Nikon D200 Digital Field Guide

The Nikon D200 is a wonderful digital SLR, but may be a little daunting to those who are upgrading from one of Nikon's entry-level cameras, or another brand. It has many options and settings, and is more similar to the "professional" D2X than to the cameras priced more closely to it. That is why I was pleased to see this excellent introduction to the D200 available so soon after the camera itself came out. This book does not cover all the most technical mumbo jumbo pertaining to the D200, although it does go into considerable depth. That's a good thing. New owners don't want to start right out with obscure settings and capabilities that they don't really use. Considering this book's modest price, I think it strikes just the right balance. The D200 Digital Field Guide is very thorough where it counts, in the introduction to the camera's layout and its features, and descriptions of how to use the settings. It also has deep coverage of the most important photography concepts as they relate to the D200, such as use of lenses and lighting effects. There are many books that have 250 pages of good information in them, but, unfortunately, they are often 600 page books! This one has 250 pages of exactly the right information, with no fluff and no extraneous material. If you own a D200, you need it.

Unlike the reviewer who uses a Spanish obscenity for his user name, I have read this book, and find it to be filled with solid information. The reviewer apparently gets his jollies from trashing authors, as all four of his reviews offer ridiculous criticisms of best-selling books. On the other hand, I have actually purchased and read this book, and find it to be filled with useful information about the Nikon D200. It's clear, concise, and provides complete explanations of the D200's controls, menus settings, and features, along with advice on how to use this advanced camera to best advantage. I enjoyed this author's earlier book on the D70, and now that I have upgraded to the D200 I am glad that a similar book with more depth has been made available for my new camera. If you own the D200, you need this book.

What a great book! I was apprehensive about buying this book, sight unseen, because too many of the third-party "user" guides are just rehashes of the manual that comes with the camera, and padded with filler that doesn't really apply to the model under discussion. Not so with this book, which is crammed full of D200-specific information that describes the features and use of this camera in a great deal more detail than you'll find in the user manual. Instead of a dry listing of controls and settings, you'll find this refreshing approach invaluable: * An introduction that puts the Nikon D200 in perspective, dipping back into history to explain Nikon's involvement in digital SLRs beginning in the late 1980s. This helped me better understand where the camera came from, and how it fits into the current Nikon product line. * A "Quick Start" chapter that provides a fast introduction to the main features and controls I needed to know to go out and begin using my D200 (which is the fastest way to learn, compared to sitting around reading the product manual.) * Chapter 1 is a guided tour of the D200. Like the rest of the book, it's in full color. My main beef with the manual furnished with the camera is that it is in black-and-white and points you to various controls only through a few line drawings with dozens of directional arrows pointing to the control. This book has both overall color photos of the camera, and close-up pictures from various angles, with clear labels that show you each of the controls and text explanations of what they do and how you might want to use them. * Chapter 2 explains how to set up the D200, including the mysterious Custom Settings menus, again with full color renditions of the menus themselves. You might need to refer back to the user manual from time to time for a less common setting, but, out in the field, everything you need to know is right here. The next few chapters explain how to use other features, work with electronic flash, select lenses, and other information, all dealing with the D200. The final chapter of the book is a general photography/composition chapter with examples of pictures taken under different situations. But even here there are specific references to using the D200's best settings for these pictures. Because the D200 is a more advanced camera, I expected -- and got -- a more in-depth explanation than I've found in guides written for entry-level digital SLRs. The author clearly understands the audience for this book. I'd say that if you were using the D200 professionally, you probably wouldn't need the information in the last chapter, but still would find the controls and settings chapters very helpful. And anyone who is unsatisfied with the confusing information in the original manual will find that this book has more clarity.