Canon 40D: The Rocky Nook Manual [Paperback]

Artur Landt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2008

Your new Canon EOS 40D arrives, gets unpacked, batteries are fully loaded, and you are ready to go. For the next few weeks you will be in experimental mode, trying out your camera "and you often end up with a basic and limited set of functions and modes, which you will use for the rest of the camera's life. Why? Because you, like most of us, are lazy, and because the manual that comes with the camera is too dense and confusing.

Get the full 40D-Experience with this book. Learn to master this magnificent camera, and learn it the photographer's way; from the basics of exposure and metering to focus modes, live view, bracketing, continuous shooting, and flash photography. Also learn how to set up your camera menus for different shooting situations, and see the outstanding images that can be achieved with these settings. Dr. Artur Landt's book is beautifully illustrated and is so much more than just a camera manual. It is a must for all serious amateur, semiprofessional, or professional photographers who want to get the most out of their Canon EOS 40D, and who strive to produce impressive, polished, digital images.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Artur Landt is one of Germany's most prolific authors of camera books with over 30 titles to his credit. He is a well-known journalist reporting on new developments in the field of photography and imaging, and he contributed a section on photographic techniques to the new edition of Germany's prestigious Brockhaus Encyclopedia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Rocky Nook (July 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933952334
• ISBN-13: 978-1933952338
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,439,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a manual for the EOS 40D, August 4, 2009

By 

Pierre LeJaque (Oregon) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canon 40D: The Rocky Nook Manual (Paperback)

This may be a manual for Arthur Landt's photography knowledge but it is does not do much to help you operate your 40D. It has quite a bit of general photography information, however that can be obtained from literature which is not masquerading as a manual for the 40D. I checked out from the public library the book: Canon EOS 40D guide to digital photography by David D Busch and found that although it also had a lot of extraneous material in it, it was a far better book and the one which I wish I had purchased instead. Don't waste your money on the Landt book. By the way, I also purchased a DVD: the Introduction to the Canon 40D Digital SLR by Blue Crane Digital and have found it to be helpful.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get More out of your Canon 40D and Other EOS Cameras, August 19, 2009

By 

Russell J. T. Dyer (New Orleans & Milan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon 40D: The Rocky Nook Manual (Paperback)

Although this book is specifically on the Canon EOS 40D camera, I found it to be a very useful book on all Canon EOS cameras. I was surprised at how much I learned from it about Canon EOS features and settings--things I hadn't picked up on my own after a couple of years of using EOS cameras. It has some excellent diagrams and good screenshots of the camera's menus. It has many photos demonstrating various features. Mingled between the main text are insets with tips on accomplishing common objectives or resolving common problems with an EOS camera. Many times while reading this book, I had to stop to get my camera so as to try out some of his suggestions. The results were impressive.

Chapter Highlights

In the first chapter the author, Artur Landt provides some minimal tutorial comments on basic photography with nice examples to help the reader understand the various camera settings. He teaches the reader to make their own decisions regarding menu settings. This includes the camera's custom settings, which I imagine most people change rarely from the default because they think they are choices beyond them or they're worried that they may cause irreversible problems.

In Chapter Two, Landt covers autofocus and exposure settings: setting autofocus points and locking temporarily the focus. He explains camera settings related to ISO sensitivity and shutter speed. He also gives some good information on the different meter settings here.

In Chapter Three, Landt discusses the several camera modes available with an EOS model: aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual mode for what Canon calls creative modes, as well as the many automated modes that the 40D has. He also includes explanations of depth-of-field and aperture settings, as well as shutter speed settings.

Chapter Four is on using a flash: the built-in flash and an external one. He goes through the menu choices on the camera related to both types of flashes and explains Canon's TTL (through-the-lens) light metering and how different settings can affect the flash. He also explains how to add compensation factors or easily do a bracket of test shots to get the best shot.

In the fifth chapter, Landt goes over the various lenses available to this camera model. This chapter not only explains the advantage of each type of lens, but it's a bit of a buying guide in that it explains the different designations of Canon lenses: AF vs. AF-S; lens ring colors; USM, DO, IS, and other abbreviations particular to Canon lenses. These are all things to consider when shopping for a lens, especially unassisted as one is usually when shopping on-line. The chapter also includes some comparison photos to show the results of different lens types.

In Chapter Six, Landt goes through the typical accessories you can buy for a Canon 40D. This includes several types of lens filters, a lens hood, external media, camera bags, and other such items. It's like an Amazon ListMania list.

The final chapter includes just a few pages on transferring data to a computer using the software provided with the camera. He also explains how to interface the Canon utility software to Canon's high-end printers designed specifically for printing photographs.

Conclusion

This is a good book to get when you first purchase a Canon EOS 40D, or even after you've had some time to try out your new camera. If you do get this book, I recommend reading it thoroughly and playing with the related settings on your camera while you read it. Think about the concepts Landt suggests as you read the book, of course. More importantly, though, think about them as you try out the setting changes he suggested--go out and take pictures with the new settings and see how you like the results. You'll gain a great deal from the process and you'll get your money's worth out of your camera.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Rocky Nook Manual For Canon EOS 40D, January 30, 2010

By 

Gadget Hound - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canon 40D: The Rocky Nook Manual (Paperback)

This book nicely supplements the other more general Canon 40D books with additional and more specific advanced information than those commonly contain.

Dr Landt is an acknowledged international photographic authority and his writing style has a nice balance between getting too theoretical and technical and leaving out such details altogether. His high-quality color diagrams, illustrations, and photos are clear, to the point, and extremely informative.

The book's focus is on how to employ good shooting techniques from the outset, based upon a through understanding of both high-tech camera imaging technology, the Canon 40D's controls, and related image processing techniques. Although all chapters are full of essential and relevant information, with no wasted words, I especially appreciated the chapters on modern camera technology and using interchangeable lenses.

I think this is a "must have" book for the Canon 40D and I highly recommend it to both beginners and intermediate to advanced photographers alike.