Publication Date: November 1, 2011 | Series: For Dummies (Computer/Tech)
The perennial digital photography bestseller, now updated to cover the hottest topics
Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies has been a bestseller since it first came into the picture, and this new edition gets you up to (shutter) speed on the latest technologies available. Veteran author David Busch walks you through new camera models from the leading manufacturers, WiFi and GPS options, full HD moviemaking, and the latest dSLR features. He also provides you with a solid foundation of knowledge about exposure, composition, and lighting that any new dSLR user needs to know to get great results from the camera.
The straightforward-but-friendly coverage offers tips for choosing a camera and accessories, using different controls, maximizing lighting and exposure, and editing your photos. With this helpful book by your side, you'll learn your way around shutter speed, aperture, and ISO so that you can get a handle on the big picture while you take pictures!
Introduces you to all the features common to dSLR cameras, whether it's Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, or another digital SLR camera
Shares tips on composition, lighting and exposure controls, and file formats
Shows you how to get photos from your camera to a computer and then how to manage, edit, and share your pics
Offers hints on improving your skills, online resources, and the jargon of the pros
If you're ready to get in the dSLR picture, then this is the book you need.
‘The combination of experienced author David Busch and the bright yellow friendliness of the Dummies series is promising, and indeed there is a lot of useful information packed in here.' (Digital Photography Enthusiast, Janueary 2012)
From the Back Cover
Getting up to speed on dSLRs is a snap with this fully updated guide!
You've decided to move up to a dSLR and start taking more control over your photography. Terrific! Today's dSLRs are better than ever, and this book teaches you about both the technology and the techniques that help you get fantastic photos. Tour your camera's features, master the controls, compose great shots, and edit to perfection — here's how!
Not your father's SLR — explore the newest features of dSLRs from all leading dSLR makers
Special stuff — learn to shoot movies with your dSLR, make the most of exposure controls, and use various lenses
The format formula — find out about JPEG, RAW, NEF, EXIF, CRW, and proprietary formats such as PSD and DNG
Better than great — compare image-editing software and learn to manipulate backgrounds, patch and clone defects, and create composites
When only a print will do — decide whether to buy a photo printer, order prints online, or use a photo lab
Open the book and find:
Special camera features like HDR and anti-shake
Gear you'll want to own
Focus and exposure secrets
Creative ways to use telephoto and wide-angle lenses
Cool tips for night and infrared photography
When to shoot RAW and JPEG at once
Hints for getting perfect flash photos
Ten places to showcase your photos online
Learn to:
Take control of your camera's exposure settings for better pictures
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.
Having recently decided to move to the DSLR world, I needed to learn how to shoot pictures in mode other than Full Auto.
So I purchased this book as well as
"Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)"
While this book is good, for my specific case (I'm fairly comfortable with the digital world), the "Understanding Exposure" was a far better book for me.
I appreciate the fact that the author is trying to explain about image formats, memory cards, etc... But what I was really looking, was for a book to explain how to shoot great pictures.
I had to learn about exposures, apertures, shutter speed, ISO, etc, and this book covers it slightly, but wasn't enough for me to have a good grasp.
If you're new to the digital photography world, then yeah... go for it and buy this book, but if you've already owned a Digital Camera (and knew what you were doing) but only shot pictures in Auto Mode, then I'd suggest the "Understanding Exposure" book. Not only it explains basic and advanced concepts, but it's full of pictures so you can visually understand how each parameter affects the exposure.
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The Dummies people have finally recognized that books about digital photography deserve to be published in full color, and this one amply demonstrates the reason why. It's written by the leading author of DSLR books (I also own his Nikon D70 guide), and is filled from cover to cover with wonderful full color photos and shrewd advice for getting the most from your camera.
If anything, this book is even clearer than the usual Dummies book, taking you through every step in choosing, using, and accessorizing your digital SLR. It's perfect for new DSLR owners who are puzzled by the many options, features, and settings found in these cameras. It's also a good guide for those seeking to improve their skills. I now fully understand things like continuous autofocus and single autofocus, how to select lenses, when to use aperture and shutter priority, and why I should not ever use my D70's full "automatic" mode.
Unlike some other DSLR books I've seen, this one covers both cameras and photography thoroughly, so you'll learn how to use your camera as well as how to take better images.
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Like many snapshooting amateurs, I upgraded from an ordinary point/shoot digital camera to a digital SLR because I wanted to take advantage of the features these new cameras offer. Plus, a camera like my Olympus E-500 doesn't really cost much more than the high-end non-SLR cameras. However, once I got my camera, I didn't know what to do with it.
This book cleared everything up for me. It provided a clear explanation of the advantages of digital SLR cameras, plus it listed some of the drawbacks I was not aware of at first, such as the inability to shoot movies. Then it told me about all the different controls and how to use them. There were great sections in this book on how to take specific kinds of pictures and how to choose an image editor. The editing portion got me started and inspired me to buy a Dummies book on Photoshop Elements so I can learn more.
As I said, this book really told me what I could do with my new camera. There was even a section in the Parts of Tens that listed things you'd never thought of doing with a digital SLR and I certainly hadn't. Thank you for a great introduction to my new camera.
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