Customer Reviews

Camtasia Studio 3: The Definitive Guide (Wordware Applications Library)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The definitive guide to the definitive software for creating training video (caveat: I was given a comp. of Camtasia, but had been using it before I was given a copy). Great book; everything you need to know, very easy to use as a tutorial or as a reference.

Extremely well organized. The first chapter lays out what you need to know about the software. The second chapter explains the layout of the book. Chapter 3 gets you up and running, chapter 4 is about best practices. Chapter 5 is the practical aspects you need 90% of the time. Chapter 6 is special effects, chapter 7 takes you further into the tool. Chapter 8 focuses on PowerPoint (don't get me started).

Chapter 9 begins the Editing section and chapter 10 shows you how to work with other media while chapter 11 teaches editing effects such as picture in picture and call outs, zoom and captions. Unit V is about sharing your video, with chapter 12 focusing on the production process, including file formats, including AVI, Flash, Windows Media, Quick-Time, Real Media, AVI, etc, and chapter 13 showing how to create CD based videos Chapters 14 and 15 go beyond for advanced video sharing and the appendices take you to advanced topics for reducing file size, providing tips on buying guide and finding additional help.

This is the single best volume for creating videos that I know of.

If you are serious about getting a proper understanding of Camtasia, then you definitely need this book. As far as I'm aware, it is the only such book available. Sure you can try using the Help material supplied with Camtasia, but it is difficult to learn well enough that way.

Camtasia Studio is a complex video recording and editing package, and there is a great deal of detail which is difficult to understand at first. Even with this book I'm needing to re-read whole chapters in order to get sufficient understanding of the suitable techniques to apply. The book isn't an easy read, but essential if you are to get maximum value from Camtasia.

The author, Daniel Park, has actually worked for the makers of Camtasia in the past, although he now works as a consultant. This gives him both an insiders and outsiders objective perspective, which allows a reader to get a fuller understanding of all the intricacies. The presentation is well-informed and conversational, although more attention could have been given to the learning needs of a naive user.

The first thing I saw about this book was the thickness -- and I try to stay away from thick books that I never get the time to read. But I was needlessly scared -- the language that Daniel uses in this book is conversation style, it's easy to understand, and you don't even need to read the full book from cover to cover because almost everything is self contained.

There are many, many screenshots that help, and Daniel is not off the mark when he says that you will learn around 80% of what he knows by reading the book!

There's so much involvement from TechSmith as well -- and I loved the PowerPoint related chapter in the book (I work with PowerPoint so much). This book is also the best reference and content that you can find on Camtasia Studio anywhere.

I want to add that I know Daniel though I have never met him, and he and his publisher allowed me to put up a generous excerpt on my site at:

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Geetesh Bajaj
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For anyone that uses Camtasia Studio, Daniel Park's Definitive Guide is just that. With an engaging and easy to digest style, Daniel leads you through pretty much every aspect of using this program suite to it's full potential.

Along the way, he also covers the intangible and often overlooked aspects of preperation, planning, and time saving tips and tricks that make it possible to produce a quality poduct with Camtasia.

Daniel Parks' book Camtasia Studio 3 is an excellent resource for those just beginning to learn the application or with a fair amount of knowledge about it. Although he doesn't delve into certain subjects as deeply as I would have liked (e.g., limitations with certain options), at 550+ pages you're still getting a good deal of information.

I've found one or two areas of the book I don't believe I agree with Parks on in how to manipulate the software, but maybe I'm just not reading his instructions in the way he intended.

If you've never used Camtasia but expect to need some of the lesser-used options, I highly recommend you buy this book when you buy the software. Good job, Daniel!

This book is my Camtasia "Bible." It's well-written and has answered a lot of questions I didn't even know I had. Now that Camtasia has moved to Version 4, I wonder if the book will undergo a revision to cover all the great new features.

If I could give 10 stars I would. THis book is the definitive guide to Camtasia and much, much more. The Camtasia part doesn't even start till Chapter 5. You spend the chapters before that learning about the how-to and why of 1) training, 2) marketing and 3) demo presentations. It's a Camtasia book and a How-To-Do-Great-Presentation book in one. And all done in an entertaining by the author's warm personable conversational style.
I wish the author would write more books. About Sony Vegas, about Serious Magic Ultra 2, about search engines. He is so good.