Books David Busch's Nikon D60 Guide to Digital SLR Photography
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Rating: - The Ultimate D60 Guide
I agree with the reviewer who called this book an entirely new approach to camera guidebooks. The tired old formula followed by the other guides simply won't work with a camera that has as many features as the Nikon D60. This one isn't intended as a pocket guide that you tuck away in your camera bag and don't pull out unless you have some emergency to contend with. For anyone who has had their camera for a few weeks, the manual packed in the box by Nikon will serve just as well as a reference.

"David Busch's Nikon D60 Guide to Digital SLR Photography" is not a tiny field guide that re-hashes the Nikon manual. Instead, it's a full sized 325 page book that covers everything you need to know about the camera in a surprising amount of depth. Busch explains each control and menu setting and devotes pages and pages to explaining how and why you'd want to use them. There are plenty of large color photos explaining each topic (some of the small guidebooks have only black and white photos.) While most of the book deals directly with the Nikon D60, its accessories, and advice on how to choose specific Nikon lenses, there is also a good foundation of basic photographic knowledge on using histograms, working with depth of field, and so forth.

Amazingly enough, Busch manages to explore the camera in depth without confusing new photographers. He starts each section at a basic level, and then continues with the more advanced techniques and information you'll need as you grow in your hobby. Although my main camera is a Nikon D300, I absolutely love my D60 as a walkaround camera, and I found this book to be a fast introduction to its features and use. I already understood some of the more advanced material, but I can see where beginners will thrive on the clear, complete explanations. If you own a Nikon D60 or are thinking of buying one, you owe it to yourself to get this book. You can't find this information on the web, and most of it isn't in the other guidebooks, either.

---

Rating: - Not bad... Not good either
I bought this book 3 months after I bought the D60. From the table of contents. I thought that the book will have examples of what happens to an image if a particular setting was set in a particular way. Well, that didn't happen. Yes, the explanation for each setting is clearer than the manual, but any lay person could figure them out by taking test shots.

The parts about photography tips in general can be found on the net if one does a little web surfing. I did find, however, little bits of information here and there that I have not come across over the last 3 months.

This is a book you SHOULD buy at the same time as you buy your camera. If you have your D60 for a while and have played with it for while. It should offer little additional information. Also, despite the author's claim that the target audience include intermediate to pros, it really is written for someone who's brand new to dSLR AND photography.

I guess I would have been a lot more satisfied with this book had it been available when I first bought my camera. Lesson for the day, don't buy the new camera until David has published his guide for it.

---

Rating: - Not your father's D60 guidebook
I think Busch is onto something here, taking an entirely new approach to turn the tired old "camera guide" genre on its ear. I was very impressed with his Nikon D300 guide, and this new Nikon D60 book uses the same format, but is written at a completely different level. Where many Nikon D300 owners are likely to have some experience as they upgrade to a more advanced camera, those who purchase the D60 are probably less experienced, even if they are no less avid in their love of photography. This book is the perfect companion for these fledgling photographers.

The differences between this book and the typical guide are easy to see. For example, Busch's easy to understand, but exhaustive analysis of the Custom Setting Menu options alone spans 21 pages, which is more than what some other guides devote to all five of the D60's confusing menus. Yet, the explanations of the Custom Setting Menu are clear and concise enough for a beginner to quickly grasp, and with enough "why" and "how" to satisfy more advanced photographers.

Following the same format as his D300 guide, Busch teaches you how to fine-tune exposure, choose a metering method, master autofocus, and use the built-in flash, all written at the level of a typical D60 owner. For example, the chapter on lenses, like the one in the D300 guide, "decodes" the Nikon lens nomenclature system, tells you how to choose among wide angle and telephoto focal lengths, and provides reviews and descriptions of the most popular Nikon lenses. But where his D300 guide includes more expensive and "pro" lenses likely to be of interest to owners of the more advanced camera, Busch here concentrates on the more modest Nikon optics best suited for the Nikon D60. Throughout the book you'll find examples of coverage that has been down-shifted to make it easier for D60 owners to absorb.

Finally, note that the title of this book isn't "The Nikon D60 Guide" or some such. It's "David Busch's Nikon D60 Guide to Digital SLR Photography." It's more than a camera guide. It's an introduction to photography aimed at Nikon D60 owners.

---

Rating: - Perfect combination of simple explanations and depth
The Nikon D60 is an entry-level camera that deserves more than an entry-level guide book. Unlike hip pocket guides that simply rephrase and condense the instructions in the manual Nikon packs with the camera, this one digs much deeper. It's an excellent introduction to the D60. There are 85 pages explaining the menus alone, with three to four times as much detail than you'll find in other guides, including every option possible, and descriptions of why you'd want to use each setting, all from the beginner's perspective.

After you outgrow this setup material, you'll refer to it only as a reference guide. At that point, you'll be ready for the book's real meat, which helps you grow as a photographer with clear explanations of exposure with the D60, using its histograms, and 32 pages on choosing and using Nikon lenses. There's a very useful chapter on using the Nikon electronic speedlights.

The author makes more advanced topics understandable and doesn't talk down to you. He seems to know that new Nikon D60 owners, like me, need a lot of hand-holding, but don't want to be held back. We want to learn as much as possible about photography. Having this book is like having a conversation with a patient mentor at your side who gently shows you the wonderful things you can do with this camera.

David Busch's Nikon D60 Guide to Digital SLR Photography is unlike any other camera guide I've ever seen. Nikon should have shipped this in the box with the camera.