Nikon D50 Digital Field Guide

I recommend this book to those who felt the manual that came with the camera was not enough. It covers everything that is in the manual with more detail and every page is in color as well. Along with the information on how to use the camera, it also gives you simple and basic information on how to take pictures explaining exposure, metering and more. Nice book to have around for beginners.

This is what this book is, and is not: * It's a FIELD GUIDE. I bought it specifically because it was a small format book that I could take along with me for guidance when I am out taking pictures. When I am unsure what menu settings to make, I take this book out of my backpack, look up the options, and make them quickly. When I see a photo opportunity, I can look up that kind of photo and read three or four pages of advice, illustrated with full color pictures. * It doesn't duplicate the user's manual -- it expands on the information in the user's manual and provides more detail about the things you really need to know about the D50's controls. * It's not a software manual. I don't take my laptop with me when I take pictures, so I don't really need lots of pages about Photoshop or Elements or Picture Project or Nikon Capture. It's silly to expect a photography field guide to waste 20-25 percent of its pages on software. * It includes all the settings you need for the practice photos if you look carefully, including f/stop, shutter speed, ISO setting, saturation boost (if used), etc. Plus the lens used is listed, although most of the shots were made with the same two or three inexpensive lenses. * This book is definitely NOT written for the advanced photographer. This book is cheap enough that the controls and functions part would be useful for any new owner of a D50, regarless of expertise level. I would have bought it just for that. The how-to sections are better suited for novice and intermediate photographers who need some ideas and tips. Sharp advanced photographers won't be looking for definitive photography tutorials in a 250-page field guide, in any case. Overall, I liked this book a lot. I'm on the verge of graduating from intermediate to advanced photographer, but there was still a lot in this small book for me to learn from. It could have benefited from more coverage of VR, but nothing is perfect.

Like many experienced photographers, I am often asked by friends to recommend a good, simple, camera for someone who has a nascent interest in taking pictures. Lately, I've been recommending the Nikon D50, and advising these neophyte photographers to add this book to their wish list. It's important not to overwhelm beginners with too much information, too soon, and the author of this field guide seems to understand the needs of D50 owners quite well. It offers exactly the kind of information that someone new to D-SLR photography needs. These people are serious about taking pictures and have the time to spend doing the best job they can -- otherwise they would not have invested in a camera that's both easy to use, but which has a wealth of directions in which to grow creatively. They'll learn the essentials from this book in a simple to digest form -- everything from how to set up their D50, how to use the various settings and controls, and how to apply them in specific photo environments. It's remarkable how much information is packed into such a concise book, and equally surprising just how valuable this guidance is for photographers. This Field Guide makes a good starting point. Read it, learn your camera, apply the lessons in this book and then go on with different books to learn even more.

The manual that comes with the Nikon D50 has good basic information, and it certainly is the authoritative source for reference information about the camera's menus and settings and controls. However, this book does a much better job of explaining how to use the camera within the greater context of SLR photography. I recently purchased a Nikon D50 for my high-school-age son, who has a budding interest in photography. At the same time I got him this book as well as Busch's other digital SLR book, "Digital SLR Cameras and Photography for Dummies." They are complementary books. This one won't teach you photography, although it has some good basic information on fundamentals such as exposure and composition. It does show how to use the key controls of the camera, and it does that quickly in a few chapters with well-labeled photos. The Nikon D50 Digital Field Guide also provides basic tips on common types of shooting situations, and is compact enough to go along with my son in his backpack. As he's ready to learn photography with a digital SLR from the ground up, he's got the information he needs for that in Busch's Dummies book. These two books cover all the bases, and I recommend them highly.

I'm so glad there is a decent book on using the D50 available, because there is certainly a serious need for such a book. This one has everything you need to get started shooting pictures, and it complements the user's manual perfectly. It is divided into 7 chapters plus a Quick Tour that describes just the essentials to begin shooting immediately. Chapter 1 -- Exploring the Nikon D50. This is a description of all the features of the camera, with close up photos showing the location of every control and what it's used for. Chapter 2 -- Setting Up Your Nikon D50. Explains the important menu settings and why you'd want to use them and what for. Chapter 3 -- Photographic Basics. This chapter explains all the terms like f-stop and shutter speed and depth-of-field. Chapter 4 -- Working with Light. Very valuable advice on using the D50 internal flash and Nikon external flashes. Chapter 5 -- All About Lenses. If interchangeable lenses are new to you, this chapter explains how to choose them, and what they do to improve your pictures. Chapter 6 -- Photo Subjects. This is a 100 page chapter with dozens of photo shooting situations and descriptions of the settings you need to take good landscape or portrait or other kinds of photos. Chapter 7 -- Downloading and Editing Pictures. This is more of a overview of what you can do and how to do it instead of a chapter on image editing, which would take a whole book. This chapter will get you started. This book is a great tool for owners of the D50 camera.