Customer Reviews

The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Photography (Amphoto Guide Series)

5 star:		(138)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I picked this book and another by Kelby (The Digital Photography Book) based on reviews from this site and recommendations from several photography forums. When the two are compared, it is no contest Miotke's book wins hands down. That's not to say that Kelby's book is terrible, it is, in fact, quite good.

The Betterphoto Guide provides a comprehensive overview of digital photography and explains the foundation on which it's based. Technical elements like exposure and light are clearly explained in an easy to understand and succinct manner. As my understanding of the different components increased, I quickly moved away from the automatic settings on my camera (Canon Powershot A630) and the quality of my pictures soared.

Another important component of the book deals with the artistic elements of photography (Composition). What, how, and why are all discussed and all the suggestions are immediately applicable. After reading this book, I was able to compose better pictures with a tighter focus and, in addition, have gained a greater appreciation and understanding of other's work.

There are also chapters that discuss the particular components of a digital camera. These help the reader become "acquainted" with his/her particular camera. File settings and there importance are also discussed and will help the reader decide which is right for him/her (if one's camera allows that choice). A digital camera Buyer's guide is included at the book's end, which provides invaluable advice.

This book is targeted at beginners and is a great choice for both DSLR and p&s owners. My only caveat is that it will leave you wanting better equipment and more time to pursue your new habit. Er.. I mean hobby (Kelby moment).

Overall, I find this a beautifully illustrated book that provides a solid foundation on which to launch your photographic endeavor.

If you are about to buy your first digital photography book or even your new compact digicam
or SLR camera let this book be your first reference. In fact, it can be your only reference as a beginner or even intermediate
photographer.

Why I like it:
--------------
1. Simple language that makes it easy to understand and follow
2. A practical guide that drives you through steps to create your professional photos
3. Covers a variety of aspects concerning photography other than just shooting
4. Full of colorful pictures that clarifies what they are talking about
5. Unbelievable price! A complete photography course in a book that cost no more than $16.47!
6. Written by a great person JIM MIOTKE, he is professional photographer and photography instructor.

Believe me, this book is one of the BEST you could ever read in this area! And the best one to start with!

A lot of books these days equate digital photography with Photoshop, which to me is a waste of time. If you don't take good photos to begin with, the end-result will not be good not matter how much post-precessing you do on your computer. This book actually talks about photography techiques in a very accessible fashion. Aperture, shutter speed, iso, white balance are gently de-mystified, while equal emphasis is given on the content and compositon of photographs. As a relative newbie to serious photography, I found this book's explanantions and illustrations to be very good indeed. Highly recommended!

Most books about digital photography start at the beginning -- what to look for in a digital camera. Most books that teach you how to use the functions of a camera -- F stop, shutter speed, etc. -- are geared towards SLR cameras. But what if you're somewhere in the middle -- you already own a digital camera with manual settings but don't know your aperture from your white balance? Then this is the book for you.

This was the only book I really found that shows, step-by-step, the who, what, where, when and why behind the functions of the digital camera. Easy to read (this is not one of those 400-page bibles,) with accurate photographs to guide you every step of the way and assignments at the end of each chapter to give you a hands-on learning experience, you will see improvement in your photographs right away. Once you grasp the freddom and control you actually have over your photographs you will want to take your camera everywhere and apply what you've learned.

I highly recommend this book, even if you just read the highly informative captions that accompany every photograph in the book.

(edited for typo)

This is an excellent, well-written introduction to digital photography. Miotke explains the basic principles of photography, and my guess is that he's done a lot of teaching which helps to make the explanations very clear and systematic. I found the chapters on exposure, aperture, shutter speed, ISO particularly helpful since I'd never totally understood how these related to each other. There are lots of photographs illustrating how aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. affect the image, and lots of tips on what one might consider basic settings, and how one can vary them depending on the circumstances. He also has a long section on composition, again with illustrations. There were a few things which he does not cover which I would have been interested in -- e.g. he doesn't explain what the different kinds of lenses are for a digital SLR camera (e.g., what does 20 mm. vs 30 mm. mean). Each chapter contains assignments designed to help one see what one's camera is capable of. He assumes you either have a compact digital cameras or a digital SLR and tailors his explanations to each kind of camera.

I was getting tired of ordering books on digital photography, only to find out at least half the book was devoted to manipulating your photo on the computer. I've been a hobby photographer for about 10 years, and I wanted an explanation of the differences between 35 mm film cameras and the way a digital works. This book gave me what I was looking for. The side bar hints in each section are great. Now I know why setting my digital the way I would for a film shot is not always getting me the results I expect.

If you want a book that tells you how to use your digital camera when moving from film to digital, this is the best book I've found. It outlines all the basic information you need to make the adjustment.

I recently took a black & white film photography course at Northern Illinois University. I have learned more about photography in just the first 100 pages of this Jim Miotke book than I did the entire semester at NIU. He approaches difficult ideas from a variety of different angles. He rephrases and gives multiple examples for almost everything, making it very easy to understand difficult concepts. He uses multiple full-color photos to illustrate each concept and his writing style is very engaging. I would recommend this book to any beginner to intermediate photographer.

I wanted to learn how to take better pictures with my digital camera (Canon A620) and it has manual settings I can use. I don't know anything about f/stops or aperture settings or even that you could change the amount of light output on your flash - always used a 35mm film cartridge-type camera before. This book teaches me everything I ever wanted to know about camera settings - and I like it! I love the "assignments" at the end of each chapter. I think this has made it easier for me to really know my camera - and my pictures are great! Buy it! You won't be sorry!!!

I was able to read Jim's book while on a indoor bike. I read and highlighted so much that I burned off several thousands of calories ! I thought I knew a lot about photgraphy, and Jim's book filled me with so many new concepts and better ways to learn complcated issues. For example, the relationship between aperture number(f2.8 means "large aperture" while f/22 means small aperture size). It's seen as a fraction, not a whole number. Then for shutter speeds, " Larger(denominator) numbers = Faster shutter speeds" OR "turning-off your in-camera's noise reduction OR using ISO to to give you a faster shutterspeeds. Also, I really enjoyed his examples, assignments, dozens of timely tips! Lastly, he teaches you "Why you need to know all this"? This is a very readable, enjoyable and well portrayed book.
This is one of my all time favorite books on digital photgraphy. A must read book!

This book had a 5-star average review on Amazon when I was deciding which books to buy, and for that reason (and that reason alone), I bought it. I must say I'm a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong --- this is not a bad book. But it's certainly not a 5-star book. If you want a a really good book on digital photography, try Scott Kelby's Digital Photography book. This one is more pedestrian. It's a valiant effort, but most of what's inside can be found (at no charge) on the Web. It's also a chore to read. I find myself browsing rather than reading (by way of comparison, I read Kelby's book more or less cover to cover in one sitting).

All that having been said, it's a better book than Tom Ang's Digital Photography (published by DK).