Product Description

Understanding exactly how a digital SLR (dSLR) works can help you use its exciting capabilities to their fullest potential. Whether you aim to become a serious photo hobbyist, are interested in turning pro, or want to take advantage of the improved control that dSLRs give you over your photography, this fun and friendly reference will show you how to maximize everything a dSLR has to offer so that you can improve your photography skills, increase your picture–taking and image–editing knowledge, and ultimately, take better photos.

Written with just the right balance of technology and techniques in mind, this guide provides you with the know–how on everything from getting acquainted with the basic key features of the technology (lenses, sensors and image processors, and exposure and focusing systems) to the nuances of various dSLR techniques (setting up speedy continuous–shooting burst modes to capture fast action, applying selective and sharp focus, and shooting under the lowest levels of light). Other topics explored include:

• Composing your shots with an accurate viewfinder
• Deciding how many pixels your camera needs
• Cleaning the sensor yourself
• Choosing between a tripod or monopod
• Adjusting exposure and improving shutter speed
• Creating time–lapse sequences
• Fixing murky or contrasting photos

With so much subject area covered, Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies, 2^nd Edition not only introduces you to the fundamentals of great picture–taking with a dSLR, but goes beyond the basics. Some of the more advanced topics discussed include working with the various formats of digital photos, minimizing shutter lag and first–shot delays, and fixing up your pictures with various image–editing programs. This is just the book you need to progress from getting started with a dSLR to actually improving your dSLR photography!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72485 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.80 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
"...simple to understand" (Which Digital Camera, October 2008)

From the Back Cover
Understand your camera and use every cool feature

Capture the action, shoot RAW, make good pictures great, and share!

With a digital SLR camera, you can transform that great image in the viewfinder into a compelling photograph. This guide is packed with tips for taking advantage of all the features in the latest cameras from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, and others. Here′s the scoop on sensors, pixels, cool accessories, lenses, flash units, the latest image editing software, and more.

• Compare features of the latest cameras

• Utilize creative exposure techniques

• Choose lenses, flash, and storage accessories

• Apply image stabilization, auto dust removal, and noise reduction

• Enhance and improve your images

About the Author
David D. Busch is a photographer and photography instructor who has written more than 100 books, including Digital Photography All–in–One Desk Reference For Dummies, 3rd Edition, and seven Digital Field Guides.

Customer Reviews

Usual Dummies style - easy, well layed out and informative.
Excellent book. Covers all the basics and also goes more in depth. The chapters explore the technical side of digital SLRs in a easy going well paced text. The illustrations and photos serve to enhance the understanding, rather than the author showing how totally amazing they are at taking photos and leaving you wondering. The last few chapters move from the technical side of photography, into the artistic side of composition and editing.

This book would suit someone completely new to photography, through to the person making the move from film to digital.

Book, Camera, Action!
The big attraction of this series of "for Dummies" books is that we who buy these products have little respect for our own knowledge and plenty of respect for those who do and are able to write books like this.

I am currently converting from film photography to digital photography and some aspects are quite daunting. I have, therefore, purchased several books and tutorial DVDs on the subject and am working my way through them all. The title of this product suggests it is the right place to start and, on reflection, is exactly where I should have started. For those of you, who like me, are converting to digital for the first time, grab your camera and a copy of this book and work your way through from cover to cover until you are conversant with the new technology. It really will give you a good grounding.

That, however, will only work very well if you are already conversant with photography. If you are new to photography altogether and a digital SLR camera is your very first camera, you may have to learn a few basic lessons of, for example, the correlation between film speeds, shutter speeds and aperture settings - which really do need to be understood, before you study this book.

David Busch clearly knows what he is talking about and is able to put that knowledge into an easy-to-follow format for us Dummies to read and, as I say, I wish I had read this book before getting into some of the more technical tomes I also purchased.

NM

Doesn't get down to specifics
First off, if you don't know anything about photography don't think this book will be easy to understand. This is a book for Dummies with some camera skills. That said people who know their way around a DSLR will find very little here of use and the book is definitely written for the middle ground.

It does a reasonably solid job, in good conversational english, of taking the reader through the various parts of digital photography covering what affects a photograph, the hardware and add-ons (such as lenses) and what you can do in photoshop. If you want a good place to start your new digital hobby then I would recommend you at least taking a look.

But for me it falls for a few reasons. First off, it is a big book that really could be covered in half the time; it's a bit too padded out without getting to the core stuff that budding photographers are really after. Once read through you'll find yourself having to go back and search a bit to find the useful stuff. Secondly whilst you have tips like 'this photo would have benefitted from a larger aperture' it is all too generic. Thanks David, but what I really need is more useful detail like what aperture should I use with what shutter speed and white noise and exposure adjustments etc. With a mass of things to think about in a modern DSLR I would have liked something a bit more concrete. So if I want to do landscapes or potraits or close ups or night shots or whatever how about giving me the settings I need and then suggestions of how to tweak this for various different results so that I can see what effect this will have and pick up some good tips along the way. Unfortunately there is little to none of this so it ends up being a good read but in terms of understanding, well, there is little in this book which is not in the manual, albeit more words and pretty colour pictures, though, of course, the camera's own manual doesn't have sections on Adobe Photshop.

Here's an example. With a slow shutter speed and two kids walking quickly into the picture, pausing then walking quickly out I managed to get a photograph of two ghostly images which was quite fun and the kids loved trying this out. That was off the top of my head but this is the sort of thing you brought a digital SLR for - its versatility - and really, ideas like this should have been suggested by the author to kick start your photography career. The book lacks these suggestions.

In short, this book doesn't take the enthusiastic amateur and get them started with real examples that they can shoot themselves with tasks they can follow and improve upon. At the other extreme those who do know a bit about camera settings and the effects these have on pictures will find little to excite them in this book. An average book with promise that just falls short.