Customer Reviews

David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual

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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.

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.

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:[...]

The white dog on the cover of David Pogue's Digital photography the missing manual, and the winner of "Best in show award" for books on Digital photography is Digital Photography The Missing Manual.

Pogue covers many camera types from DSLR's to phone cameras. Pogue covers the basic hardware in each of these camera styles like CCD's, stabilizers, memory cards, view finders etc. for the person looking to buy a camera but is unsure about which camera style to buy there is a section that will help you determine your needs where you can then get an idea about a camera type that will best suit your needs.

Pogue goes into detail about the basic functions that almost every camera has and what effect it will have on the shot. Digital photography the missing manual also goes into situational shooting like night shooting, sporting events, portraiture and nature shooting.

Pogue has a number of tips and notes that are highlighted through out the book. The Tips highlights are mostly keyboard shortcuts on the computer for getting to options faster. The notes highlights are about what ever software or camera option is being covered at the time. Users will find these very helpful. There are two free digital software's that Pogue uses in the book, they are iPhoto (comes with the Mac) and Picasa, he does not use Photoshop in the book. In the sections covering the software there are ample screen shots to help the reader follow along. In The Camera operations sections of the book there are color photos that help illustrate the section and the photos them selves are outstanding.

Pogue covers everything about digital cameras with a depth and detail that is very easy to understand and he uses screen shots to enhance the book. Digital Photography the Missing Manual will satisfy a wide range of users because of the scope of coverage. I very highly recommend this book for the novice to intermediate user.

What it Digital Photography the Missing Manual covers.

Chapter 1: Camera kinds
Small medium or large
Camera phones and iPhones
Where to buy a camera

Chapter 2: The only features that matter
A big sensor
Stabilizer
Zoom
Shutter
View finder
Manual controls
Face recognition
Auto focus
Flip out screens
Memory cards
Burst mode
Hi-Def jack
Battery
Movies
Scene modes
Wireless
Touch screens
Mega pixels
SLR shopping

Chapter 3 taking the shot:
Composition and screen displays


Chapter 4: The 10 decisions

Auto mode
Scene mode
Manual mode
Burst mode
White balance
RAW or JEG
Exposure
ISO

Chapter 5: The Anti- Blur chapter
Shutter speed
Aperture
Image stabilization
Flash
Tripod
Timers

Chapter 6: How they did that
Sports shots
Vehicles
Panoramas
Trailing car lights
Fireworks
Lighting
Star trails
Sunsets
Underwater
Close-ups
Portraiture

Chapter 7: The SLR chapter
Lenses and accessories

Chapter 8: Camera meets computer
Picassa and iPhoto
Transferring and importing photos
File formats


Chapter 9: The digital shoe box The source list
Working with thumbnails
Selecting photos
Hiding photos
Creating Albums
Photo info
Flagging photos
Backing up photos

Chapter 10: Fixing photos
Editing photos
Reducing red eye
Fixing colors
Saturating
Sharpening

Chapter 11: Photos on paper-and everything else
Making your own prints
Resolution
Printing in Picassa and iPhoto step-by-step
Creating slideshows

This is the best book for someone like me who is new to photography and bought a very nice SLR. The information is invaluable and sent me back to the manual and the camera to make sure I did the settings correctly. It explains everything very clearly. I can say I finally understand what the other books are talking about. Highly recommended, specially for a beginner.

I consider myself to be somewhere between an amature and a pro when it comes to photography, especially digital photography. This book is a must for the beginner and also has enough info in it that anyone can pick up a hint or trick to make their photos better.

Mr. Pogue has written this book in a manner that can be understood by anyone. His examples and definitions are well laid out and easily understood. My understanding has been increased tremendously even after reading 4 or 5 other books about digital photography.

I am comfortable with this gentleman's word without checking behind him. I not only trust his confidence, but now, mine as well.

Thanks, David Pogue

Jim Fletcher
Acworth, GA

David Pogue's "The Missing Manual" series was intended to fill a gap between the truly missing manual so common these days and the huge encyclopedias that claim to cover absolutely everything about a topic. While many of "The Missing Manual" tomes focus on specific software products (i.e., Windows XP), a few like this one cover broad subjects.

In fact, Pogue breaks the topic into two broad areas. The first is about choosing a camera. It is unusually good. As anyone who follows Pogue's New York Times columns knows, Pogue is an avid photo hobbyist and his advice section is unusually thorough. He then has a section on using the camera and taking photographs. This is pretty standard fare, though Pogue's breezy style helps and he does give you tips and tricks that you are unlikely to find in other books. For example, did you know the screw atop a standard house lamp with a shade can be used a camera mount? I've been taking photos for decades and either never knew that or (shudder) forgot it.

It's difficult to explain just how much Pogue packs into the 137 pages he uses to explain cameras and picture taking, but it is an impressive tour de force.

By the way, throughout this first section, Pogue covers not only point 'n shoot cameras, but SLRs as well.

Overall, this first section could easily stand as a book in its own right on choosing and using digital cameras.

The second part of the book deals with cataloging, retouching and presenting your digital photos. This section doesn't hold up as well because Pogue tries to cover both Picasa for Windows and iPhoto on the Mac. Considering the Mac's minuscule market share, I question Pogue's inclusion of both. On the other hand, Pogue's affection for the Mac is well known. Pogue says "these programs are so similar, you could describe them both in the same book, with only a few wording changes to differentiate the steps". And that is what Pogue tries to do. The constant switch of references between Picasa and iPhoto is something I found irritating as a reader. On the other, it is not a showstopper - and Pogue does an excellent job of introducing the broad capabilities of each program.

For a beginner in digital photography, this book is indispensable. For the intermediate user, who may not have read the manual for their camera, it is an excellent asset as well. The real pro, however, may take a pass.

Overall, it's an excellent introduction to digital photography and all you can do with it.

Jerry

I have read this book cover to cover and have learned so much about my digital cameras and Picasa and iPhoto. I own four of David Pogue's books.
This truly is the Missing Manual that should have been in the box with my cameras.

Any beginning digital photographer and any general-interest library catering to them needs David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual, a fun yet specific guide to digital photography quirks and tricks. From composing a shoot to working with thumbnails and fixing shots of wildlife and people alike, color photos pair well with clear directions to create excitement and emphasize 'how to' fixes.