David Busch's Canon EOS 7D Guide to Digital SLR Photography [Paperback]

David D. Busch (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1435456912 | ISBN-13: 978-1435456914 | Publication Date: July 26, 2010 | Edition: 1

Welcome to the Canon EOS 7D, Canon's new digital SLR that is loaded with professional features at an affordable price. DAVID BUSCH'S CANON EOS 7D GUIDE TO DIGITAL SLR PHOTOGRAPHY shows readers how to make the most of their camera's robust feature set, including 18 megapixel resolution, blazing fast automatic focus, the real-time preview system Live View, and full HD movie-making capabilities, to take outstanding photos and videos. They'll learn how, when, and, most importantly, why to use all the cool features and functions of their camera to take eye-popping photographs. Introductory chapters will help them get comfortable with the basics of their camera before you dive right into exploring creative ways to apply the Canon EOS 7D's exposure modes, focus controls, and electronic flash options. This book is chock full of hands-on tips for choosing lenses, flash units, and software products to use with their new camera. Beautiful, full-color images illustrate where the essential buttons and dials are, so they'll quickly learn how to their Canon EOS 7D, and use it well.

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Features

From the Publisher

• Shows readers how to master all the features and functions of the Canon EOS 7D, Canon's advanced yet affordable new dSLR model.


• Clear instructions and beautiful, full-color images will quickly help readers get familiar and comfortable with their cameras.


• Written by working photographer and best-selling camera guide author David Busch, who understands digital photography with Canon digital single lens reflex cameras.

From the Author

In depth, yet accessible, for beginners and Canon veterans

Rather than rush to be first on the shelves with a cursory overview of the Canon EOS 7D, I decided to give this top camera a real workout, and take some extra time putting together this comprehensive, 500-page guide that answers all the questions that both beginners and more experienced amateurs will have about this sophisticated camera.  If you're serious about photography, you need:

• Detailed coverage of the 7D's autofocus features.  Are you confused by all the 7D's autofocus options, including the ability to specify different zones for vertical and horizontal orientations? Learn how to choose focus modes and zone selection methods to snap into sharp focus every time.  You'll find explanations of exactly how phase detection and contrast detection work, and step-by-step instructions for using techniques like stack focus. 
• Essential advice on settings options.  You need more than just a rehash of menu options and settings.  You want advice on when you should use (or not use) each option.  I've included two full chapters (more than 100 pages) of tips so you can set up your camera with confidence.
• A full chapter on shooting movies and Live View.  My tips go beyond just the camera controls to show you how to get better movies and audio using storyboards, establishing shots, close-ups, two-shots, and more.  Get the most from your 7D's full HD video capabilities.
• First-hand experience with the full array of Canon lenses for the 7D.  I own and use virtually every lens in the Canon line, and have summarized my recommendations on a full chapter that evaluates the available lenses.
• The latest technology. I'm always looking at new stuff, like Eye-Fi cards, GPS, and smartphone/tablet apps, and provide the latest news in my books.
• Entire chapters on exposure and histograms, and other topics. Two full chapters just on flash/wireless flash. Improve your photography skills as you learn to use your 7D.

I know you'll enjoy using your new 7D as much as I have.  Sit down with me and let me show you how to get the most from your camera.  And if you need a camera-bag-friendly guide to take with you everywhere, I have written a Compact Field Guide for this camera, too.

Product Details

• Paperback: 473 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (July 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1435456912
• ISBN-13: 978-1435456914
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Equipment
  • #28 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Digital Photography
  • #35 in Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Photography & Video

More About the Author

With nearly 1.5 million books in print, David D. Busch is the world's #1 selling author of camera-specific guidebooks, and the originator of popular series like David Busch's Pro Secrets, David Busch's Compact Field Guides, David Busch's Guides to Digital SLR Photography, and David Busch's Quick Snap Guides.

Most of his hugely successful books for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, and Panasonic digital cameras are the top-selling guidebooks for their respective camera models. His advice has been featured on NPR's "All Tech Considered."

Busch's dozens of other books devoted to digital photography include David Busch's Digital Infrared Pro Secrets and Mastering Digital SLR Photography. As a roving photojournalist for more than 20 years, he has illustrated his books, magazine articles, and newspaper reports with award-winning images. Busch has operated his own commercial studio, suffocated in formal dress while shooting weddings-for-hire, and shot sports for a daily newspaper and upstate New York college. His photographs and articles have been published in magazines as diverse as PhotoGraphic, Popular Photography & Imaging, The Rangefinder, The Professional Photographer, and hundreds of other publications. He's also reviewed digital cameras for CNet Networks and Computer Shopper.

As a writer, photographer, and contributing editor for ten magazines, he has more than 130 books and 2500 articles to his credit. A PR consultant for Eastman Kodak Company's photography divisions for nearly 20 years, Busch has published photography articles under his by-line in Popular Photography & Imaging, PhotoGraphic, The Rangefinder, The Professional Photographer and other photo magazines. His photos have appeared on the covers of magazines, and in both print and television advertising.

The graduate of Kent State University operated his own photo studio and was a principal in CCS/PR, Inc., one of the largest public relations firms based in San Diego, working on press conferences, press kits, media tours, and sponsored photo trade magazine articles. In addition to Kodak, CCS photography clients included Hewlett-Packard. He sold his interest in CCS in 1992 to become a full-time author, photographer, and reporter.

Since then, Busch has become one of the leading photojournalist/authors in the United States. He has had as many as five books appear simultaneously in the Amazon.com Top 25 Digital Photography Books, and when Michael Carr of About.com named the top five digital photography books for beginners, the #1 and #2 choices were his Digital Photography All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies and Mastering Digital Photography. Several of his digital imaging books have sold in excess of 50,000 copies.

Busch was a featured guest speaking on digital photography on Toronto's Breakfast Television show in 2005, was the keynote speaker at the Dayton Computerfest, and has been a call-in guest for 22 different radio shows nationally and in major markets, including WTOP-AM (Washington), KYW-AM (Philadelphia), USA Network (Daybreak USA), WPHM-AM (Detroit), KMJE-FM (Sacramento), CJAD-AM (Montreal), WBIX-AM (Boston), ABC Radio Network (Jonathan & Mary Show).

His work has been translated into Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Bulgarian, German, Italian, French, and other languages. his web site is http://www.dbusch.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A camera this good deserves a guidebook this good!, August 4, 2010

By 

Image Print Reviews (Orange County) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: David Busch's Canon EOS 7D Guide to Digital SLR Photography (Paperback)

"David Busch's Canon EOS 7D Guide to Digital SLR Photography" has at least twice as much useful information as any of the compact guidebooks, as befits this advanced camera -- Canon's most affordable "pro/semi-pro" model. The two full chapters on lighting, which includes one chapter dedicated just to this camera's new built-in wireless flash capabilities, are worth the cost of the book alone.

Quite simply, this book, like his other guides, doesn't fit in the cookie-cutter mold of the other books on the shelves. Those typically re-hash the material you find in the booklet stuffed in the box with the camera, providing slightly longer and easier-to-understand explanations of the basic controls and menu settings, plus add some generic photography advice. That's a viable approach, but not particularly satisfying for someone who really wants to master a new camera like the Canon 7D.

Busch recognizes that each camera is unique, and although the explanations of basic concepts like exposure, shutter speeds, and apertures are similar across all models in all his books, the Canon 7D deserves detailed coverage. In this book, he manages to do that while still tailoring his explanations to suit beginners who have purchased a Canon 7D as their first D-SLR, intermediate photographers looking to improve their skills, and advanced shooters who want a fast way to learn the camera and gain some tips. You can't do that with a cookie-cutter book.

Including the introductory material, I counted more than 500 pages, all well-organized so that any photographer of any level can quickly locate what they need to know. For example, there's a "Getting Started" chapter, which, the author acknowledges, will likely be read only after the reader has already taken a few hundred photos. It provides the kind of pre-flight checklist you wish you had when you bought your first digital SLR. Next comes a Quick Start chapter that leads you through the essential features of the camera, with just the basics and none of the mind-numbing detail, allowing you to immediately go out and shoot your best pictures, ever. The third chapter is a "roadmap" guide that carefully explains each of the controls on the camera, with many photos and the right amount of information. The thick, but small-format book that comes with the 7D has many cross-references that send you darting around. Busch gives you the nitty gritty here.

Then, in a welcome departure from the organization of other guidebooks, Busch leaves the discussion of detailed menus and setup options for later in the book. Instead, he gives you three "Beyond the Basics" chapters devoted to Understanding Exposure, Mastering the Mysteries of Autofocus, and Advanced Shooting,Live View, and Movie-Making. Each of these are detailed tutorials on using the 7D's sophisticated features. Even Canon veterans may be mystified by the 7D's new autofocus options, which allow you to set up, for example, different autofocus zones for vertical and horizontal shooting orientations. Busch explains all these options, as well as the underlying technology behind autofocus, clearly and completely. The lengthy, tip-filled movie-making section was excellent, too, and appropriate given the 7D's full HD capabilities.

The author does devote several long chapters to explaining every menu option and, more importantly, why you should use each setting. Most other guides just list the menu item choices, and don't give you detailed examples of when to use a particular setting. The other books simply don't have room for this kind of depth. Highly recommended.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the wait!, August 6, 2010

By 

Winford L. - See all my reviews

This review is from: David Busch's Canon EOS 7D Guide to Digital SLR Photography (Paperback)

Finally, I understand how to use my EOS 7D! I eagerly anticipated this book, because none of the other references I checked fully explained some of the best new features of the camera, especially the powerful autofocus features, and the ability to use the camera's flash as a master for wireless flash. I really needed to learn these, too. Busch has always produced the very best of the digital camera guides for Canon, and seems to understand that sophisticated cameras need, on the one hand, explanations that are simple enough for someone who isn't yet an expert to grasp, yet with enough depth to answer all your questions as you grow with the camera.

This one has 13 very meaty chapters that cover all the bases. Chapters 1-3 get you started setting up and using the camera, with sufficient information on all the controls and features, but not so much that you get lost. Chapters 4-6 explain exposure, the new autofocus features, and advanced shooting techniques. I particularly liked the section on movie shooting, as it described how to use the 7D's movies making, but then added specific shooting tips you can apply to your 7D in movie mode. Chapters 7 and 8 explains every single menu choice, and rather than just running through the options, Busch gives examples of situations he's encountered where each setting has proved useful. There's a whole chapter on lenses, including a chart and instructions you can use for adjusting for front or back focus. Since I purchased two 580EX II flash units, I found the two chapters on flash to be especially helpful in getting the most out of multiple flash situations. The last two chapters tell you about maintaining your camera, and your software options, without padding the book with how-to-use-Photoshop information. (If I want to know how to use specific software, I'll buy a book for that software.

All in all, this was an excellent book, and clearly the best for Canon 7D owners who want to master their cameras.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive Guide to the Canon 7D, August 7, 2010

By 

Pais Valenciano - See all my reviews

This review is from: David Busch's Canon EOS 7D Guide to Digital SLR Photography (Paperback)

I upgraded to the Canon EOS 7D from the Rebel T1i, and really needed some help in learning to use the features of this semi-professional camera. Although I already knew the basics of using a digital camera, I really wanted to sharpen my skills as I learned how to use the much more advanced 7D. This book gave me exactly what I needed. It includes plenty of introductory information that showed me how to operate my camera, which is especially helpful because the menu system of the 7D has so many more options than the T1i. The author explains each of these confusing settings, tells why you'd want to use each one, and gives examples of the kind of photography where that feature would come in handy. This book also has a great deal of useful information on exposure, autofocus (which always confused me, particularly because the 7D has many more focus settings than my old camera.) And now that I have this advanced camera, I am ready to add to my kit of lenses, and this book helped me there, too. There is a chapter that explains how to choose a "first" lens, and then what lenses you might want to add after that. The author concentrates on the large number of Canon lenses available, but the information helped me when I chose an equivalent Tamron lens instead. Finally, the troubleshooting chapter eased my fears about the necessary maintenance that all cameras require. I am very satisfied with the completeness of this book. It should have been sold with the camera, because it answers all the questions that the manual that came with my 7D did not.