Thom Hogans 'Complete Guide to Fuji S2' Available!

Thought I would pass on word. Thoms new book The complete Guide to the Fuji S2 is now available for order. He says it will not ship until the 8th but you can get your orders in now....

I was all set to order.. But reading over the Table of Contents I am not so sure any more that I "need" the book... Although I greatly respect Thom, his photography and vast knowledge... I do find the price a bit steap.. Just my humble opinion (I am a cheap bugger by nature)...

Anyways.. I will most likely click the button in a few minutes.. But first I thought I should share with all of you

http://www.bythom.com/s2guide.htm

Cheers!

Mike

In an earlier post reguarding Thom S2 Guide, it was mentioned that those that registered their S2's would receive a copy of the book from Fuji.

Mike Russell said:

Thought I would pass on word. Thoms new book The complete Guide to
the Fuji S2 is now available for order. He says it will not ship
until the 8th but you can get your orders in now....

I was all set to order.. But reading over the Table of Contents I
am not so sure any more that I "need" the book... Although I
greatly respect Thom, his photography and vast knowledge... I do
find the price a bit steap.. Just my humble opinion (I am a cheap
bugger by nature)...

Anyways.. I will most likely click the button in a few minutes..
But first I thought I should share with all of you

http://www.bythom.com/s2guide.htm

Cheers!

Mike

Click to expand...

Ok.. I hit the button..

I was going to get the Flash Guide as well but paying over $110 Canadian is just to much for a couple of books.. So I will try out the S2 Guide first.. Then order the Flash Guide from Amazon if I like it..

Sent a note with my Order to Thom.. But I really think if he is going to go the way of Ebooks he should really move to a completely online system. No need for CD's and $17 Can in shipping fees, just a few Emails and download from a secure site.. Reduce cost of publishing (CD Cases, and CD's), no shipping charges... Much better in my opinion..

Anyways I should have the book in a few weeks.. Will post back and let you know what I think... As I am in Singapore I am sure other will get the book before I do...

Cheers all..

Mike

Mike Russell said:

Thought I would pass on word. Thoms new book The complete Guide to
the Fuji S2 is now available for order. He says it will not ship
until the 8th but you can get your orders in now....

I was all set to order.. But reading over the Table of Contents I
am not so sure any more that I "need" the book... Although I
greatly respect Thom, his photography and vast knowledge... I do
find the price a bit steap.. Just my humble opinion (I am a cheap
bugger by nature)...

Anyways.. I will most likely click the button in a few minutes..
But first I thought I should share with all of you

http://www.bythom.com/s2guide.htm

Cheers!

Mike

Click to expand...

People with US camera's are suppose to get a free copy from Fuji.. Being a Canadian in Singapore with a Singaporian Camera... I doubt I will get a free copy.....

For those US people with US cameras.. Be patient and you should get one free!

Mike

TimT said:

Mike Russell said:

Thought I would pass on word. Thoms new book The complete Guide to
the Fuji S2 is now available for order. He says it will not ship
until the 8th but you can get your orders in now....

I was all set to order.. But reading over the Table of Contents I
am not so sure any more that I "need" the book... Although I
greatly respect Thom, his photography and vast knowledge... I do
find the price a bit steap.. Just my humble opinion (I am a cheap
bugger by nature)...

Anyways.. I will most likely click the button in a few minutes..
But first I thought I should share with all of you

http://www.bythom.com/s2guide.htm

Cheers!

Mike

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

You might be able to find a copy of Thom's Nikon Flash Guide in your local bookstore or camera store. It's too bad that everyone that registers their S2 won't receive a free copy of Thom's book. I purchased Thom's Complete Guide to the Nikon D1, D1x, D1h and found it to be much better than Moose Petersons The D1 Generation (hard copy), but for the price(29.95 + shipping) I would much rather have a hard copy.

Mike Russell said:

I was going to get the Flash Guide as well but paying over $110
Canadian is just to much for a couple of books.. So I will try out
the S2 Guide first.. Then order the Flash Guide from Amazon if I
like it..

Sent a note with my Order to Thom.. But I really think if he is
going to go the way of Ebooks he should really move to a completely
online system. No need for CD's and $17 Can in shipping fees, just
a few Emails and download from a secure site.. Reduce cost of
publishing (CD Cases, and CD's), no shipping charges... Much better
in my opinion..

Anyways I should have the book in a few weeks.. Will post back and
let you know what I think... As I am in Singapore I am sure other
will get the book before I do...

Cheers all..

Mike

Mike Russell said:

Thought I would pass on word. Thoms new book The complete Guide to
the Fuji S2 is now available for order. He says it will not ship
until the 8th but you can get your orders in now....

I was all set to order.. But reading over the Table of Contents I
am not so sure any more that I "need" the book... Although I
greatly respect Thom, his photography and vast knowledge... I do
find the price a bit steap.. Just my humble opinion (I am a cheap
bugger by nature)...

Anyways.. I will most likely click the button in a few minutes..
But first I thought I should share with all of you

http://www.bythom.com/s2guide.htm

Cheers!

Mike

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Mike Russell said:

Thought I would pass on word. Thoms new book The complete Guide to
the Fuji S2 is now available for order. He says it will not ship
until the 8th but you can get your orders in now....

I was all set to order.. But reading over the Table of Contents I
am not so sure any more that I "need" the book... Although I
greatly respect Thom, his photography and vast knowledge... I do
find the price a bit steap.. Just my humble opinion (I am a cheap
bugger by nature)...

Anyways.. I will most likely click the button in a few minutes..
But first I thought I should share with all of you

http://www.bythom.com/s2guide.htm

Cheers!

Mike

Click to expand...

--
To all,

After reading the info regarding Toms S2 user's guide that Fuji is suppose to send US S2 owners and others what they are going to be sending out is a CD and not the book. I can understand that as printing a book can get rather expensive and very probably a CD will be every bit as good is not better!

Moments deserve to be captured!
David Smith, P & C

Mike,

I helped Thom review and correct the S2 Guide, so I've read it through a couple of times already.

I think you will find a lot of useful information in it that is not included in the Fuji manual, especially regarding flash use with Nikon bodies. The autofocus section will also be very good for those who may still be struggling with the sketchy explanation in the manual.

I also think that Thom's in-depth explanation of Nikon's matrix metering system is a good source of information on a very complex, and poorly understood, topic.

I too wish that I could order a paper edition - I have an aversion to e-books.

Jeff

Mike Russell said:

Sent a note with my Order to Thom.. But I really think if he is
going to go the way of Ebooks he should really move to a completely
online system. No need for CD's and $17 Can in shipping fees, just
a few Emails and download from a secure site.. Reduce cost of
publishing (CD Cases, and CD's), no shipping charges... Much better
in my opinion..

Click to expand...

Actually, I looked into it. While it reduces the "manufacturing" hassle, it most certainly doesn't reduce my costs, and could be extremely frustrating to the purchaser if they don't have one fast pipe. The main text of the book, for example, is currently 183MBs in size (partially due to no-compression 600 dpi images), and the overall size of the disk is much larger. And remember, I'm on a 56k line out here--don't get me started on Verizon and the beautiful brand new digital switch that's sitting less than 3000 feet away from my home--so I'd have a heck of lot of hassle getting things up to the server.

--
Thom Hogan
author, Nikon Field Guide
author, Nikon Flash Guide
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D100
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D1, D1h, & D1x
http://www.bythom.com

David's Digital Photography said:

To all,
After reading the info regarding Toms S2 user's guide that Fuji is
suppose to send US S2 owners and others what they are going to be
sending out is a CD and not the book. I can understand that as
printing a book can get rather expensive and very probably a CD
will be every bit as good is not better!

Click to expand...

There is NO printed version of the book (unless you choose to do so yourself from the electronic file). See my other posts as to why.

--
Thom Hogan
author, Nikon Field Guide
author, Nikon Flash Guide
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D100
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D1, D1h, & D1x
http://www.bythom.com

TimT said:

You might be able to find a copy of Thom's Nikon Flash Guide in
your local bookstore or camera store.

Click to expand...

True. And from that book I receive a grand total of about $1 a copy, and that's assuming that Silver Pixel Press (Tiffen) EVER decides to send me a royalty statement and check, which to date, they have not. Curiously, if you order the book from my site through Amazon, I get about $1.25 from Amazon. In short, the economics of niche publishing for authors sucks if you try to use the traditional methods. An S2 book would never appear in such an environment, unless, of course, someone did it more as a hobby than a business.

TimT said:

It's too bad that everyone
that registers their S2 won't receive a free copy of Thom's book.

Click to expand...

My agreed-upon deal is with FujiFilm USA. FujiFilm Japan could, I suppose, make me an offer. However, the deal I gave the USA office was a sweetheart deal, because I knew that I'd still receive revenue from International sales.

TimT said:

I purchased Thom's Complete Guide to the Nikon D1, D1x, D1h and
found it to be much better than Moose Petersons The D1 Generation
(hard copy), but for the price(29.95 + shipping) I would much
rather have a hard copy.

Click to expand...

Thank you. But as for a printed copy, there are several problems that make it undesirable from my point of view to produce paper books. First, there's the cost (which would include real inventory costs). At the quantities I'd expect for a niche book like this, the cost of printing a quality paperback is higher than producing a CD. Second, image quality sucks, so trying to show subtle differences between settings would be hit-or-miss, mostly miss (your ink-jet printer does a better job). Third, you wouldn't get any extras (DOF calculators for digital, for instance). Fourth, printed books are problematic for something where both knowledge and product change rapidly. My D1 eBook, for instance, has gone through 9 iterations and about to hit 10. In other words, it's easier to keep the product current to the product. Note that Moose had to do an eBook "addendum" to the D1 Generation anyway, and when you do that you end up with stuff on the CD contradicting stuff in the printed version--I'd rather have one, succinct, correct file, and I think readers would, too. (Yes, this brings up the problem of updates, which I haven't perfectly solved yet. But I'm working on it. I do keep errata updates for all my books on my Web site [which is the origin of my Web site, BTW--it was originally just a set of errata and clarifications for Nikon Field Guide]).

--
Thom Hogan
author, Nikon Field Guide
author, Nikon Flash Guide
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D100
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D1, D1h, & D1x
http://www.bythom.com

Hi Jeff,

As another of Thom's proofread helpers, I agree totally and completely with all your points.......especially regarding information on flash and autofocus.

Thom's e-book is a must have, if you want a thorough understanding of the S2.

Best wishes,

David

Jeff Simpson said:

Mike,

I helped Thom review and correct the S2 Guide, so I've read it
through a couple of times already.

I think you will find a lot of useful information in it that is not
included in the Fuji manual, especially regarding flash use with
Nikon bodies. The autofocus section will also be very good for
those who may still be struggling with the sketchy explanation in
the manual.

I also think that Thom's in-depth explanation of Nikon's matrix
metering system is a good source of information on a very complex,
and poorly understood, topic.

I too wish that I could order a paper edition - I have an aversion
to e-books.

Jeff

Click to expand...

--
http://www.mongoosephoto.com

Any form of a complete comprehensive instruction set would be great.

Thank you, Thom
--
M

I've been to your site a few times but I still don't see the ADD to CART button for the S2 ... and I see the December 1 notice, too. Please advise if I'm doing something wrong or should I just email you and place my order - I have PAYPAL.

Thanks.

Dean

Thom Hogan said:

David's Digital Photography said:

To all,
After reading the info regarding Toms S2 user's guide that Fuji is
suppose to send US S2 owners and others what they are going to be
sending out is a CD and not the book. I can understand that as
printing a book can get rather expensive and very probably a CD
will be every bit as good is not better!

Click to expand...

There is NO printed version of the book (unless you choose to do so
yourself from the electronic file). See my other posts as to why.

--
Thom Hogan
author, Nikon Field Guide
author, Nikon Flash Guide
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D100
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D1, D1h, & D1x
http://www.bythom.com

Click to expand...

Dean Guzman said:

I've been to your site a few times but I still don't see the ADD to
CART button for the S2 ... and I see the December 1 notice, too.
Please advise if I'm doing something wrong or should I just email
you and place my order - I have PAYPAL.

Click to expand...

Your cache is getting in the way. Click the Refresh button. In theory, the site should force a Refresh, but sometimes it doesn't.

--
Thom Hogan
author, Nikon Field Guide
author, Nikon Flash Guide
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D100
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D1, D1h, & D1x
http://www.bythom.com

M. Haner said:

Any form of a complete comprehensive instruction set would be great.

Thank you, Thom

Click to expand...

Thank Jennifer Davalos and the gang at FujiFilm USA. Without their support, I'd probably still be waffling wondering whether to spend the time to write the S2 book.

I just finished my first "release candidate" disc, so now comes the testing...it shouldn't be long now.

--
Thom Hogan
author, Nikon Field Guide
author, Nikon Flash Guide
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D100
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D1, D1h, & D1x
http://www.bythom.com

Hello everyone!

I think this discuss is really sick... I (who do not live in the US) would think the USA is a democratic country!.. which it is!.. but with simply too much second guessing!

I have ordered the book a few hours ago... and I am really eager to get it... be it as a hardcopy, as a CD or as an e-book.

To me what counts in a book is its content. It looks like all the people who have to say something about this edition a) have not even seen it b) are more concerned with useless detail rather than the "real" picture c) etc. etc. etc.

Note to Thom : What ever your choice is I shall respect it! After all you have your reasons and anyone out there has the right to disapprove...

Note to the disapprovers: Please simply disapprove.. but STOP second guessing someone's noble choice!

Martino T from Milano (a far less democratic place)
--
Now that I have seen photography - I can shoot myself (Picasso)

Why not go 100% digital - download from a secure site, etc??

Doug Ritchie

When will these be available?

Hey Thom...

I understand the process is a work in progress. Takes time to find the right means to distribute... Cost effective and realiable..

You should investigate some of these Shareware software disty's though. They specialize in hosting and providing an order interface for this type of stuff. I understand what it can be like to be stuck on a slow link, but at less then 200MB it just not that large any more with so many broadband customers... Ultimately I know a total online system would not work. There are many people who want something physical for there money, or who don't have the bandwidth..

All that said I would rather a $25 or $30 price tag knowing I can download it in a few hours as compared to a $40 price tag and having to wait additional weeks...

Just my thoughts. All the same I still look forward to getting the book ;-) And hopefully I am one of your first orders!

Mike

Thom Hogan said:

Mike Russell said:

Sent a note with my Order to Thom.. But I really think if he is
going to go the way of Ebooks he should really move to a completely
online system. No need for CD's and $17 Can in shipping fees, just
a few Emails and download from a secure site.. Reduce cost of
publishing (CD Cases, and CD's), no shipping charges... Much better
in my opinion..

Click to expand...

Actually, I looked into it. While it reduces the "manufacturing"
hassle, it most certainly doesn't reduce my costs, and could be
extremely frustrating to the purchaser if they don't have one fast
pipe. The main text of the book, for example, is currently 183MBs
in size (partially due to no-compression 600 dpi images), and the
overall size of the disk is much larger. And remember, I'm on a 56k
line out here--don't get me started on Verizon and the beautiful
brand new digital switch that's sitting less than 3000 feet away
from my home--so I'd have a heck of lot of hassle getting things up
to the server.

--
Thom Hogan
author, Nikon Field Guide
author, Nikon Flash Guide
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D100
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D1, D1h, & D1x
http://www.bythom.com

Click to expand...

Steward Robbins said:

When will these be available?

Click to expand...

Don't blame them. Blame me. I haven't produced a master disc yet (for some reason my mastering software is corrupting a file, which I'm in full-sleuth mode trying to figure out).

--
Thom Hogan
author, Nikon Field Guide
author, Nikon Flash Guide
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D100
author, Complete Guide to the Nikon D1, D1h, & D1x
http://www.bythom.com