David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual [Paperback]

David Pogue (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 21, 2009 | Series: Missing Manual

If you're ready to jump into digital photography or would like to increase the skills you already have, David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual is just what you need. Bestselling author David Pogue provides a no-nonsense guide to the entire process, including how to: buy and use a digital camera; get the same photographic effects as the pros; manage the results on your Mac or PC; edit photos; and, finally, share the results with your adoring fans -- on paper, online, or on mugs, jigsaw puzzles, and blankets.

After reviewing hundreds of digital cameras and photo services in his weekly New York Times column, David Pogue knows digital photography. With this new Missing Manual you will:

• Get expert advice on how to choose a digital camera, including information on the only specs that matter. (Hint: it's not about megapixels).
• Learn the basics of lighting, composition, and shooting lots of photos
• Understand how to choose the best camera settings for 20 different scenarios
• Unravel the problems of correcting images and storing them
• Learn David's tips and tricks for sharing and printing images
• Get a special troubleshooting section you can turn to when things go wrong

David Pogue's witty, authoritative voice has demystified the Mac, Windows, iPods and iPhones for millions of readers. Now, he offers step-by-step instructions and plenty of friendly advice to help you join in the fun and get real satisfaction from digital photography.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Pogue, Yale '85, is the weekly personal-technology columnist for the New York Times and an Emmy award-winning tech correspondent for CBS News. With 3 million books in print, he is also one of the world's bestselling how-to authors. He wrote or co-wrote seven books in the "for Dummies" series (including Macs, Magic, Opera, and Classical Music); in 1999, he launched his own series of complete, funny computer books called Missing Manuals, which now includes 30 titles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Pogue Press; 1 edition (January 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596154038
• ISBN-13: 978-0596154035
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Pogue is the personal-technology columnist for the New York Times. Each week, he contributes a print column, an online column and an online video. His daily blog, "Pogue's Posts," is the Times's most popular blog. David is also an Emmy award-winning tech correspondent for CBS News and a frequent guest on NPR's "Morning Edition." His trademark comic tech videos appear each Thursday morning on CNBC. With over 3 million books in print, David is one of the world's bestselling how-to authors. He launched his own series of complete, funny computer books called the Missing Manual series, which now includes 60 titles. David graduated summa cum laude from Yale in 1985, with distinction in Music, and he spent ten years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals in New York. He's been profiled on both "48 Hours" and "60 Minutes."

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive and Up-to-date January 30, 2009

By kwilk

Format:Paperback

David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual is an outstanding resource for beginning and intermediate photographers. If you are buying your first digital camera, or trying to decide whether you should trade up from a compact point-and-shoot to a digital SLR, this book will answer all of your questions. Using an informal, conversational and friendly tone, Pogue covers the features and functions of all kinds of digital cameras, including recent developments such as geotagging and face recognition. He also tells how to improve your photographic skills. I especially liked Chapter 4 in which he discusses the "Ten Decisions" you should make when you are getting ready to take a photo. Chapter 6 explains how the professionals get the kinds of shots you see in magazines. His explanations are concise and easy to understand.

He goes beyond the shoot itself when he talks about what you can do with all your digital files. Chapters 8, 9 and 10 cover two popular photo storage and editing programs, iPhoto and Picasa. Chapter 11 is an excellent guide to printing your photos (he explains concepts like resolution and aspect ratio), and Chapter 12, Electronic Photos, explores the many ways to share your photos via email, web galleries and slideshows.

I would have liked more captions explaining exactly what the example photos are supposed to show, and I thought the use of blue type for emphasis was an annoying gimmick. But those are minor gripes. This is a clearly-written, up-to-date guide to every aspect of digital photography.

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Well written, but FULL OF ERRORS January 26, 2010

By Joe H

Format:Paperback

I bought this book based on the many positive reviews on Amazon, and I found it useful with a readable, engaging style.

But it is FULL OF MISTAKES that should have been caught before it went into print, and will confuse many readers, especially beginners. This book is way below the standard of excellence set by other books in the Missing Manual series.

Here are some examples:

Writing about Landscape Mode, the author writes that it sets "Large Aperture, creating a large depth of field ...". The fact is that Landscape Mode sets Small aperture, which is what creates a large depth of field. (A Large Aperture actually creates a shallow depth of field.)

In discussing Manual Mode, the author wrote "That's full automatic", which is just the opposite of the truth.

In discussing lenses, he writes "Telephoto means 'zoom.' " This is incorrect; not all telephoto lenses are zoom lenses, nor are all zoom lenses telephotos.

And the list goes on! For a complete list of errata submitted (so far) by readers, go to:[...]

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent primer February 2, 2009

By Michael McKee TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

If you are new to digital photography or haven't gotten beyond the shoot and print stage, you should find a lot to like in this book. The explanations of various technical camera and photography subjects are easily among the clearest and most easily understood I've come across. Kudos to Pogue for making such a jargon laden subject easy to understand.

I happily recommend this as a first book on digital photography. All the basics are covered from understanding how cameras work and what all the terms mean, to buying the right camera, to basic photo cataloging and editing. Pogue also covers the equipment extras that enhance photography quality like tripods, memory cards and the like. There is also a good primer on how to compose and shoot interesting images.

Pogue also includes is some introductory coverage of the image cataloging and editing programs that come with common cameras as well as Adobe's Photoshop Elements. As with any book that offers coverage of multiple programs, it doesn't take you beyond the basics of any of them.

If you're one of the holdouts from film photography who wants to understand the what and wherefore of digital, this book does that, and should get your started. However, It's pretty basic. If you are an experienced photographer and understand what you are doing, don't look to this book to take you to the next level.

It definitely doesn't offer the in-depth coverage that some other Missing Manual books do. That's not a complaint, just an observation. As someone who teaches photo editing, it's great to have a basic manual to recommend. As an introductory book I absolutely recommend this for its clarity and good writing.