David Busch’s Nikon D5000 Guide to Digital SLR Photography

• #41 in Best Photography Books

11 Reviews

Sort by: Most Helpful ▲ Date Rating

Although it is as easy to use as a point and shoot camera, the Nikon D5000 really deserves a manual that is better than the one supplied with the camera. This is that manual. You can start out with the D5000 as a point and shoot camera, and this book will help you make the basic settings you need to do that. But when you're ready to do more and take better pictures, this is the book you need. It gives the D5000 the respect it deserves, with lots of information that a newbie can use to learn how to work with the more advanced features of the Nikon.

I wasn't happy with the barebones style of other camera books I looked at. It just isn't possible to squeeze everything you need to know into a small book, especially when a lot of space is taken up just repeating information that's in Nikon's little guide. They also include much general photography information that can apply to any camera. Busch's Guide to Digital SLR Photography does explain the things that are in the manual, too, but also explains other topics and relates them directly to the Nikon D5000.

Like another reviewer, I was very pleased with the chapter on lenses. Nikon has so many different lenses, and even more are available from Tamron and Sigma. The lens chapter looks at many different lens choices, including all of Nikon's current lenses, and helps you sort out which ones you might want to buy. The electronic flash chapter was equally informative with the choices among electronic flash equipment.

I was wowed by how good a camera the Nikon D5000 is, and I was equally impressed at how this book does a great camera justice. Don't settle for anything less.

If you're looking for a more comprehensive reference guide for your Nikon D5000, this book is the one to buy. At 398 pages, it has way more information than you'll find in the skimpy manual Nikon packs with the camera, and the explanations are a lot easier to understand, as well.

David Busch's Nikon D5000 Guide to Digital SLR Photography is simply the best way to learn how to use each and every feature of your new camera, while mastering every aspect of digital photography. It's divided into two parts. The first 160 pages are an introduction to the Nikon D5000 and its operation. Large color photos show each control and explain how to use it, unlike the Nikon manual, which directs you to multiple locations. For example, this book has seven pages that show examples of each of the "shooting information" and "quick settings" screens, so you know what to look for and how to use them.

I was pleased to find a 90 page chapter that explained all the menu options to me. Other camera guides typically dismiss this important information in 30 pages or so. This book not only tells you what the options are, but why you'd want to use each one.

The next 240 pages explain photography using the Nikon D5000 camera. For example, there is a chapter on fine-tuning exposure, another on shooting HDTV movies, optimizing autofocus, geotagging, and other more advanced topics. There's even a chapter that evaluates virtually all of the Nikon lenses you might want to consider, and one that explains how to use flash.

This book belongs at the side of every Nikon D5000 photographer. You chose your camera for a reason. You deserve a guidebook that will help you get the most out of it.

I purchased this author's guide to the D60, so when I replaced that camera with the new D5000, I quickly signed up to purchase this one when it became available. If anything, it's even better than the excellent D60 guidebook. Busch expands his explanations into new and interesting areas that have helped me become an even better photographer, while keeping the solid basic information. I particularly wanted this book to learn all the new choices in the menus, which are radically different from those in my D60. It gave me exactly what I wanted.

I have several other books by this author, and have seen his articles in Popular Photography & Imaging and read all the favorable reviews in Shutterbug, and have been following Busch's blog regularly. He really is the top expert on Nikon photography (aside from Thom Hogan) and has been producing the absolute best printed camera guides for my favorite line of cameras. I don't like DVDs and I don't like e-books, but I do like this fat book about my D5000 digital SLR.

I received two of Busch's camera guides in my latest batch of review copies, and this is the best of the lot. I was surprised (and pleased) to see that the author devotes the same attention to the needs of his readers in this book about an entry level camera as he does in his guides to more advanced models, like the Nikon D300. This is no dumbed-down manual for a beginner's camera. Yet, it is easy for a beginner to understand.

Busch seems to perfectly understand his audience. Most buyers purchase a Nikon D5000 because they are serious about improving their photography, but many of them may be new to digital SLRs. So, the author takes the time to tell you what each feature is for, with examples, and without talking down to you. His approach is like a friend sitting down with you and explaining how to use your camera. In that respect, Busch is a lot like Scott Kelby.

Chapters on setting up your camera, learning the location of the dials and buttons, and customizing the D5000's operation with the menus will have you comfortable using your Nikon in no time. But, unlike most other guides, Busch doesn't stop there. Later chapters explain more advanced topics in a way that helps beginners understand and brings new insights to experienced users.

For example, Chapter 5 has what is certainly the best explanation of autofocus, phase detection, contrast detection, and cross-type sensors that I've ever seen. Busch includes side by side illustrations that show how images "line up" using phase detection, and two more that demonstrate why certain subjects can be focused more easily using a vertical or cross type sensor. A fifth figure clearly shows how contrast detection works. No other book I've seen has such clear explanations of a potentially confusing concept.

To summarize, if all you want is a listing of buttons and menu options and a brief description of features, the manual provided with the D5000 will do fine. But if you want to learn how to use your camera, and use it well, this book is what you need.

This book is difficult to use. If I want to know how to do something, continuous shooting for example, I have to wade through pages and pages of material. Information is difficult to find. Way too much verbage! I returned it and bought the Magic Lantern Guide instead. It is much more concise and gives you all the information you need about how, along with why and when to use a feature. Skip this one and get the Magic Lantern Guide.

Excellent guide to the Nikon D5000, i feel alot more informed after reading this book.
The manual provided with the camera didnt give me this level of confidence.

I recently bought the D5000 and I'm like a kid in a candy store and don't know what to shoot next! This book is just what I needed in order to feel comfortable with the camera. I'm glad I have it in my library!

I didn't know a whole lot about photography, but this book has done a great job on enlightening me on the basics of photography and how it applies to my first DSLR.

Being new to digital photography I decided to take a leap of faith and get the Nikon D5000. I have had extensive experience with film but had a creative block and .... So, happy me when I get the camera as the point and shoot versions of what is now called a camera just did not have the right feel. Then the "oh my God" moment when I started to read the owners manual. It was thicker than the manual on my vehicle. Ok...I am not putting down the D5000 but became very humble in what I did not know.

This book is just that missing link between the owners manual and the D5000. A must have with this camera as it goes into detail with the different menus and what the camera can really do. Being a visual person, I very much like the photos he puts in the book that show examples of what the text is saying. Also, it makes recommendations on accessories that work well with the camera.

Book is useful, slightly better than the manual that was provided with camera.

Some pictures that were used to explain features of D5000 are not exactly that of D5000 !

Reading this book from cover to cover gives you a very thorough understanding of the features of the D5000. It is a little annoying at times that something is mentioned, but not described until later. That also makes it hard to use this book as a reference - the information is there, but you may have to jump around a bit to find what you need. Still, after reading it all I do know what is possible and I can refer to the D5000 manual to nudge my memory of the details in most cases. If you have a poor memory, though, you might want to look for something a little more linear in format.