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Product Reviews:

   
Not for Digital Dummies, December 7, 2005
Reviewer: Conrad J. Obregon (

Since I do a lot of my reading on subways, I've always felt a little embarrassed when carrying one of the books in the "For Dummies" line. At the same time, I've always found that the series really does provide a broad spectrum of knowledge for entry into a new field. This book is no exception.

Although Busch expects the reader to have some knowledge of the controls on his or her digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) and how to operate a computer, he leads the new DSLR owner by the hand to the information necessary to get good photographs. Moreover, he clearly keys this knowledge to the digital side of photography. For example, he spends several pages talking about the use of the camera's histogram (a chart of the distribution of light values in a picture) to improve exposures. He also explains the differences between camera formats like JPG and RAW, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Some of the material, like the discussion of different focal length lenses, may be applicable to film single lens reflexes as well, but if you are coming to a DSLR from a point and shoot camera, this will be useful information.

There is also information about processing your photographs in image editing software with a brief explanation of the different image editing functions. He finishes up with the "Part of Tens" which includes tips for better pictures not covered elsewhere in the book, suggested projects and even useful websites.

For someone who doesn't expect to push his or her photography skills beyond the bare minimum, this may be the only book ever needed (besides the camera manual). But DSLR's have a way of pulling you into the hobby and then this book just won't be enough. For example, even though this book covers image processing software, it's more from the point of knowing the potential. Actual use of Photoshop or other software will require much more information. In addition, there are many other decisions that a serious digital photographer will have to address, like whether to use in-camera sharpening, that aren't even addressed here. Also not mentioned was the use of Adobe Camera Raw, which is the front end of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

Another area that I felt was weak was the section on composition which did not even cover some of the basic guidelines like the "rule of thirds." (Busch mentions a "rule of thirds" but only in terms of where to put the horizon in a landscape.)

Finally there are a few mistakes in the book like the perpetuation of the myth that wide-angle lenses have greater depth field than telephotos. It's a rule of optical science that for a given aperture and image size the depth of field is the same whether you use a wide-angle or a telephoto lens.
Notwithstanding these complaints, this book will provide a good introduction to photography with a DSLR.

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What do You Get for the Extra Money?, November 28, 2005
Reviewer: John Matlock "Gunny"

The Cadillac's of the digital camera world are the Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras. Here is where the camera companies put forth their latest research, the latest components in sensing, image processing and everything else. For the average advanced amateur, the question has to be, what will I get with a dSLR that makes it worth the extra huyndreds of dollars?

This book answers that question. It covers the design of the dSLR camera and uses this to explain the advantages. It will enable you to decide if you need to spend the extra money or if it would suit you just as well to have a high end point and shoot camera. As you might guess, the author is a solid fan of dSLRs, but he is kind enough to point out that they may not be for everyone. He gives the advantages and some of the disadvantages of both the dSLR and what you can expect out of point and shoot.

One point he doesn't mention, the features that you now get in a dSLR such as increased pixel count will move their way downward into the cheaper cameras as time goes on. Of course by then, the dSLRs will have a bevy of new features.

Finally, to round out the story of dSLRs he does cover image processing and printing. Again, he concentrates on the unique features that dSLRs bring such as RAW files, etc.
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Great book for people new to dSLRs, April 9, 2006
Reviewer: J. Kaplan

I highly recommend this book to anyone who doesn't really know much about how digital SLR cameras work. The book provides a general overview of the main areas of interest to beginner photographers, but the book is rather basic though, so unless you are a true beginner, the book is probably not for you. Personally, I think the main value of this book is that I now understand enough about the different terms/principles to seek out more specific books for further reading. For example, I ordered "Understanding Exposure", and I'm probably also going to get a book specifically geared toward low light shooting as well.
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 Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies, March 14, 2006
Reviewer: Lili Pearson
This book has lots of useful information. I used the book and talked about it to students who were learning about digital photography.

In fact one of the students was so impressed they purchased the book from me.

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