Read The Manual

Danno_RIP

Danno_RIP

Senior Member
When I first started lurking around on Nikonites one of the things I saw a lot was some variation of - "you can find this in your manual under.... xyz". And I really hated seeing that because for me the manual was a painful experience. I needed a magnifying glass to read it and much of the time I had to read the same topic over and over again. But as much as I hated it I learned so much from taking that advice.

I also bought a good book focused on my model Nikon D7200 the same week I bought the camera; also on the recommendation of a member here, and it has been the best investment. The book I bought is David Busch's "Nikon D7200 Guide to Digital SLR Photography" 1st Edition. I cannot say it is the best or the worst... It is the first such book I have ever purchased, but I do really like it. It has been so helpful. It is much easier to read than the manual. First it is bigger and it has color photos instead of tiny black and white. Both these alone help.

It is a good companion to the forum. I have read several recommendations gone to the guide to see how to apply the suggestions to my camera.

Thanks to everyone that pushed reading the manual... Thanks to @CP93 for recommending the book.
 
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paul04

Senior Member
The manual only comes out when something is wrong :)

Like you I also got a book for my D7100 as reference,
The Nikon D7100 expanded guide by Jon Sparks, very good book.
 
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MaxBlake

Senior Member
When I was first married, a long long time ago, my dad gave me a tool box that included an assortment of handy around-the-house items. One was a hammer, and on it was a sticker that read:

When all else fails, read the instructions.

It was good advice then, and it's good advice now.
 
AC016

AC016

Senior Member
You get the same answer on every camera/photography forum and rightly so. Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Sony, Olympus, etc., make owner's manuals for a reason and that reason is not to rip out the pages to wallpaper your wall with them. I think it's a bit of good "tough love". What's going to happen when these people find themselves in a situation where they only have a limited time to take a shot? Are they going to log in to Nikonites and ask how they adjust ISO or metering, then sit and wait? Christ, you spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on a tool and yet you don't want to learn how to use it? I keep a copy of my manuals in PDF format on my phone.
 
Woodyg3

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Forgetting where I left the manual. Yep. Been there, done that! :)

It can also drive me crazy at times finding something I KONW I have read in the manual before, but I can't for the life of me find it again. :)
 
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Ta2Dave

Senior Member
The manual/paperwork/warranty card that came with my new Tamron lens is all Japanese. Maybe it's Chinese or Korean. I dunno. The only word I understand is Tamron.
 
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Sandpatch

Senior Member
One of the CDs that came with my D5100 contained the Owner's Manual, so I printed out the entire thing on three-hole punched 8-1/2" x 11" paper and put it in a binder. It made it a LOT easier for my aging eyes to read. I also bought D5100 for Dummies which is very good. Between the two volumes, most of my questions can be answered.

BUT, sometimes nothing beats Nikonites for help, as in the case of bracketing where my puzzlement was quickly put to rest.
 
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Blacktop

Senior Member
To me ,sitting down and reading the manual is useless because I'll forget as soon as I finish. Unless it's something specific that I'm looking for. Even then when that happens, I usually just google it and get the answer in seconds.

For someone new, putting the manual in the camera bag would be a good idea.
 
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RobV

Senior Member
My phone is too small and my desktop PC is not portable.

I looked up the D5300 version of Danno's book and it is unavailable new, and people are asking $80+ for their used copies! Silly that it should be out of print. The camera was only released a year ago.
 
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Fortkentdad

Senior Member
Some employee at some camera manufacturing place should win employee of the month for the suggestion that they take their manuals up a notch. Make them like the Guide books you can buy. Written clearly with colour images people can understand. Make the manual a stand out feature of our product line. Could be done as a downloadable eBook and then no printing costs. I would check that off as a bonus point for any vendor trying to convince me their product was better than the next guy?

On the other hand it is not that crowded of a market place so maybe they just don't think customer happiness matters much?
 
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crashton

Senior Member
I've always read the manual & almost always forgotten most of what I've read. Some of it does stick so I end up reading the manual many times to absorb as much as I can. If there is a guide book available I buy it. It seems some of the translation from Japanese to English leaves a bit to be desired at times.
 
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Mike Adams

Senior Member
We don't need no stinking manuals!

Well, yes we do, but I find many manuals to be poorly written and become more useful as I become more proficient. Often the most useful sources are the "X for dummies" or equivalent which tend to be better at answering the "How do I do ......." questions.
 
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