Digital Field Guide is an outstanding companion to the official manual that came with Nikon D70s camera. This book is in two large sections. First section thoroughly describes all the buttons and options in the camera body as well as lens. The other section gives valuable tips on how to shoot perfect, professional-style photographs. I discovered many new features in my D70s while reading this book and was amazed how easy it is to take great photos with these easy-to-understand instructions.

This book is way more informative than the manual. Not only does it cover all the capabilities of the camera, it covers the when to use them, and the why to use them. It also covers various types of photography, & the settings you use. I am a hobbyist photographer so I found this book extremely informative. I take along in my backpack, & have used it for reference frequently in the month since I purchased it.

This book is well written in easy to understand terms. It provides greater detail than the owner's manual and give examples to help one understand. I recommend this book to anyone who recently purchased a D70/70s either new or used. The book explained why my auto show photos were terribly under exposed, the built in flash is far too weak, leading my purchase of an external flash.

I am happy with the book and sometimes refer back to it when photographing in unfamiliar circumstances. -G

This book is designed as 30% how to operate the camera and 70% how to use the camera to take pictures in various situations. The first part of the book (the 30%) is a brief overview of things you would probably learn in the camera operators manual, with some tips that are a nice touch to help you understand practical applications of the camera settings. But the author notes that you need to go the Nikon user manual for more in-depth descriptions of the camera's operaton in some areas. This is probably true, but I found the book provided a fairly complete discussion of the camera operation and I could operate without the manual.

In the 70% of the book, as I see it, the author takes on other aspects of photography and using the camera to take "great photos". He begins with the basics of photography (aperature, shutter speed, ISO, etc.) Then he discusses things such as using different lenses and their effect, how to use the external flashes and how to set up lighting. He delves into things such as how to work with auto focus, and depth of field.

He then discusses the various types of photography (e.g.night photography, photographing children, photographing landscape, night scenes, on-line auction photography, etc) and gives some very practical tips for taking the pictures as well as specific things to do to set up the picture and ensure the camera is set properly; Things such as having help from a parent and sibling to help relax a child during a photo session. The author also takes you through the software that Nikon provides, and offers suggestions on other options (some less costly...free) for doing some of these same tasks. The author provides a candid snapshot of the software packages, telling you their capabilities and limitations. This includes the Nikon software. Finally, a glossary is provided that de-mystifies the language of photographers. I found the book to be unbiased, informative and properly named "Field Guide".

Forget the manual that came with your camera. This book has everything you need to know and more. It just doesn't show you how to turn your camera on and use the functions. It shows you how to really use your camera to get fantastic photos.

The writing style is very entertaining and conversational. Not a ton of "techie" speak. Best of all is the size of the book. It is just the right size to go in my camera bag and not take up a lot of space. I carry it everywhere.

In a nutshell...if you own a Nikon D70...BUY THIS BOOK!

I recently purchased a Nikon D70s and I found this book to be very helpful. It provides more information than the supplied manual, with very helpful tips and techniques

I recently purchased a Nikon D70s and I found this book to be very helpful. It provides more information than the supplied manual, with very helpful tips and techniques

I've had my D70 for about 3 years now and I wish I had bought this book when I got my camera. This book has alot of great iformation about photography with specific instructions on how the information applies when using the D70. This is a good investment for anyone who owns a D70.

I've had my D70 for about 3 years now and I wish I had bought this book when I got my camera. This book has alot of great iformation about photography with specific instructions on how the information applies when using the D70. This is a good investment for anyone who owns a D70.

Easy! This is a great book...a bit easier then the manual that comes with the camera. I think this is a great book to own. Some good tips in there also.

I liked the text to sit back and get a better idea what I had bought at my own speed. I started out with a Nikon 35mm for my work. The change to Digital Photography D70 was a trip made easier by this book.

For the past three Nikon cameras I have owned: the N60, N70, and N80, I purchased the "Magic Lantern Guides" which became indispensable. As any Nikon owner will probably attest, the manufacture's guides are confusing at best, and if you call customer service with a technical question, the help wasn't much better. My guess is that experts rather than writers compile the manuals and what is self explanatory to someone who perhaps developed the camera is not so easy for the average reader to understand. With a good guide, understanding the manual is a snap.

I purchased the camera, began using it and got good results without understanding much of what is in the manual, but I've been a serious hobbyist for almost ten years, so I knew the basics. My first attempts were fine, and I thought "How hard can this be?" However, when I set the camera controls incorrectly, erased photos of my niece's birthday party, I knew I needed help. I could not find a "Magic Lantern Guide" so I decided to try this guide by David Busch. I noticed he also wrote guides for the D50 as well as the more sophisticated D200, so I figured he had to know about Nikon cameras and since I was in a pinch, I purchased it.

The book is user friendly and is one of those "how-to" guides that is easy to understand but not condescending like some of the "For Dummies" and "Idiot's Guide" books can be. He begins by explaining the basics of the camera, continues with how to set up the camera fro use, and concludes with downloading photos from the camera using Nikon's software. The remainder mid-portion of the book deals with the basics of photography. This is where I found the book rather interesting. Busch does give a few suggestions that would help digital users transitioning from film, but he also offers suggestions about lens selection, apertures and shutter speeds for specific subjects, and practice exercises. This makes the book ideal for people new to photography. For more experienced photographers, we have all taken shots that have had lackluster results because we forgot the basics and for me, this book provided a great review. It also made me a bit more determined to break bad habits I developed with my film cameras.

The overall photography tips are better than the information on the camera itself. Still it's a helpful guide and since most people who buy the camera will probably be anxious to get out and use it, the book will be a great help in getting to know the camera.

I really enjoyed this book. I used in coordination with the camera manual. Together they provide more than either alone. I thought it was a great book.

The smartest thing I did this year was move from a Coolpix point shoot camera to a Nikon D70s. The second smartest thing I did was buy this book. It was quite a step up for me to get a D-SLR, but this Digital Field Guide made the transition easy. It served as a welcome introduction to all the camera's features. Plus it showed me how much more there is to photography with an advanced camera. This book helped me become more comfortable with my new D70s and has launched me on the road to being a better photographer.

I use a Nikon D50 myself, but I got this for my friends birthday as I liked the version for my camera. The D70 Digital Field Guide makes it very easy to learn to use this digital Single Lens Reflex camera. It has illustrations that show all the functions and how to make settings, along with example photos of how to shoot in various types of situations. The Digital Field Guides are much easier to understand than the manuals that come with the cameras.

This book provides everything you need to begin using your D70. It includes tons of information that's not in the manual, and was quite in-depth in its treatment of using camera controls and options, with many examples of how you might want to apply various focus, exposure, and other settings.

I also appreciated the lengthy section on taking photos in portrait, sports, animal, travel, and other set-ups. Although small in size, this book crams a lot of content into its pages. It's quite similar to the D50 version I purchased before I upgraded to the D70. I passed that book along to my wife, and I like having my own copy that is customized specifically for my camera.

What makes this book useful to the Nikon D70s owner is that more than two-thirds of the material covers topics that aren't mentioned in the manual at all. The first three chapters describe use of the camera, its controls, and features in much more depth than you'll find in the Nikon manual, with clear explanations of each function and when and how to apply it. This approach alone makes this book a much better introduction to the D70s.

The second two-thirds of the book goes beyond the manual with new material explaining the basics of digital photography with the D70s. It includes discussions of lenses, composing images with a DSLR, and several dozen different kinds of photographic situations and how to approach them. All in all a very satisfying book.

There were only a few new things I learnt. Most of the stuff is already mentioned in the manual. I was expecting an in-depth coverage of stuff. It just seems like old wine in a new bottle. Could have done better definitely. I have respect for the author.

I probably shouldn't have jumped directly from a Nikon Coolpix to a Nikon D70s, but I really wanted to get some pictures as good as my friend was getting, so I took the plunge. Thank goodness this book was available! I got in a bit over my head because I didn't know anything about digital slr cameras, but I learned real fast with this book as my guide. Unlike the manual, it explains the most important controls very completely and thoroughly and tells you why you would want to use a particular feature.

There's lots of guidance on how to shoot certain kinds of photos too. In fact, I found myself exploring new types of photography simply from reading about and seeing the examples in this book. Way to go.

From its quick start to immediate D70s proficiency, to its roadmap of controls, features, and settings, this book has just what new D70s owners need to begin using their cameras effectively. The chapter on shooting specific types of pictures was concise and included a wonderful selection of topics. The full color treatment was much more useful than the blah black-and-white pictures found in the Magic Lantern guide.

I found this to be an excellent D70s guidebook for beginning and intermediate photographers. It has all I need to get started using my new camera, with lots of illustrations showing the location of each control and component, advise on setting up the camera, and when to use and not to use each adjustment.

The first part of the book is a Quick Tour that tells you just what you neeed to know to begin shooting with your camera, including the individual program modes. It is short, only 10 pages, and can be read quickly before you go out and begin shooting. Then, the first chapter covers the same material in much more depth, and goes beyond that to describe things like using the flash, metering modes and so forth. There is also a chapter on setting up your D70s with suggested settings. These introductory chapters on the camera are only about 25% of the book.

The real meat is in the remaining 75% that tells you exactly how to use your D70s camera to take good pictures. Two brief chapters tell you how to use the flash and lenses. Then there is a huge 110 page chapter with descriptions of how to take different types of pictures. For eacxh type, there are several examples, including one with many details about how the photo was taken, what lens, settings, and so forth. There is also advise on how you can go beyond that to shoot in these situations yourself creatively. The types of photography include sports, business, candid, child, flowers and plants, group portraits, indoor portraits, landsacpe, close-ups, night photography, panoramas, seascape, street life, sunsets, travel, weather, and animals.

This book is better than the Nikon manual in getting you started, and the chapters on shooting various kinds of pictures make it worth buying all by themselves.

While this book is pocket sized, the figures are in full color and large enough to evaluate easily. Nor is it all pictures with very little text.

The chapters include:

Quick Tour: This shows you just what is needed to begin taking pictures right out of the box, even before you have learned your camera well.

Chapter 1: Exploring the Nikon D70s: This looks more in-depth at the features of the camera and their use.

Chapter 2: Setting Up Your D70s: This chapter tells you how to make the essential settings both common and not so.

Chapter 3: Photography Basics: Explains exposure, using histogram, depth of field, etc.

Chapter 4: Working with Light. How to use lighting, multiple lighting, flash and so forth.

Chapter 5: Lenses. Choosing lenses and what to do with them.

Chapter 6: Photo Subjects: More than two dozen different photography situations with all the settings to get perfect photos of them.

Chapter 7: Downloading and Editing Pictures. This was not my favorite chapter as it was very basic, but still useful for the beginner.

Glossary: Big glossary with lots of definitions of words that you might not be familiar with.

I recommend this book.

While I agree with the reviewer that this is a great book for beginners, I don't agree that "if you have a D70 you shouldn't be an amateur." Hello! Although the D70 can be used to take professional quality photos, Nikon certainly isn't selling this camera primarily to pros. It's aimed at exactly the sort of user who will get the most from this book -- serious photographers who want to get better pictures, but who may not be experienced with digital SLR cameras. It has what you need to learn more about this camera and use its features to improve your work. Although it starts out with the basics, Busch gently moves you into more complex topics. The author doesn't talk down to you, and, unlike the reviewer, doesn't patronize women, older people, or those who know nothing about photography. You don't need to be a professional to use the Nikon D70s -- all you need is this book.

I orded this book and was extremely disappointed with it when it arrived. If you have a D70 you shouldn't be an amateur, and that's what this book is for. It's written as if it were for an 80 year old woman to read who knows nothing about photography. The book does not dive into the real functions of the camera. No different than any other "getting started" book I've seen. The example photos are horrible too. I am sending mine back. I do not suggest you buy this book if you are experienced or a pro. You will be let down.

I checked out all the other guidebooks for the D70, and this one is by far the best. The DVDs are impractical -- who can take a DVD with you out to the field? The e-books are clumsy to use -- you can't read them except on a computer, and who takes pictures at their computer? What I wanted was a book, and one that wasn't just a rehash of the user manual. This is that book. It has lots of information about the D70 as well as the kind of photographic information you need to improve your photographic skills. This is truly the best guide to this great Nikon camera.

If you're like me, you find the manual that comes with the D70 almost impossible to understand. This book is definitely possible to understand. In fact, it's easy! It has all you want to know about getting your D70 set up and working the way you want it, as well as many suggestions for making the best settings. If you use a D70 camera, you will want this book.

I originally purchased this author's Nikon D50 book, and learned enough that I have since upgraded to the more advanced Nikon D70s. So, naturally, I got this book as well. While there is some overlap in coverage between the two books, I found this one worthwhile simply for its detailed roadmap of the D70s's controls and features. About 2/3 of the book deals specifically with the D70s, while the remaining 1/3 shows you how to take pictures using the lenses and accessories available for this camera. It is a great resource.

I appreciated that this book is 100 percent oriented towards the Nikon D-70 camera. I don't understand the charge that only 36 pages are dedicated to the Nikon D-70, as the first 46 pages alone cover nothing but camera controls, setup, menus, and other points in much more helpful detail than is found in the manual furnished with the camera. Then follows a chapter on getting correct exposure with the D-70, one on working with light and Nikon electronic flashes, and another on using Nikon Lenses. That's 100 pages right there! I found the next section even more useful, it being a discussion of using the D-70 to get spendid pictures in many different photo environments, with recommended lenses, settings, and accessories. Quite a useful book, actually.

find another book. this book has 36 pages dedicated to the D70, and the rest of the book discusses general issues that apply to photography in general. we know our owner's manual well and had hoped to gain additional insight, but we found nothing in this book that is not in the manual. overall, a waste of our money, but might be worth your's if you've never read your manual and know nothing about photography.

I found this an amazingly easy guide to use. I dont know why original product manuals aren't this straightforward.
If you are a keen but not fanatical photographer this is for you....

This is a great book on using the camera and very informative. I would have liked some more information on: the statistics of the camera, the corrective lenses for the optical finder that will work with the adjustable feature (I need 3+ correction), and manual usage of camera with older lenses. I do like this book and found it very helpful.

I am what you might call an advanced amateur photographer with a strong background in film SLRs. My reason for buying this book was to try to understand more about my new Nikon D70 camera than what is contained in the user's manual.

After reading this book, I was pleasantly surprised to find I had learned far more than than the technical facts of how to use my D70 than I had expected. I found that in addition to clarifying the basic operational aspects of my camera, this book was packed with information about basic photography as applied to the D70.

This book covers everything from the 'Rule of Thirds' to lighting techniques to suggested practice shots for you to go out and take. It covers the new SB600 & 800 flash units as well as natural light. It tells you how to take large group shots as well as portraits. I especially liked the recommendation for getting someone to help you with large groups. I'd never tried that and have since found that this works extremely well.

This book also has lots of great suggestions about taking pictures of landscapes, sunsets, zoos, travel, still life, street life, seascapes, panoramas, patterns, online auction photos, night, children, architecture, etc. This book really amazed me with it's wealth of information - all as applied to the Nikon D70.

So, if you are a beginner to a serious amateur with a Nikon D70 camera, I highly recommend this book.

Russ MacDonald

I found the book very useful in helping me switch from film SLR to DSLR. Much better than other books in presentation of basic material with "test examples" being very helpful. (Keep in mind that I am switching from 1960's non-automatic/electronic Spotmatics)

I wish I had this book 6 months ago rather than the Magic Lantern book and Nikon manual I have been using.

This book is not intended to teach about taking great pictures but rather to use the camera and its functions to take the great pictures. Maybe some of the other reviewers expected both.

A little more could have been written about external flash procedures.

Missing was information about manufacturer program updates and updating procedures. To me that is part of operation of this camera.

Somewhat contrary to a recent review here, I found this book to be perfect for my needs. The previous review is incorrect in stating that the author does not go into "whys" or alternatives. In fact, I was extremely impressed that in the author's discussion of the various D70 program modes, he was very specific in describing why and when you would want to use each of these modes, and when you would *not* want to use them. This book is filled with great photos, and a perfect mix of useful information -- much better than the manual that comes with the camera. This is a superb resource!

I've been a somewhat serious "prosumer" photographer since Photo Journalism 401 in college. I recently graduated from Sony DSC717 to Nikon D70S. After one glance at the D70S manual, I ordered this book, which also covers the D70S. What I think helps it a lot is the author is a photojournalist, but he takes it a step futher from the technology angle. He credits in the Acknowledgements the help from Mike Sullivan, "whose more than a decade of experience shooting Nikon-based digital cameras proved invaluable." It shows. He does a great job of bringing it all together, easy to understand, with NUMEROUS tips and techniques. He really know his stuff and covers the D70S as well.

This book is quite pretty. I find it, however, to be better at giving compelling examples of photography basics (e.g. night time photos, macro photos, etc.) than specifics about the D70. Its a good book, but the magic lantern one is more helpful if you actually want guidance that is specific to the camera, instead of just an annontated list of the functions the camera has. For example, its fine that it has an auto ISO function, but how does it work and is it a good idea to use it? This book takes no position on such issues.

This book is well written and full of color and is easy to read. It does rehash a lot of the same information from the owners manual, but it is very easy to follow and makes more sense than the owners manual. In fact, I haven't even looked at my owners manual that much and have learned most of what I know about the D70s from this book. It has some good tutorials on the different types of photography (i.e. portraits, landscapes, closeups, etc, etc) I would have rated it five stars if it was a little more indepth on some of the fuctions of the D70s, but all in all, this is a very handy book for a D70 owner.

I have wanted a DSLR camera since I first read about their existence but affording one was the main issue. Then along came the Nikon D-70. Once I purchased the D-70 I knew I needed something other than the manual that nikon provided. I have found the Nikon D-70 Digital Field Guide by David D. Busch a very helpful, well laid out step by step manual. Composition is not a problem with me it's figuring out the cool ways to make that composition look its best possible. That starts with becoming familiar with your camera. The Nikon D-70 is the most versatile camera I have owned. With the Digital Field Guide I am learning more about its potential every day and I am taking better pictures each time I push that shutter release. I highly recommend this guide to any owner of a D-70.

This book is for those of us who are intimidated by the technical aspects of the Nikon manual. While it doesn't talk down to its readers, it is more user friendly than the manual that comes with your new camera. The book is well laid out and logical in its approach, the index simplifies your search for specific items of interest, and the author focuses (excuse the pun) on areas of interest to those of us who are not professional photographers but who are interested in taking quality pictures.

This book explains how to use the camera well by using pictures and text to get the point across. The two most important points I learned is when to use aperture priority and when to use shutter priority.

I found this book to be exceptional at taking features one step at time and delivering a clear and concise explanation. I would also recommend the dSLR e-book by Peter Inova that covers the D70s and has a few more advanced user tips.

I really appreciated that the author realized that this book was going to be tucked into a camera backpack and taken out into the field for use as a compact, concise reference guide. It isn't bloated with useless information, nor does it duplicate all the information in the manual that is provided with the D70s.

Instead, this book does two things. In the first half it provides an illustrated summary of all the controls and the key menu choices much more clearly than is provided in the Nikon menu. If you forget how to set the burst mode or want to use the self-timer, you can flip the book open, quickly see where the controls are, and use them immediately.

The first half also does a good job of telling you exactly when to use various modes and options. For example, each of the Scene modes is accompanied by a little blurb labeled "When to Use" and "When Not to Use." You're also told to use Continuous Autofocus for sports and pictures with fast moving subjects, and to use Single Autofocus for more stationary pictures. I also liked the advice on working with flash.

The second half of the book is divided into several dozen sections on each kind of photography with a brief description of that kind of photography, advice on how to take good pictures of that type, and recommendations on what lenses and settings to use. This is exactly what I needed. I don't want a huge book to carry with me out in the field. If I want to read an entire chapter on Landscape Photography, I'll buy one of those 800 page do-everything books. As a Field Guide, this book has exactly what I needed, no more and no less.

The manuals that accompany new digital cameras are packed with information on every single feature of the camera. Unfortunately, the feature by feature presentation doesn't do much to show you how to use the camera to take good pictures. This book aims at that target for the Nikon D70 digital camera.

The book provides a quick start up guide and then a more detailed list of the D70's features that is something like the presentation in the manual, i.e., descriptive without being too functional unless you know what you want to achieve. But once the introduction is over, there is information on photography basics like exposure, depth of field, the use of artificial light, focusing modes and lens selection.

The second half of the book discusses photo subjects, like architectural photography, flower and plant photography, and street life photography. Each of these sections offers some general ideas on the subject and presents a picture taken by the author. The author discusses his consideration of setup, lighting, lens, etc. in taking the picture.

This book aims at people who are converting from a point-and-shoot camera to a D70, and I suppose it may do as an introductory text. But no one should think that this book is going to make him or her a very competent digital photographer. This is because the discussion of the D70's features is superficial at best. For example the discussion of focusing indicates there are two autofocus modes, single servo and continuous servo, but never really explains when the photographer might select one over the other.

Similarly when the author describes the menu preferences, he never really tells you when each of the preferences might be useful. Moreover, he doesn't even discuss some of the critical menu items. While the D70 is not Nikon's most expensive camera it still is not inexpensive. Someone buying this camera will want to know how to get the most out of it. For example, most serious digital camera users will probably want to use the raw format occasionally. I expected a comparison of the raw format to the JPEG format. There was none. I also expected some discussion of the settings for sharpness, color mode, and similar settings available under the "optimize image" setting. Again there was none.

Occasionally I was confused by references by the author like "Adobe Elements 4.0". Busch is way ahead of Adobe on this one, since they are only selling Elements 3.0

If you are one of those photographers making the transition from a point and shoot camera to a D70, the book may help you ease the transition. But to really use the capabilities of this camera you will have to do a lot of other research.

Thi guide is a well written information packed book on the Nikon D70. I Have been using the D70 for over a year now and found lots of useful information in this book.

Please don't listen to the nay-sayers, this book is worth having. True it is not for the professional photographer, but it is good for the amatuer and advanced amatuer.

No matter what a few of the reviewers say this book is well worth having.

I, too, was disappointed by the DVDs and e-books about the D70s that I checked out, although I was smart enough not to buy any of them. This camera bag sized guide does a much better job of teaching you how to use this amazing camera.

It is divided into several sections. The first part shows how to operate the camera itself and explains each control much more clearly than the manual that Nikon provides with the camera. There is a Quick Start Tour that gets you up and running and taking your first pictures in minutes, and then two chapters with more detail on the controls and menus. The second part of the book tells how to take better pictures with the D70s, using lots of example photos, information about the best settings to use, suggested lenses, and ideas for extending the author's suggestions with your own creativity.

This book is in full color, too, which, in my humble opinion, is the only way to produce a book about photography. If your a beginner to the Nikon D70s system, this is the easiest way to learn how to use the camera.

Maybe it's a little unfair, but I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 because it deals only with the D70 and D70s. We owners of the newer D50 could use a guidebook like this one, but I bought this book because it was the best I could do.

However, BEST really does apply. This is a great introductory book for new digital single lens reflex camera owners. Actually, only the Quick Tour and first two chapters deal exclusively with the D70 series, and to be fair a lot of the material in them did apply to my D50. The rest of the book was very suitable for my camera, though, as it deals with photography of many different kinds from a Nikon perspective. This is a very good description of tips and techniques for sports, portraits, architecture, travel photography, animals, close-up pictures, sunsets, scenics, fireworks, and other situations.

D50 camera owners who are considering getting this book should know that about 2/3 of it will be very useful to them, but the first several chapters have to be looked at carefully, as not all of the D50 controls are the same.

Some of the other D70s books I've seen are just rewordings of the manual that comes with the camera. Not this one. It does include large close-up pictures of each part of the camera with the controls labeled and explained, but it also shows you how to use each feature, and why you should be using it. It doesn't replace the original manual, so you may need to use it to look up some less used features. But it does provide a good introduction to this camera and how to use it.

I liked its compact size, which meant I could take it with me to use as reference. I found the large chapter on picture taking situations very useful. You can look up particular genres of photography and see how to do them, taking advice from the tips, settings, recommended lenses and so forth. This chapter, Six, is more than 100 pages long all by itself and well worth the modest cost of this book. There are full color pictures on each page so you can see exactly what the author is talking about.

Good book, great pictures, and the price is right.

I don't review many of the books I buy. (Click on the See All My Reviews Link for proof! LOL!) But I got this book a couple weeks ago and thought it deserved a review from someone who at least had read it thoroughly and understood what author Busch was trying to do here.

This is what this book is, and is not:

* It's a FIELD GUIDE, folks! It bought it specifically because it was a small format 250 page 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'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 does include 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. I almost wish the author -had- used some exotic lenses for at least a few shots. I would have been interested to learn more about Vibration Reduction, for example.

* I agree with that 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 D70, 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.

Advanced photographers who already have a deep understanding of photography probably won't find anything new in this compact, carry-along D70 book. However, it's great reading for someone like me who has just purchased this complicated camera and wants to learn how to apply its features to photography. It's surprising how much information has been condensed into such a small package. There's no space wasted on working with Photoshop -- it's all about photography.

My very favorite part of the book is the large chapter with the practice pictures. Given the tips provided, any D70 owner should be able to duplicate these photos, because no exotic techniques or equipment was used and most of the shots were of everyday subjects we all have access to. The author provides the exact settings for the example photos, including shutter speed, aperture and lens used. After I discovered that most of the sample photos were taken with the kit lens that came with my camera, plus the inexpensive 28mm-200mm Nikkor zoom, I went out and got the 28-200mm lens. Those two lenses are probably all I will ever need to get results like these.

To sum up, if you are learning the craft of photography with the Nikon D70 and need a compact guide book, this one does a very good job of it.

I too bought this book based on the reviews here. It is "Okay" for a beginner but not great even at that. There is incorrect information and no data for the published pictures whatsoever - i.e. - exposure, D70 settings, nothing. In the practice picture tutorials in the back, you would need about $15k worth of lenses to duplicate his trials. There are about 6 pages on Picture Project and 3 pages on Capture with most of this being pictures of the screen...horribly inadequate when you are attempting to learn these powerful tools. Also, some of the pictures published were only fair in quality. I returned this book. In my opinion, not worth the paper it is printed on.

I bought this book based on the good reviews shown here. I was disappointed when I received it because it is written for the novice photographer. It covers only the basic techniques. I was hoping for a book that gave information on how to get the most out of this camera. If you are a advanced amateur this book is not for you.