 So much more than you get in the manual
The manual that comes with the camera tells you little more than how to use the controls. This book goes far beyond that to explain why you'd want to make each setting, and how to use the features of the Nikon D300 to improve your exposures and take better pictures. The sections on working with histograms, or that show how the D300's autofocus system works are worth the price alone. In its 450 pages Busch spends about 120 pages just to explainging the nuances of the menu entries and what each option means. There's a 12 page section (which should have been in the manual, but wasn't) that offers recommended settings for each of the four Shooting Banks and Custom Setting Banks. Nor does the manual that comes with the camera contain an exhaustive look at Nikon lenses, their features, and descriptions of the cream of the crop.
None of the other three books available for this camera have this much detail or this much information. Mastering the Nikon D300 is a very small book with about 200 pages of descriptions of the menu options, plus an excellent section on using electronic flash. The Magic Lantern D300 Guide is similar, but it is also a small book with only black and white illustrations.
The Nikon D300 Digital Field Guide is little more than a general photography book with only a small proportion of information applying directly to the D300 itself. Most of that book is padded with simplified formulas for shooting very general photo categories, such as Landscapes or Portraits, and the example photos were mostly taken with non Nikon lenses.
If you want much more information and solid advice than you get in the manual that comes with the camera, this book should be your first choice.
 Not a whole lot more than the manual
This book is OK but not really worth the money. Just read the manual.
This is the one!
As mentioned elsewhere, I am in the process of converting from film to digital photography and there are certain aspects which I have found quite daunting. Over the past few months I have studied several books and tutorial DVDs on the subject as that process of conversion continues. I have also attended courses run by Nikon (UK) and it was on the first of those I was introduced to this book. My fellow student insisted this was the best available on the subject and I have come to the conclusion he was right.
Of course, there are those whose expertise is already at a well advanced level who seem to delight in purchasing products such as this just to write a less than praiseworthy review. It's called showing off! Take it from someone who has studied the field, whatever you want or need to know about this camera, the answer really is found in this product.
Laid out in an easy-to-follow format with plenty of excellent illustrations this book begins at the BEGINNING by helping you set up your camera. Slowly, the author builds upon each item shown as we work our way through the book to learn all, there is to learn about the Nikon D300.
I always find it better to read a number of books on the same subject - if only because a different approach often helps to explain a difficult point in an alternative way. If, however, you can only afford one book on this subject, then "This" is the one to buy.
NM
OK, but not Great
Better than the manual alone, but still, some of the most demanding questions a new D300 user would ask, remain unanswered, such as:
How exactly does the autofocus system work?
What exactly does it mean for focus to be "locked"?
How does one decide between 51, 21, & 9 dynamic focus points?
I understand the concept of flash sync speed, but why is the default value 1/250 (disabling high-speed sync), should I change it to 1/320 AutoFP, or 1/250 AutoFP? - what's the difference when using built-in versus external flash?
Again, better than the manual alone, but I would consider reading the manual together with experimenting, and reading online forums as an alternative.
Also, there were a couple of technical blunders. The one I remember is: The author says he can't tell the difference in image quality between lossless compressed and un-compressed. (Answer: there isn't any) - begging the question of why is un-compressed even an option since lossless compressed seems better in every way - Perfect data integrity in a smaller file, and although it requires more CPU to compress it, it can be written faster to CF, which is where the bottleneck of RAW shooting lies (am I missing something?).
Rob Cole - www.robcole.com
Know your D300 Camera better
This book does much better to help in understanding and operating the D300 than the users manual that comes with the camera. It's well written and well illustrated. While the Nikon users manual tells you what the many switches and menu items do, Busch's book explains the reasoning behind making each selection.
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