Nikon D80 Digital Field Guide
by David D. Busch
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Book Reviews of Nikon D80 Digital Field Guide
Book Review: Best Nikon D80 Guidebook Available
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently purchased a Nikon D80 as a backup to my Nikon D200, and have been more than happy with it. It offers many of the features and all of the image quality at a lower price. I was also very happy with this author's Digital Field Guide for the D200, and decided to check this book out. I was not disappointed.
The occasional typo or misstep didn't bother me. I'm more interested in the kind of information a book can provide me, and this one delivers. It combines detailed information on using the D80, in much more depth than the tiny black and white manual that comes with the camera. The first third of the book leads you through a quick tour and roadmap with large, full color photos that make it easy to find, understand, and use each control as well as chapters on using each of the features and menu choices. It tells you how to select settings, and why, in a much clearer form.
The next part explains the fundamentals of exposure, using lenses, and working with all forms of light, using the capabilities of the D80 camera to their fullest extent. As with the D200 book, my favorite part was the large chapter that described several dozen typical photo taking opportunities and how to capture them using the D80 and its available lenses and accessories. Quite useful and specific!
I enjoy the Field Guide concept, and like having all the essential information I need to operate my D80 in one book, whether I am traveling light and using my D80 as my only camera, or whether I am using it together with other cameras (it's nice to have settings information at hand, because other models use different settings and have different controls.)
I didn't like the other D80 guides, particularly those that had only black-and-white photos, and those that were e-books or DVDs that I couldn't take with me in the field unless I also took along a laptop. This book goes everywhere!
Book Review: One of the Best Nikon D80 Guides
Summary: 4 Stars
The Nikon D80 was designed for people like me: Jumping from an advanced digital point & shoot to this excellent SLR- both using Secure Digital cards. I'm not a pro, but I have a moderate knowledge of digital cameras. The Nikon D80 Digital Field Guide fits the type of consumer that Nikon targeted for the D80.
This book is an attractive supplement to Nikon's D80 instruction booklet. Nikon's booklet is factual but the organization is fragmented. With Nikon's booklet, new D80 users will spend more time flipping pages than taking pictures. With the D80 Digital Field Guide, facts are presented in an organized, clear, concise, and easy to understand manner. A pro that have been using digital SLR's for years wouldn't need a book in this genre, but I did and have found this book extremely useful!
I did receive a very early edition of this book. It is true that there are missing hyphens & a wrong USB port photo. Books like this are rushed for publication because Nikon will eventually make a replacement for the D80 that will make this book obsolete. That's the nature of technology today. Looking past the first printing errors, I find that the good far outweighs the bad- therefore the 5 star rating. The few mistakes are very obvious and repetitive. They do not deter the user from learning the D80 and photography. I suspect that printing errors will be corrected in later editions.
This color guide is attractive and formatted like a Frommer's travel guide. The price (an amazing $13.59 at Amazon) also makes it a bargain in comparison to other books in this category. I highly recommend this book.
I want to give this book 5 stars, but the Amazon's edit selection will not allow me to change it from a 4 to a 5! This book deserves 5 stars.
Book Review: Photo lessons specfic to the D80, but too heavy to be a field guide
Summary: 2 Stars
If you bought a D80 as your first camera this is a fair book. Many, though, are much better at explaining the basic concepts of photography. But if you know what depth of field is, you don't need this book; look elsewhere.
Only about 20% of this is D80 specific and that part is simply a large-print version of the factory "book".
It's also mis-named as being a "field guide". If should have spiral binding so I can lay the book down with the page open while handling the camera. That should be a feature on ANY camera instruction book.
I'm a semi-pro shooter and I got more and better info on what the buttons do from the fold-up guide also for sale within Amazon.
Okay, I've had a bit more time with the book and want to raise the rating to four stars. Why four? Depth of field is explained, yes, but a more careful and thorough reading shows that Busch has described the function as it's employed on the D80. ditto for the other million functions and I'm finding camera-specific information to be very useful.
Why not 5 stars? I gave up my huge camera bag with several lenses, extra bodies, filters etc. after lugging it around Russia for a month; it took almost a year for my hip to heal. I sold it all and went the one camera with one lens route with Photoshop on the laptop (I don't lug it around). With light weight as a tactical goal, a slick-paper book is just too darn heavy to be called a Field Guide. Read this, keep it on the shelf, and take the lighter-weight Nikon manual as a reminder.
Book Review: Best Guide Available!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this guide! I got this guide just before a trip to Alaska and by the time I got back home, it was well used with many "dog-earred" pages. It is now THE guide which goes with me and my D80. I am a novice, but I knew enough about photography to be concerned about the huge amount of bright light and over abundance of white from glaciers.
From reading the guide and learning more about exposure, lighting and white balance, I was able to shoot with auto ISO, f11 and/or f13 at 1/200.
The glacier photos were beautiful and successful shots.
Busch's D80 is much better than Nikon's manual which comes with the camera, or the Magic Lantern guide which both left me confused and still with unanswered questions.
The Table of Contents and Index is precise and detailed, making it easy to find the information one needs. The glossary is written in language that a beginner like myself can understand. While it teaches specific D80 functions, it also teaches general photography using the D80. A favorite addition is Chapter 7: Photo Subjects. He describes different subjects and concerns one may need for a specific photo. He presents a "Table" describing set-up, lighting, lens, camera settings, exposure, and accessories one may need such as a tripod. This section provides the photographer with opportunites to "practice" specific shooting circumstances and be successful with the photo.
This D80 guide is a real MUST HAVE guide.
Book Review: Pure, concise, informative and well thought out!
Summary: 4 Stars
O.K. here's the deal. You go out and purchase a Nikon D80, bring it home, open the box and begin to pour through the manual. About 1-2 minutes in you begin to yawn and do your best to keep your head up. You begin to nod off gaping at the one-dimensional black and white figures on the page accompanied by droll (and vague) language seemingly devised in legalese by out-of-work lawyers. You fight to remain conscious while the right side of your brain hopes you'll gather all the neceassary information through osmosis.
Fast forward to David D. Busch's "Digital Field Guide". Information and illustrations that leap from the page and grab you by the lapels and enlighten you like a Buddhist monk at your local monastery. It's all covered here. And let's face it we can use all the help we can get in this digital new frontier. Basics like exposure, lighting and composition. Also types of lenses, ISO settings, aperture or mode, shutter speed and tips on downloading and editing your photos. You have a great camera in the Nikon D80. You need a great guide to get you where you're going. You wouldn't buy a Porsche and place a VW engine in it.You want the best to go with the best. The same applies here. This guide has all the essentials. Ya gotta buy it. After all, you're worth it.