Mastering the Nikon D700 (The Mastering Camera Guide Series)

This book is a waste of time.. There are no master lessons here....1. The reason I bought the book was so I could get a different perspective from the manual, not always written clearly, that comes with the Nikon D700. Instead what I received was a rudimentary book that told me repeatedly to refer to the manual. Thanks for making me read two books at once. Hint: No one wants to constantly be referred to the manual, which gave much more information that this book gave me, but not in a very readable manner. Having to refer to the manual while reading this book is clumsy for the reader, and it shows laziness on the author's part.2. It seems to me the authors were trying to make Brownie points with Nikon. The book barely scratches the surface which the manual does very well. Not once did they criticize any of the many features on this wonderful camera. But there are certain improvements that Nikon could make to their menu. Only accolades for Nikon in this book, by the authors. There is no in-depth discussion of the benefits / disadvantages of certain settings and menu items. More importantly, there is no discussion on why you would want to use certain settings and in which situations.3. I thought this was a book on mastering the Nikon D700, not on basic photography. For some reason the authors digress for pages on what depth of field is. They don't do a very good job and this is not what I bought the book for. I know what depth of field is. I want to know more about the camera.4. I am saddened that Nikonians, a web based site for Nikon users, allowed this book to be published with their name on it. It is so incomplete.5. A very thin overview of the D700 in a very thin book, with lots of nice pictures of the camera and settings. (In this aspect the book is better than the manual, as the manual's close-ups of the cameras menus and buttons, etc. are in black & white.)6. ARGGGGHHHHH --- I feel ripped off by the authors who claim this book is more than it is.

I've just move to D800, and this book, among other kindle "Dnnn" ones have been part of my quick research in order to define either to stay with my D700 (amazing Camera !!! ) or not. That said, one year after actually moving into Nikon thru the D700 I found the book amazing, specially for it's organization. Going through the myriad of options cameras like the Nikons Dnnn have may be, at least very dull, and easily a nightmare of interrelated paths up and down all the choices within the choices. Once again, this well organized book help the reader walk and enjoy (!!!!!) the path thru the D700 knowing and learning process. Even though I had another very similar book (paper version) I bought this in e-version in order to navigate around the pages in a more agile fashion.Very good book, mission accomplished ! (actually . accomplished so well, I almost stayed with my D700).

When I bought the Nikon D700, I discovered there were a LOT of menu items on this particular camera. The camera does come with a manual but like most manuals, it explains the function of a particular menu item but now how, why or when it should be used. It explains what default menu items to change and the examples are in color for the most part. Whatever happened to the simple cameras of ages past? Gone. Modern DSLRs are stockpiled with controls to define the lighting conditions, the exposure values, exposure compensation, lens couplings with computer chips to tell the camera what lens is being used, flash adjustments, GPS devices, wirelessly controlling the camera and varied lighting setups, and even the format of the shots being taken. This book is a good source of information on all of these parameters.

To handle it properly and squeeze every drop of its potential, you must know exactly what each function and/or control of the D700 does. Otherwise, there is no practical reason for spending so much money in a camera this caliber: The D700 is the most precise, versatile, efficient and owner configurable semi-pro camera in today's market and you have the option of customize it to the most demanding calibration parameters, personal needs and settings, as no other camera of its kind can. That's why this book is so transcendental: it explains clear and thoroughly why and how each and every setting and tuning can be placed in the camera. Where the owner's manual gets short (even with its 400+ pages), and for that matter, other books of its kind, this volume fills the blanks. Indeed, this book could be considered a general digital camera operating manual. Now you'll know exactly what kind of extraordinary camera you have in your hands and how to explode all of its possibilities.

This book is nicely organized and walking along with the Owner's Manual, which makes it easy to proceed. Generally,Nikon D700 is very very complex piece of equipment and the software is also very complicated. Neither the owners manual nor the book are easy understandable. Of course, the author did a great job in interpreting the owner's manual, but still there are some parts, which is not really clear or understandable. When it talks about the custom setting, there are points which is repetition of the owner's manual and still it is vague. This custom setting, I even couldn't get a straight forward respond from Nikon expert. I think it is the programing of the software which is not very friendly written, better to say, it is useless feature from Nikon.

The book went over what you need to know to operate the D700 and is a good companion to the detailed manual.

I purchased a second hand D700 some time ago & you guessed it, it came without a book on how to use it.I eventually downloaded a book from the Nikon Site or somewhere else via Google and guess what after reading about 400 pages, I wasn't any the wiser.after a further 6 months of struggling, I came across this book on Amazon which was downloadable....Hoorah.It was in my phone within min's and not only is it well written it's easy to understand as it's not a book of instructions & diagrams like the Nikon Book. It's written in such a way that it does things in the logical way you would expect, from opening your box to setting it up having put in your charged battery. It takes you on a journey explaining a shoot by shoot project and how to set things up easily before you start & how to make changes as the shoot develops. then it takes you into downloading to your PC & beyond.I'm so thankful as now I've learnt my camera in a few easy sessions and it's available to me as a reminder if needed on my android phone, what more could I ask for...... A refund.....LOLOL for writing such nice comments.

I bought the Kindle version of this and have to say I'm somewhat underwhelmed. The title for me is somewhat misleading. I found this book to be little more than a useful supplement to the manual and little more. Way too much space is devoted to a background of the authors and their different cameras over time and explanations of depth of field before you even get to setting the camera. When you do it merely, in some cases, provides some greater detail than the manual around settings whereas in others it merely says "Refer to page ### of manual".As a supplement to the manual it might help you to 'master' changing different camera settings but in terms of why, when and how you might use the myriad options and combinations on this camera to good effect, allowing you to master it, there's is very little if anything of use. Being an owner of the D90 book I also found large tracts of information on aspects such as WB and histograms identical. Inevitable to a degree but once you take out author history, duplicate information (if you own other books) and information that merely tells you HOW to change a setting (rather than why) there's not a lot left.If new to DSLRs and not an owner of any of the other 'Mastering' books it MIGHT be a good supplement to the manual. In that regard I'd give it 2*. As a book to help you master using the D700 I'd say you need to look elsewhere and would rate it 1*.

I found this book to be easy to read and with the accompanying views of the camera screen for each step, easy to understand and indeed to follow and put in to practice on my own camera. There is no need to learn the whole book in one go or even at all as the book is easy to use as a reference book to dip in and out of so small amounts can be learned at any one time as per one's own photo requirements. I don't expect to want to use certain functions of the camera as for example I don't do indoor portrait flash photography and this book makes it easy to pick and choose what one wants to learn and when. Overall this comprehensive book shows the depth of the D700 camera and is a comforting accessory to have around.

I've bought them all, from Simon Stafford to J Dennis Thomas. Although very good guides for the Nikon D700, this book took my learning to another level. Explanations of menus and how to get the best out of them is really worth while and it's worth buying the book for that reason alone. At last I fully understand areas, which although a previous D80 and D300 user, I never fully appreciated. For example Nikon's Creative Lighting system is explained thoughtfully and described superbly. I really do think if anyone is contemplating buying a D700, then this book should be purchased with the camera.

Modern DSLRs have all sorts of features now; each new iteration of a camera range has new features, shifts items within menus and various improvements. I went from the D200 to the D300 and, then a while later, bought the D700. By any standard, I am a fairly keen and competent photographer but I wouldn't dream of having an expensive camera without a reference book to make sure I was getting the most from the camera. This book fulfils that need extremely well and I have used it fairly extensively and often since I got it.