When I bought my D700, I looked at the encyclopedia that was the manual. Trenchmonkey told me something like "screw the manual--go take pictures." I did, and it worked. But, I've been doing this for a few years, and basically everything I already knew just transferred over. I still get out the guide for the camera and peruse it, though NOT in the loo. Smells to bad in there.
I don't bother with the guides anymore, but they are cheap enough that it does not hurt to buy them. However, some people really do well with guides as compared to the manufacturer's manual.
gfinlayson wrote:
The guide books aren't about how to take photos, they're about how to use the camera and what the various buttons, switches and settings do.
If you buy a new car, the user manual explains the controls and switches, not how to drive.....
Any you were completely unable to operate any part of your car until you read the manual?
Then you read the manual, and it all made sense?
I think you misunderstood my comment. You stated that you don't learn how to take photos from a book. My comment was that the guide books don't teach you how to take photos, they help you to get the best out of the tool that allows you to take those photos.
The car manual was an analogy - it doesn't teach you how to drive, but helps you get the most out of driving the car.
I moved from a D80 to a D7000 just over a year ago (had a D700 for a few months too). I was pretty comfortable with most of the controls on the D7000, but I read a couple of very useful guides to help me get the most out of the AF system. Compared to the D80's it was considerably more sophisticated and complicated! The Nikon manual explained what each setting did, and how to select them, but didn't really explain how to use them to full advantage.
At the end of the day, I sometimes find guide books useful, you don't and that's fine. The world would be a dull place if everyone always agreed on everything.
The (free) D3 technical guide by nikon was pretty good.
I understand these guides telling you why rather than how but if you are buying a high end camera you probably know why you want to do something already.
