"On of the things I love about my compact camera is that I can always have it with me. I never leave home without it...Always carry your compact camera. I guarantee that you will begin to see more creative picture opportunities."
That quote forms one of the main premises of Rick Sammon's new book, "Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter: Get Professional Quality Photos with Your Compact Camera." And it's a good premise--one that I can vouch for personally.
I consider myself to be an advanced amateur photographer. I own and regularly use a high end Nikon prosumer DSLR complete with multiple lenses, filters, speedlights and various other photo accessories. My extra large sized camera bag is completely full and everything in it gets used and often. Yet if you happen to pass me on the street, more often than not you will notice not a Nikon DSLR, but a Canon PowerShot S90 compact camera with me. I carry the S90 in a leather carrying pouch attached to my belt. It goes wherever I go. You never know when that special photographic opportunity or moment will present itself--and it usually doesn't wait for you to go home and get your DSLR. As a result, I've taken many impromptu photos with the S90 that my viewers find very interesting and attractive. Sammon is right. Canon S90, I couldn't have done it without you!
Rick Sammon is a well known photographer and writer on the subject of photography. His work is so closely associated with high end DSLRs (prosumer and up) that it comes as a shock to see him write a book dedicated to using compact cameras. At least that's the intent. In "Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter" he makes the case that a compact camera can provide much of the capabilities of a DSLR without the size, complexity and weight. However, a weakness in the book is that, early on, Sammon successfully makes his case for the value of owning and using a compact camera even for advanced DSLR users. But then, he keeps making his case over and over again throughout the book. He never "closes the sale." I wanted to scream back at the book, "Okay, okay! I get it! You can stop trying to convince me now."
In the book, Sammon compares the functionality of compact cameras and DSLRs. Sammon points out, correctly I believe, that while a photos taken with a compact camera can rival, in many case, a DSLR, there are significant differences in capabilities between a compact camera and the typical point and shoot camera. The former has enough features to make it function in a somewhat similar manner to a DSLR, but without interchangeable lenses and all the bells and whistles of a DSLR. The latter generally does not.
That said, the "compact camera" that Rick Sammon uses for most of the photos in the book is a Canon G10. While the G10 sits in the compact camera class, it is on the high end in terms of size, weight, cost and features. It is a popular compact camera, no doubt, but is not truly representative of an important class of compact cameras that cost less and are far more compact than the G10. These are compact cameras such as the Canon PowerShot S90, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 or the Ricoh CX3. These cameras have a much smaller form factor. They fit in a shirt pocket and yet have many of the features found in the G10. It would have been nice to have focused on these cameras instead of the G10.
To be fair, however, "Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter" is not about the Canon G10. Many of the hints and tips scattered through the book can be applied to any camera--even high end DSLRS. And here lies both the strength and the weakness of the book. It's general in nature. Think of it more like a handbook than a text book and you'll get the idea. Shooting information and tips are scattered throughout in its pages and they span the gamut ranging from ISO, to shooting modes to composition to RAW to HDR to panos. Little time is spent on any one topic. That makes Sammon's book too much like the general photography books that stuff the shelves of every bookstore's Photography sections. It's not aimed at the experienced photographer. That is unfortunate because the topic of the book could have made it attractive to experienced DSLR users who have eschewed compact cameras and already know most of the tip and information that Sammon includes. In other words, it appears that Sammon has missed his target audience.
On the other hand, the tips are solid, the paper quality used in the book is good, almost all photos are in color and none are postage sized. In general, this is an attractive book. And, most importantly, it includes an index--something that is sorely missing in far too many photography books. If you accept its limitations, "Confessions of a Compact Camera Shooter" could occupy a useful place on your photography bookshelf.
