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Rating: 
Summary: Great Photos, but little information
Review: I expected more from this book. It is basically a non-technical review of composition for the beginner. The photos are really great, but they don't list the usual information used to get them (lens type, settings, filters, etc.). I really didn't gain any insight from this book, and doubt that anyone other than a beginning photographer would either.For landscape photography, and for photography in general, their basic photography guide is much better.
Rating:
Summary: Buy the original
Review: National Geographic's original Field Guide was a big hit for a wide audience of photography aficionados. There was plenty for beginners, such as advice on equipment selection, basic subjects such as the relationship between shutter speed and aperture, and film selection. More advanced readers could benefit from the excellent essays contributed by Geographic's veteran staff photographers. Unfortunately, Geographic appears to be trying to turn the formula into a franchise. In this most recent volume, Landscapes the focus is on, well, landscapes. The problem is that there is very little in this book that wasn't effectively covered in the first one. Yeah, use a tripod. Yeah, don't let snowy scenes fool your lightmeter. And no, the art of photography does not become clearer if you repeat the same points over and over for 150 pages. If you don't have the original Field Guide then get it; I found it to be both informative and inspirational. If you already have it then don't buy Landscapes; it doesn't add any meaningful new material. Not recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Buy the original
Review: National Geographic's original Field Guide was a big hit for a wide audience of photography aficionados. There was plenty for beginners, such as advice on equipment selection, basic subjects such as the relationship between shutter speed and aperture, and film selection. More advanced readers could benefit from the excellent essays contributed by Geographic's veteran staff photographers. Unfortunately, Geographic appears to be trying to turn the formula into a franchise. In this most recent volume, Landscapes the focus is on, well, landscapes. The problem is that there is very little in this book that wasn't effectively covered in the first one. Yeah, use a tripod. Yeah, don't let snowy scenes fool your lightmeter. And no, the art of photography does not become clearer if you repeat the same points over and over for 150 pages. If you don't have the original Field Guide then get it; I found it to be both informative and inspirational. If you already have it then don't buy Landscapes; it doesn't add any meaningful new material. Not recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, slim guide to landscape photography
Review: The Landscapes Field Guide continues along one branch of the first NGS field guide. It contains more advanced composition and technical advice than the first field guide, tailored to the specific art of photographing natural landscapes in a variety of settings and times of the day. Once again, Caputo writes a book that is not only succinct, but also enjoyable to read. The Landscapes Field Guide maintains an important aspect of the original: profiles of National Geographic photographers, each with their own set of advice. This is a primary strength of the NGS photography field guides and something that separates them from other books. Not only are the profile sections useful in learning how to go about taking pictures, they are interesting in their own right as glimpses into how different artists work.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Photographs; Sound and Clear Guidance
Review: This book is worth buying for the wonderful and inspirational photographs of National Geographic photographers alone. Beyond that, the book provides clearly written and sound guidance on composition, cameras and lenses, when to shoot, using weather, dawn, dusk and night, graphic elements and landscape subjects. There are also personal vignettes (which I loved) by NG photographers Jim Blair, Bruce Dale and Adriel Heisey. The book is a real pleasure and will easily fit in your camera bag.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Photographs; Sound and Clear Guidance
Review: This book is worth buying for the wonderful and inspirational photographs of National Geographic photographers alone. Beyond that, the book provides clearly written and sound guidance on composition, cameras and lenses, when to shoot, using weather, dawn, dusk and night, graphic elements and landscape subjects. There are also personal vignettes (which I loved) by NG photographers Jim Blair, Bruce Dale and Adriel Heisey. The book is a real pleasure and will easily fit in your camera bag.
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