Nikon D70s instead, I recommend the other two Digital Field Guides in this series.
While the basic usage information about the cameras is good, I haven't found a better brief introduction to photo basics than these books. Those students who use the Digital Field Guides for a few weeks (before we get into more advanced techniques) seem to do much better than those who "go it alone." You can't go wrong with any of these three books.
Book Review: Adequate, but not great
Summary: 2 Stars
This is an OK addition to the manual, but it seems that the author simply took his D70 field guide book and performed a search & replace D70 -> D50. At times, it's really embarassing and one wonders whether there was any kind of proof reading. As an example, the book shows a picture of the 18-70 mm "kit" lens of the D70, but with the caption claiming this to be the 18-55 mm D50 "kit" lens. The author also talks about features that the D50 simply doesn't have, such as the field-of-depth preview button, the metering mode button, etc. The book doesn't go beyond the manual at any time. One could have wished for a more rigorous treatment of subjects such as f-stops. After reading the book, I don't feel that I learned anything new about photography in general, or the Nikon D50 in particular. At least I didn't spend a lot of money on this picture book;-)Book Review: Videos are USELESS in the field.- Take this book instead.
Summary: 5 Stars
The whole purpose of a "digital field guide" is to have a compact book with the most essential information at your fingertips when you're out taking pictures. Unless you carry a laptop around with you as you shoot, a video is pretty useless. In fact, I find videos not very helpful even when I am at home. I can't imagine trying to learn how to use a camera by sitting around watching a movie. The best way to really learn is to go out and take pictures, using this book as a friendly helper. You'll find all the most important information you need about settings and controls, explanations of what they do, and recommendations about which settings to use in particular situations, with example photographs in each case. I find that when I come home from a productive shoot I'm more satisfied with what I learned than when I sit and watch a video.Book Review: Excellent resource indeed
Summary: 5 Stars
Nikon D50 owners will be pleased to know that a totable guidebook to putting their digital SLR to best use is available. While this book doesn't include everything about the D50 -- you will still need the manual that came with the camera to look up some obscure settings -- this book has all the need-to-know things in one place. And it fits in your camera bag, too.
Not only did I find the information I needed about the controls and features and settings and menus of the D50, I found some valuable refresher information about photo basics, and a very nice chapter with dozens of shooting situations and tips on settings and techniques for taking pictures in those environments. Great pictures -- all in FULL color. This book is an essential guidebook for any D50 owner.
Book Review: Wish there was more
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading 250 pages of this book, I was left wishing there were another 150 pages to go. The information in here is so good, you'll wish the author had written 400 pages of tips on using the Nikon D50 digital SLR.
But, I understand the concept of a Field Guide, and this book does manage to condense just about all the information you really need to know about setting up and using the D50 into its compact size. It's a perfect fit for my camera bag. Everything is in full color, too.
The two-dozen recipes for shooting good pictures in various photo situations are clear, and use excellent examples. Perhaps the publishers will come out with a revised edition with another 20 or so recipes. This is exactly the type of information we need.