David Busch's Quick Snap Guide to Using Digital SLR Lenses [Paperback]

David D. Busch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1598634550 | ISBN-13: 978-1598634556 | Edition: 1

Are you ready to go beyond the basics with your digital SLR camera but are unsure which interchangeable lens or two to buy and more importantly, how and when to use each lens? "David Busch's Quick Snap Guide to Using Digital SLR Lenses" offers focused, concise information and techniques on how to use different lenses to take great photographs. You'll begin with a quick overview of how lenses work and the types of lenses available, including normal, telephoto, wide-angle, prime, and zoom. Then you'll explore typical lens controls and features such as focus rings, depth-of-field scales, and image stabilization, and how particular settings can help improve your photography. Once you have the basics down you'll learn how to create cool effects using lens filters and accessories, and how to select the best lens aperture for particular types of photos. Finally, you'll go in-depth with telephoto, wide-angle, and macro lenses. Each topic or concept is explained using a clear, two- or fourpage spread, and beautiful, full-color images illustrate the results of photographing with each setting, technique, or lens. A mini-glossary will help you define unfamiliar terms as you go. Get ready to enhance your photographs using the versatility of interchangeable lenses on your digital SLR!

Product Details

• Paperback: 170 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (December 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598634550
• ISBN-13: 978-1598634556
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Equipment

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

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-focused explanation of lenses, January 16, 2008

By 

Terrence (Solon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: David Busch's Quick Snap Guide to Using Digital SLR Lenses (Paperback)

This book was a revelation for me! I purchased a fairly advanced digital SLR without having a lot of experience, and have been struggling with learning all the nuances of photography and the equipment used. Lenses have been one of the biggest puzzles. What lenses should I get? Why does one 70-200mm lens cost $300 while another one costs $1700? How do I choose among telephotos and wide angle lenses? This book answers all those questions, and a lot more.

It's arranged in two page and four page layouts, with each set of pages dealing with a specific aspect of selecting or working with lenses. There are chapters on improving the quality of your results with any lens, using filters, and the correct use of every lens control. I learned about "bokeh," depth-of-field, perspective, and how to shoot great close-up pictures with the lenses I already have.

I'm glad that there is a book that takes just one aspect of digital photography and goes into it in detail. This is a wonderful resource for anyone who has purchased a digital SLR camera and now needs to know how to go the next step with lenses.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very happy to have discovered David Busch, January 19, 2010

By 

tachi1 "tachi1" (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: David Busch's Quick Snap Guide to Using Digital SLR Lenses (Paperback)

This is my first "Quick Snap Guide" and I have found it extremely well-organized and informative. It goes into just enough depth, not technical, but thorough and well-explained both in the text and in the many well-captioned photographs and illustrations. Not only does it describe each type of lens (its function, design, strength, and limitations) but it goes into detail about how the size and type of lens is a factor--but only one factor--for the qualities you might want in your photographs. So, for example, depending on the depth of field you want, you choose a certain type and size of lens, and then a certain aperture and shutter speed combination. The relationship between your choice of f stop, your ISO, your shutter speed, and available light are all as important as your choice of lens. So, with relatively few lenses you can cover just about any effect and any type of photograph.

It should be noted that this book is aimed at owners on non-pro digital slr's (in other words, owners of cameras which don't have a full 35mm sensor) since, in his recommendations and guidelines for the lenses are already based on a multiplier of 1.5 or 1.6. This takes some adapting for those of us used to taking a lens labeled 50mm and automatically thinking of it as a 75mm lens, or that if we want 50mm we have to buy a lens marked 35mm. There is no need to do that, it is already factored in, which threw me at first.

Lenses are also explained: their construction; all the little markings, scales, buttons, and controls usually found on lenses; filter types, uses, and threads; tripods; zoom and prime types and the benefits of each; optional controls such as vibration reduction; optional attachments for lenses such as adapters, close-up attachments, extension tubes, and bellows--regardless of manufacturer, if it has anything to do with lenses, it's here.

Photography pointers are also given, both general in nature and specifically related to lenses. You will want to know general tips on how to get good bokeh (and what lens qualities contribute to it); how to avoid lens flare (which lenses are most likely to have it); what general camera settings are the most likely combinations when you want a specific feel; types of focusing; types of optical aberrations (chromatic, vignetting, barrel & pincushion distortions and what you can do about them); the difference between DX and FX lenses and crop factors (multipliers) of non-pro digital cameras.

Really, almost everything is here. I say "almost" because there are a couple of things I would have found useful that weren't here. Speaking generally, I would have welcomed side-by-side comparison pictures in which the same scene was photographed with different lenses to give an even better feel of the strengths and limitations of different focal lengths. Yes, each focal length is illustrated in its own section, but not directly compared to other options. Speaking specifically for my needs, I would have welcomed a bit of information on which lenses would be best for photographing geometric subjects with strong edges (such as architecture, and two-dimensional artwork such as a painting), both of which are difficult to get "square". Portraits, sports, landscapes, closeups, candids, etc., are all well-covered, but no mention of architectural photography. From my own experience, I find a zoom lens with a focal length between 28mm and maybe 45mm (figuring full-frame) to give the best result, but I would have loved to have some professional guidance on the subject because my observations are hit-and-miss.

On the whole, however, the book is outstanding. It is clear and pleasant reading as well as a well-indexed reference source. Not only is this book a definite keeper, I plan to get other David Busch books as well based on this experience, starting with his "Quick Snap Guide to Photo Gear".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What I have been looking for, December 26, 2008

By 

M. Johnson (SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: David Busch's Quick Snap Guide to Using Digital SLR Lenses (Paperback)

This is exactly what I have been looking for. I am not new to photography, but I have been away from it for a long time. I needed a refresher course on a few things and this was it. It did not go in to long drawn out descriptions, but had just the right amount of information.