Customer Reviews

Canon EOS 20D (Magic Lantern Guides)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I read the reviews of this book from other members. And they hovered around the, "this book is a rehash of what you already know" or, "a wordy version of the owner's manual." Maybe so, and this is precisely why I have to give this book 5 stars.

I had a very nice 35mm SLR about 20 years ago (I'm 37 as of this review). I long since sold it and have not held anything other than some form of point-and-shoot for nearly two decades. But now I am getting back into photography again. I did a LOT of research and ended up on the EOS 20D.

After reading the instruction manual that came with the book I realized I had more questions than answers. The instruction manual reads as though you already know everything it's mentioning. It's a large reference guide, but hardly a well-written instruction book for the EOS 20D.

So, despite the reviews, I bought the book. And am VERY happy I did. I suspect the negative reviews are written by people who didn't really need to read this book in the first place. But if you're like me, and you're fairly green to all of this and are a virgin to the digial SLR world, then this book is a must for you if you have a 20D.

The book is NOT an instruction book on how to take better photos. But it explains in very plain English how every single feature works, what it might be used for, and in a few cases, how to utilize some of the camera's features.

I personally found this book to be invaluable. And without it I would have remained lost. Trying to decipher the hard-to-read instruction booklet that comes with the camera.

After reading the book front to back I was confident in adjusting the camera's settings, using the 20D's onboard menus and screen-controlled settings.

The book is written as though you're completely new to the 20D. And in the case of some professionals I can see how this almost might be condescending. But if you use the book for it's intended purpose (a more easily understood instruction manual) instead of what it isn't (How to get the best results from your 20D) then you'll be happy with the book.

Hope this helps. I see 1-star bashes about this book and I am left to assume it's from people who never needed to read it in the first place.

True, it is a rehash basically of the manual, but it's presented in a much clearer and more interesting manner, by explaining a lot of the basics of digital photography. I'm rather new to digital photography, so I found it much easier to uderstand Rob Sheppards explanations, then the bland and sometimes confusing way the manual presents the same thing. I wouldn't reommend this book though, to a professional or expert in digital photography.

I had high hopes for the Magic Lantern guide to the EOS-20D, after having purchased the Magic Lantern guide for my Canon film SLR (EOS-5) many years ago.

The EOS-20D guide proved to be a big disappointment. It's basically just a re-write of the Canon owners manual, with a few amateur tips on photography, i.e. "a sturdy tripod will eliminate camera movement," and computer imaging, i.e. "a card reader can be purchased at most electronics stores."

Save your money.

I had read several reviews of the book with both pros and cons. I set my expectations of this book as a glorified re-hash of the owner's manual. Honestly, for the price I paid for this camera...another $20 (about the price of a lens cap) to learn how to better effectively use the camera was not wasted money.

I found that it really was better than the owner's manual and went beyond the expectations I set based on other reviews. Not using an SLR for almost 20 years but using a point and shoot digital, I found it was a very good at bringing me back up to speed while explaining the basics of the controls and how to use them (not at in the owners manual in this format). It gave some good, solid, straight forward examples, clear pictures (all in B&W), and interpreted the owners manual to a much better format to understand without talking down to you.

The book starts off by stating what to expect from it and how to best obtain information from the pages. I found that it did not just meet these, but contained enough little tips and pointers that it exceeded what I thought it was capable of. As a matter of reference, I also read the 20D manual cover to cover before this book and yet was still able to pull information from this book. This is a good reason to give it 5 stars.

The recommended reading of the book is not cover to cover, but to read the basics and then the area of interest and user needs...then use the book as a reference. Follow the explanations of the automatic modes; use your camera to reinforce these. Then go back and learn more about the manual functionalities of the camera. Because it is easier to read than the small manual that is provided with the camera, it is more understandable and easier to refer back to.

I intend to keep it with me when I am out shooting just because it is a quick way to get answers to understanding the camera. And no it does not get in to the in depth technical specs of working around certain issues, but then again the book never claimed to do this either.

I would recommend this to anyone moving up from a point and shoot or older film SLR. If you are already very familiar with how to use the camera and pulled all you can from the owners manual, then get a book more on certain aspects of digital photography.

It's somewhat basic, but helpful. Puts lots of information (including much that's in the owner's manual) in a context that's meaningful to users.

The owner's manual describes how to operate the camera; this book provides additional context that makes the owner's manual more meaningful. The book is compact enough to put in the bag with the camera so that you can review it wherever you want. I'd recommend it.

Some have said that this is just a rehash of the manual that came with the camera. While in part this is true this book is by far more readable than the manual and has more information than the manual.

As a general reference on how to use this camera it is definitely worth the asking price.

I have this 20D Magic Lantern book now, plus the "Short Course Canon 20D" book, and conclude that the Short Course in Canon 20D is much more informative. I found numerous times in the Magic Lantern book that it does indeed explain how and what the action is of certain buttons, settings etc., but it does not tell you where it is or include complete instructions for the act of doing the setting itself. So if you are new at the 20D, you will find yourself wandering, and hunting for directions alot. Sometimes to no avail.

The good points of this book, it does explain camera actions well, and it's small, so you can pop it in the bag to go with you.

I do, however, recommend the larger book, "The Short Course 20D" book instead, which is a faster paced complete instructional of the camera.

I read the manual and still had troubles understanding basic photography. I have never owned an SLR and did not have a clue about aperture and shutter speeds. About half way through the book the light went off and I now love my 20D. I am currently reading advanced books on exposure and becoming proficient with Photoshop Elements.

This book is very effective at familiarizing the novice photographer. It gave me invaluable assistance in familiarizing myself with the camera.

This book is a glossy owners manual with nothing added that would justify its purchace.