Forget the instruction manual for the D50, this is what you need
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Forget the basic and unhelpful user book that comes with the D50. As an entry leve Digital SLR camera, I love the Nikon D50, but the manual that comes with it explains the basics on the settings etc. but gives you very little insight into getting the best from your camera. This will take you through the A to Z of how to get the best from your D50, and really will improve your pictures.
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Riddled with errors
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I can only conclude that the other reviewers who rated this book so highly were looking at a different book to me. I was very glad that I had already read the manual that came with the camera and had owned the camera for a few weeks before reading this book, because it is riddled with factual errors. It's obviously a rehash of the author's similarly named book about the D70, and a hasty and superficial rehash, at that. The function of the "shuttle jog" on the back of the camera is differently described in different places (and indeed in one place described as being on the *front* of the camera), and the picture of the back of the camera is a D70, not a D50. His description of exposure compensation is wrong (it's the D70's, again). I gave up keeping track in the end, and just skimmed the second half of the book. These mistakes in things I know about makes me wonder how many other errors there are. Altogether, I wish I hadn't bothered.
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useful advice, terrible photography
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A useful book for expanding on the camera's functions, and the suggestions for how to photograph a wide range of subjects and settings give a good practical emphasis. But dear me, some of the illustrative photos are dreadful. The book is let down partly by cheapo print quality (although you'd expect the publishers to make a bit of an effort for a photography book) but it's mostly that the the most unimaginative, dreary shots are used throughout, which look more as though they were taken with a disposable!
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Absolute must for D50 owners
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I bought this book before my D50 arrived, and must say it was a great idea. The book shows you how to set the camera up, use its settings and frame your pictures correctly from the get go. It gives you tips not only on the camera, but photography in general with the D50.
I would advise that you buy this book if you have a D50, and would also recommend buying a Guide To Photography published by DK. It covers everything that the D50 book doesnt.
I would have loved to see the book made a little smaller (size not content) so it would fit into a camera bag a little easier, but if thats my only critisim then it cant be bad!
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Excellent substitute for the D50 manual
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I bought this because the D50 is my first foray into the DSLR world. The manual that comes with the D50 whilst comprehensive is confusing. What I wanted was something a bit more practical which could tell me, for example, what bracketing was and when to use it. I also wanted to know more about some of the other features that might be peculiar to the camera. Did you know that the D50's autofocus won't work on lenses slower than f5.6? No me neither. It also talks a bit about accessories and why you might want them. It describes which flash attachments work and what the difference is between front and rear curtain sync. It really is a five star book for that sort of thing. The only reason I haven't rated it 5 stars is that I just think it is maybe a bit thin on the Field Guide element. I does have a lot of detail on using it for different situations i.e. wildlife or portraits etc but it is really a bit too basic. Maybe I'm being unfair because whilst this is an extremely useful book, it will be redundant when Nikon replace the D50 with something else. As a result it is perhaps wrong to expect it to combine too much information on photographic technique. For that I can’t recommend “Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera by Bryan Peterson” enough. It is well worth the 6 week wait when buying it on Amazon. All in all, any newcomer to the Nikon range and digital SLR photography in particular, will definitely get a lot of really useful stuff from this book.
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