David Busch's Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography Reviews

• Navigating the Menus

  
  By A1F6PIIZ0ZHHD6 on 2008-04-22
  I've been shooting Nikon cameras since 1960. When I look at the collection of buttons, dials, switches, screens and menus on Nikon's D300 digital SLR, I wonder if I would have become a photographer back then if faced with so many choices.
  
  All these choices are good. They let you customize the D300 to be used exactly the way you would want. And the embarrassment of riches means that one camera can do many things, for many different photographers, so that ultimately a highly sophisticated machine can be delivered more cheaply to photographers whose styles vary markedly.
  
  Some of the choices seem really important. Do you want to set up focus so that you are better able to capture a sitting portrait subject or a flying bird? Other choices seem more trivial. Would you rather review the last image you captured by pressing on the left side or the top of a multi-selector switch?
  
  To deal with all these choices, Nikon provides a manual of several hundred pages that explains the options that are offered with some very small, sketchy illustrations, but without explanation of which options might be better for a particular type of photographer.
  
  David Busch set out to bring a little more clarity to the bewildering field of choices, and does a relatively good job of it. Unfortunately, that means going through each menu and selection step by step. The illustrations are larger than the manual and in color, and Busch actually makes recommendations about items to select. For example the D300 allows you to elect to have either 51 or 11 focus points available (which is different then selecting a focus point, once you've made the choice). My first instinct after reading the manual was to ask why everyone wouldn't select the maximum number of focus points, but the author pointed out that 11 points is faster for selecting a focus point for large subject matter, like photographing some sports.
  
  After going through all of the options, Busch returns to several key subjects that usually require the integration of several choices, like getting the right exposure or the best focusing for particular kinds of photography. There's a chapter on lenses that experienced photographers can skip, but that any beginner bold enough to purchase a D300 for his first digital single lens reflex will find useful. The chapter on lighting contained a good explanation of Nikon's Creative Lighting System that allows for an integration of electronic flash in a more useful way then ever before. I only wish Busch had been able to convey the joy of being able to dance around the subject without any kind of tether while your flashes responded. It's easy to feel like David Hemmings with Veruschka in "Blow Up", without all that hot continuous lighting.
  
  The book finishes up with a quick glance at the software available for post processing, which, other than listing the names of software, really didn't provide much help in making a choice, and then covers some maintenance issues like updating firmware and cleaning the camera's sensor.
  
  By its nature this is not an exciting book, since the author eschews any effort at telling us about the artistry possible with the camera, but that's the nature of manuals. One should also note that occasionally Busch falls from grace in small ways, as when he suggests that the D300 can control up to four groups of lights in CLS, when what he probably means to say is that you can transmit your signals on four separate channels, or that four groups can be controlled if you use an external flash. These errors are small and quickly identifiable to anyone trying to use the menus. On the other hand there are a few subjects on which I would have liked to see more material, like AF Fine Tune, where a discussion of the use of targets to select the tuning would have been useful. And I was sorry the chapter on lenses didn't mention the use of focal length to control perspective, especially since there was a set of full page illustrations that showed this so well.
  
  All in all, this is an excellent introduction to the options that are available to photographers with the D300. Although early adopters may already have figured out most of the possibilities, there is probably still something for an experienced user to learn, and, if you've just picked up a D300, this is lot easier to use then the Nikon manual.
  
  
  

• Excellent D300 Guide. Probably His Best Book Yet

  
  By A2TRC1VJG2YLV8 on 2008-04-28
  I received my D300 in December 2007 and as of the end of April 2008, I've shot 15,600 photos. This book is the perect guide for any D300 owner. Some of the menu options are different from D200 or D80 and the author does a very good job explaining what is different and why.
  
  The book covers all the camera features and gives you ideas about how to best use the features. The book is over 400 pages and larger in size than previous guides of this type. It makes it easier to read. The book is full of color examples.
  
  There is a great section on lenses, flashes. advanced shooting tips, etc.
  
  The manual that comes with the camera is okay to a point, but it has no dicussion. David's book dicusses why you should do something a certain way rather than just listing the options and letting you figure it out.
  
  I learned a lot and will keep reading it to learn everything I can to improve my photography.
  
  

• Advanced camera serves this in-depth coverage

  
  By A1R9XJJLVO3KBH on 2008-04-22
  I purchased my Nikon D300 in December and at that time bought the Nikon D200 Digital Field Guide because nothing else was available for my camera. I went with the same author, David Busch, for my first D300 book, and I am glad I did! As good as the D200 Digital Field Guide was, the approach taken in this book is much, much better.
  
  Compared to the Digital Field Guides, this book has much more depth and a lot more information on how to use the camera. It's a 450-page full size book with roughly twice the content of a Digital Field Guide, and it features large color illustrations rather than postage stamp sized pictures. To give you the idea of the depth of coverage, this book devotes 117 pages just to menus and setup options, with exhaustive descriptions of how each menu entry works, and why you'd want to select a particular setting. And that doesn't even count a half dozen pages in a later chapter with tables that provide recommended Shooting Menu Bank and Custom Setting Menu Bank settings for particular types of photography.
  
  I particularly enjoyed the 40 pages devoted to lenses, including reviews of all the key lenses available for my Nikon D300. There are another 40 pages on working with light and using the confusing Nikon Creative Lighting System.
  
  Is there anything left out? This time, Busch does not devote a third of the pages to checklist recipes for common shooting situations, as he did with his D200 Digital Field Guide. I think that the owner of a camera this advanced probably doesn't need a couple pages of summaries on how to take photos of seascapes or sunsets. I'd rather have the solid information in this book, which equipped me to go out and take any kind of picture I want to.
  
  
  
  

• Great book !!!

  
  By A2BQF0V8XUEQ77 on 2008-05-20
  I received the book of David Busch a few days ago. I hadn't the patience to read the manual that came with the Nikon D300 because of its format and the lack of color in it. I had read on the Internet that this book is very well written. Well, I'm not disappointed at all ! It's a great book (432 pages, 190 full-colour pictures, a lot of tables) that explains every single button and feature of the D300. Beside the detailed explanation, there are also a lot of shooting tips. There are also chapters on getting the right exposure, choosing the right lenses, the lighting basics, useful softwares, cleaning the sensor etc.
  
  I think it's iniquitous to write, as one reviewer did, that this book is a ripp-off because there are a lot of pictures that had been used in the Canon 40D book. The controls and features of the Nikon D300 are very well explained in David Busch's book, with numerous pictures of the buttons of this very camera. If there are some landscape pictures or some paragraphs on the lighting basics that were used in another book, it doesn't not prevent this book from being one of the best tool to learn quite all the capabilities of the Nikon D300 ! I thank David Busch for his great work !!!
  
  

• Ripped Off! Not a Nikon D300 book.

  
  By A1BJVJ09FG2ESB on 2008-05-15
  I bought this book because I got a Nikon D300 and I knew I would need more than just the manual that comes with the camera.
  My friend is a Canon fan and owns the Canon 40D, but I always heard Nikon is a better camera, and I bought the Nikon D300. Why tell you this?
  Because when I was debating what camera to buy I read my friends Canon 40D book by this same author. So when I was looking for a book, I saw that David Bush wrote this book, and bought it.
  While reading the book I felt I had already read this book. I started coming across information I had already read. I went to the local book store to compare since I didn't have the copy of the Canon book anymore.
  Surprise! Not only did I find one book by Mr. Bush with the same information but two (one Nikon and one Canon). Not only does this author reuse the same text throughout the book, but the same pictures are used throughout (Some are not exactly the same but you can tell they were shot in the same time frame). Some image look old and they might not even be digital.
  I feel ripped off! I would expect the author would use images shot with the camera. The author is taking a general photography books, adding a few menus from the specific camera, and passing himself off as an expert on the Nikon. Or is he a Canon expert? I can't tell.
  This author should be ashamed selling the same book with different covers. Refund!
  
  
  
• David Busch, where were you when I had all my other Nikons?
  By ALPUEUD47VBJI on 2008-05-19
  I just traded all my old Nikons for a D300 and knowing that the factory manual would be almost unintelligible both because of the language as well as its physical size, I automatically searched for but was unsuccessful in finding my old stand-by - the Magic Lantern Guide to (you name the camera). Fortunately, I came upon this book and based solely on the recommendations of others on this site, I purchased it. Physically larger than the Magic Lantern series, his book is much easier to read and the information is so very clearly presented that it is a pleasure to read. The illustrations are very clear, well-labeled and informative.In comparison to the Magic Lantern series which I had for my other Nikons, this book is far and away superior. If you have D300 and do not have extensive experience with advanced digital SLR's, this is the best guide that I have seen so far. Buy it!,
  
  
• Best book on the D300
  By AK24MEWCRTSM8 on 2008-05-31
  By far the best book on the Nikon D300. Whereas most competing books do a quick overview of the options and then launch into generic how to take pictures advice (which is likely too simplistic and therefore not useful to someone who shells out major bucks for the D300), Busch's book concentrates almost exclusively on the various (and seemingly infinite) options for the D300. The book is clear and absolutely essential for those who have bought (or want to buy) a D300. I actually bought the book before buying the camera, and reading it convinced me to buy. The documentation that comes with the camera is clear but doesn't help decide when the various options might be useful. Most of the other books on the D300 are not much of an improvement in that regard. Busch's book is. Also the Busch book is extremely helpful on various accessories; the Nikon site is useless in deciding which of various versions of some accessories are important to buy. Several minor errors, a result of rush to publication, but not troublesome.
  
  
• David Busch's Nikon D300 guide to Digital SLR Photography
  By A19LF0Q97FP9VS on 2008-05-13
  This is an excellent guide for owners of the fantastic Nikon D300! The author certainly knows the camera and his photography expertise adds another dimension to the learning process. I was very impressed with the full color photos that accompany the text and the guide is layed out in an extremely organized manner. David's hints and recommendations for particular settings were invaluable to me for getting started with the camera. This is a great value.
  
  
• Highly recommended book
  By A3L82MZUZMLVB7 on 2008-05-19
  I bought this book as soon as I got my new D300, I had to pre-ordered it from Amazon and got it after a month waiting. It worth the time waiting. This book is an absolute must for any D-300 owner. It explain in detail the camera and its accessories and have invaluable recommendations for both professionals and amateurs on how to use this extremely powerful camera.
  It money well spent if you are the owner of one of these Nikon jewels.
  Juan
  
  
• Perfect advanced guide for this camera
  By A2BN67MBQQ23G1 on 2008-05-08
  Beginners and advanced photographers will love this plain-speaking, but in-depth explanation of the new Nikon D300 digital SLR.
  
  David Busch is becoming one of my favorite authors. I've reviewed several of his books, including a few of his camera guides, and what I appreciate most is that he has the ability to write at exactly the right level for his intended audience. His guide to the Nikon D80, for example, was aimed at entry-level photographers who aspired to greater proficiency, and did a good job of guiding them along this path while explaining the features and settings of the camera fully.
  
  Now Busch has written a guide for the Nikon D300, and he seems to recognize that a book that sticks to an entry-level approach won't work with a camera that has such a rich set of capabilities. Even so, he does a good job with the first few chapters and the introductory material in later chapters of providing a solid grounding in basic ideas.
  
  New photographers are not dumped in over their heads. Even more advanced photographers may learn something new from Busch's explanations. But this book excels when it comes to going beyond the basics, providing more detail and advice than you're likely to find in other, less ambitious guidebooks. For example, his explanation of autofocus, particularly as it applies to the two methods available with the D300's Live View mode, is the clearest I've ever seen.
  
  If you want a book that is much more than a rephrasing of the product manual, and which contains everything you need to know to get the most out of your D300, this is the book.
  
  
• Excellent, and VERY well written!
  By AV097JFM4SF2T on 2008-05-30
  I bought the D300 the day it was released last November. I read and re-read and re-read the included manual. It is a typical Nikon user guide, poorly written and difficult to absorb. I've recently read David's book and am ASTOUNDED at how simple everything really is to understand and use! I flagged and highlighted the things I use most often for quick reference. This book will travel with me everywhere my camera goes. It has a nice, safe, and permanent place among my other gear. It's invaluable and AMAZINGLY written in comprehendable sentences. It's written for a real life photographer like myself. I'm grateful to have gotten this book. It's opened up all the possibilities of my camera to me. Possibilities I missed in the technobabble of the D300 user manual. I no longer carry the user manual with me. It's a nice dust collector on my desk now.
  
  
• Best Manual Yet
  By ANDXI7HX3GK4F on 2008-05-12
  Only in 3rd chapter, but this book is far better than any of his others. Diagrams and pictures are large and in color and Busch is extremely thorough. All content is about the D300; not a lot of generic digital photography fluff. Not only is this the first book out on the D300, but probably the best, by far.
  
  
• D300 guide
  By A3DWHF5CE7HE2O on 2008-05-22
  Absolutely the best guide for such a complex camera!!! David should make some DVDs of his material, to accentuate the use of the awesome book!!! He really knows digital cameras and especially this one.
  
  
• Bloated and boring...
  By A1I2URQVTCJLTA on 2008-06-10
  I picked up this book while comparing other books on the D300 and I have to say that this book was completely BORING. Drawn-out discussions and overly technical jargon abound in this book. The author presents the material in a pompous manner and considering that his photos are not even GOOD, I have a problem taking his advice seriously.
  
  This book is probably aimed at technical egg-heads and pixel-peepers.
  
  At two and a half pounds and 430 pages this book is definitely not convenient to carry around as a reference guide, but it would be great for protection against someone trying to mug you for your camera.
  
  So, if you need something to put you to sleep at night, or you like to read highly suspect technical jargon go ahead and buy this dog of a book.
  
  
• Nikon D300 Explained
  By A16U3VRY0JCYTS on 2008-05-11
  The book is very well written and gives an excellent explanation of all camera controls and options. The best part is the explanation of the "why" of all options.
  
  
• Best D300 guide yet
  By A34CKIMZ969UW7 on 2008-06-04
  David Busch does this great camera justice with a great guide. A fine read as well, never boring or "too technical". If you own a D300, you should have this book.
  
  
• Extremely helpful for an amateur.
  By A1BADGZI3MAKAO on 2008-06-05
  This is extremely helpful for an amateur. Tells the why while the manuel only tells the what. Illustrations are excellent.
  
  
• Good book
  By A2G7DUUCPFA0HR on 2008-06-04
  Quite informative, great price, and needed for these more complicated cameras. It gives more in-depth information in to how the camera works, the settings than the original manual from Nikon.
  
  
• Just what I was looking for
  By A2UVTEQKK2YUNG on 2008-06-07
  This book is exactly what I was looking for. I have read the negative reviews, frankly the reviewer's opinion of the author is useless to me. What I wanted to know is does the book meet my needs, should I spend my money on it or not?
  
  What I needed for my camera is a comprehensive guide that explaines the purpose and function of every one of the D300's controls, how I should use them in specific situations, and why.
  
  Mr Busch does all of that plus provide helpful insights as to how settings which work well in one environment will actually degrade my work in a different environment (e.g., using D lighting set to high). I was also looking for tips for improving my photographic skills and techniques using the specific features of this camera. The author taps into his knowledge gained throughout his career and does that as well. Mr. Busch writes in a very readable fashion with a degree of humor. His explanations are clear and the pictures supporting the various explanations are accurate and very helpful (especailly in color - something else the owner's guide did not do). Therefore the book does meet my needs.
  
  While it is true that the author does make repeated comments about why he is not covering this point or that point, I found those explanations helpful rather than a hinderance. They removed the guess work about why something was not mentioned or only covered in very limited detail. These are judgment calls by the Author and were necessary unless he wanted to produce an 800 page tome. In addition, since the vast majority of pictures in the book were photos of a D300 (making it a true Nikon D300 Book), of it's switches and menus and its various screens, showing how and where to find the functions being described, the fact (or possibility) that a few of the actual photographs may have been used in another of Mr. Busch's books, or may have been taken with another camera was completely irrelevant to the value of the book as a 'camera specific' guide to producing great work with the D300.
  
  This is a great instruction book on using the D300 to produce great photographs, and it was worth every penny I paid for it.
  
  EHF
  Raleigh, NC
  
  
• A absolute must have
  By A1RXAM5H4VSEJ on 2008-05-29
  The book David Busch's Nikon D300 Guide to Digital SLR Photography is a must have for every Nikon D300 owner. In contrast to the owners manual and other 'field guides', this book gives a lot of detailed information about what the camera is capable of, what the tweaks and settings effect, it shows best practices and a lot of tips and tricks. It's not a book for the hasty types among us.
  
  

• Nikon D300 inBrief Laminated Reference Card
• Nikon EN-EL3e Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery for D200, D300, D700 and D80 Digital SLR Cameras
• Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
• Introduction to the Nikon D300
• Nikon D300 Digital Field Guide