learning my new Nikon D800e

szatmari

hi new here. jst about to purchase a full Nikon D800e system. i'm trying to figure out the best way to learn it thoroughly.
i'm an experienced analog photographer and am wanting to do more video production. i work as a contemporary artist.
should i buy a Lynda.com DVD for this camera or should i buy a good book. unfortunately with Lynda.com, one you join, you can't download the video tutorials and they only offer so much on DVD at 100$ a pop. maybe the DVD and a book. if a book, which one would you recommend?

Elvishefer

http://www.nikonusa.com/fileuploads/Digitutor/D800/index.html

I'm not sure we're allowed to link to specific books but Thom Hogan does decent material.

Msmoto

There is little difference basically with digital vs analog (film, I assume) The Digitutor is great. But, it may be worthwhile to simply review the manual. And, then start shooting a lot of the same things you did with film. Once you understand the menus in the camera, and this occurs by just exploring with the manual, you will see the advantage of digital over film in today's world. Primarily you will notice the incredible ISO available.

If you have specific problems, ask on the forum.

Oh, what is a "full system"? Lenses, etc.

Godless

hi new here. jst about to purchase a full Nikon D800e system. i'm trying to figure out the best way to learn it thoroughly.

Charge the battery. Read the manual (or the interesting parts) while the battery is charging. Inspect the camera and find out the meaning of the different buttons and best AF configurations for your intended use. When the battery is charged, put it in the camera and start shooting, experiment. That is the best way to learn.

The Nikon product manuals have become as good as it gets. Really. You do not need any extra materials to learn.

Ade

The hard part when transition from film to digital is not learning the camera or the shooting part. It's the post-production process that's very different. Learning about workflow, RAW conversion, Lightroom / Aperture/ Photoshop basics, color management, digital printing, HDR, etc.

And then there's DSLR video the OP mentioned, which is something entirely different again. Completely different workflow, editing process, dealing with various codecs, audio, color grading, lighting, ergonomics, etc.

None of those topics are adequately covered in the Nikon manual or in camera-centric books. The best way to start is to have someone show you the basics, then maybe supplement with that lynda.com subscription.

Godless

The hard part when transition from film to digital is not learning the camera or the shooting part. It's the post-production process that's very different. Learning about workflow, RAW conversion, Lightroom / Aperture/ Photoshop basics, color management, digital printing, HDR, etc.

In that case, try DxO Optics Pro Elite. Cheaper than Lightroom but does the exact same thing, and I like the end result very much. DxO has a very intuitive workflow you can learn in a couple of hours by yourself. And the same goes for Lightroom, which costs double the price of DxO.

Msmoto

szatmari.....

Also wants to know what book to buy....

Godless

In my opinion, there is no need for a book besides the manual.

If I am wrong, however, any D800 book will probably help if fiddling with the camera & manual for a few hours won´t help. It´s not rocket science, which is kind of sad. If it was, less people would get into photography, and people would pay more for photos. Which would be really good.