Product Description

The ideal guide for beginning DSLR camera users, with full–color examples of what you can achieve

Make the most of your Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, or Olympus digital SLR camera! This guide explains the different lenses, the many settings and how to use them, the results you can get from using different controls, how to use lighting and exposure, and much more.

If you haven′t purchased your camera yet, you′ll also find tips on choosing a camera and accessories. And you′ll find out how to make your pictures even better with Photoshop.

• Updated for all the newest camera models
• Introduces you to all the features common to DSLR cameras
• Illustrated with more than 300 full–color photos and screen shots
• Shares tips on composition, lighting and exposure controls, and file formats
• Explains Adobe Photoshop and how to create fine prints from your photos
• Offers advice on improving your photos and where to find help

If you′re new to digital SLR photography, here′s just what you need to have fun and success with your camera!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1734 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

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

From the Back Cover

New to digital SLR photography?

Here′s just what you need for success and fun!

Whether you′re moving from a film SLR to digital or from any point–and–shoot to SLR, there′s a lot to learn. Here′s the scoop on all the newest camera models, a guide to dSLR features and how to use them, tips on composing and lighting your shots, and a whole lot more. Discover what different lenses do and how to capture great images!

• How does it do that? — learn about the workings of your camera so you can take advantage of all its featuresYou′re in control — master all the dials and buttons while learning to choose and use various lensesGo RAW — improve your photography with advanced capabilities like using RAW format and sequence shootingMake the good even better — quick tips for cropping an image, improving lighting, and sharpening focus?The prints of your dreams — get advice on choosing a photo printer and tips on creating prints to keep, frame, and share

Open the book and find:

• Translations of confusing photography terms

• Tips on image editing

• Ten quick and easy ways to improve your photography

• The lowdown on camera accessories

• How to choose an image editing program

• Cool things you can do with a dSLR camera

• The rules of good photo composition

• Advice on shooting portraits, publicity photos, and landscapes

About the Author

David D. Busch is an experienced photographer as well as a bestselling author who shares his knowledge of digital cameras and photography. David is also the author of the bestselling book Digital Photography All–in–One For Dummies

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.