Customer Reviews

Magic Lantern Guides: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It goes through all the various settings, but doesn't do more than that. Not much more info than what one could find in the original user manual. I was expecting tips and tricks that one doesn't find in the manual, but it wasn't the case.

I bought this book because David Busch's "Canon EOS 5D Mark II Guide to Digital SLR Photography" won't be available for several months. I was very pleasantly surprised by the intelligent layout and the clear and concise instructions. I've spent over 8 hours, so far, with the book and my camera and flash and I've not been confused or bored for one moment. This book has actually made me eager to keep up with my study of the 5D Mark II's technological tour-de-force. It's a shame that Canon has never put as much effort and intelligence behind its manuals. Now, if only someone would produce an instructional DVD of the same quality, I'd be a happy camper.

This was the only tutorial available when I purchased my new 5D MK ll so for such an inexpensive price, i ordered it. I found it to be an easy read and a better explanation of the camera's features over Canon's manual that comes with the camera. There are certainly a number of very basic sections that could be suitable for the beginner as well as detailed sections on the new features specific to this model that for me (an experience hobbyest) were interesting and helpful. I found myself marking various pages and sections to come back to and know this will be one of the books I will frequently refer to.

This is hardly any better (if at all) than the manual that comes with the camera. I am not sure how the 5-star reviewers could rate it so high. If I were to use one word to describe this book, it would be: uninspiring. It has the feel of having been hastily put together to make a deadline. Consists of a mundane, uninspired walk-through of the controls and menus that will put you to sleep before you even get to taking any photographs. Overall, it doesn't offer anything any more advanced than what you already know if you owned any Canon SLR before - and this camera is so much more! The book is illustrated by a few drab, poorly reproduced, B&W photographs - a waste of the semi-gloss paper the book is printed on. I am returning this book, and I hardly ever return books I buy here, not so much for the money (it's not that costly), but as a matter of principle.

I picked up this guide to help me (a hobby-photographer) get the most out of his new Canon EOS 5D-Mark 2 camera. Sure, Canon sells it with a manual. I already know what most of the camera modes are for. I know to set autofocus, how to adjust the aperture, and even take movies with the camera already.

What I was looking for was a book that would teach me more about what the camera could do, including some insider secrets and tips.

Instead, the book is pretty much just a well-written manual about the camera itself. Occasionally the author offers a tip or two, but so much of the book is general enough it might able to be recycled for another guide for another (similar) camera.

I didn't find anything wrong with the content or think it was wrong. It's just that what I got out of it wasn't as much as I had hoped.

This book will be great for someone who wants a more carefully written manual than what Canon provides. If you want something to help your photography that can tell you what to do on your specific model, this book won't be your primary source. In hindsight, more practice and face time with a professional photographer might have been a better recipe for me.

This was the only non Canon guide available when I bought my camera in 2009. It is just terrible, hardly any more help than the users manual provided with the camera. Magic Lantern Guides are never very useful, this one is particularly poor. I am waiting for a guide by Busch and published by Thompson Technology. The publisher keeps putting off the availability date so I don't know if or when it will actually become available. Give the Magic Lantern guide a pass, unless you just want to read the Canon Manual in larger print.Magic Lantern Guides: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

If you want to learn how to put the 5D Mark ii to work for you then buy this informative book. I was pretty familiar with the 5D and happy with the photographs taken with it but still had questions as to "what this was for" and "whether I should set this feature to a yes or to a no" and Brian McLernon's book answered all of my questions, seriously every single one of them. I couldn't put the book down and now after finishing it I can't wait to take my next set of pictures with the information I learned. I read all books with a great deal of detail and am disappointed much of the time with only picking up a couple of bits of information after finishing the book, but this Brian McLernon's book is just the opposite with page after page of clearly communicated information on how to set the camera up to capture the images you set out to get.

I also like reasonable size of book enabling me to toss in my camera bag available reference as needed.

If I had one wish it would be that the sample photographs in the book were less mundane and more artistic. The pictures are nearly as good as the content.

Brice Bowman

[...]

I found this book very thorough. It is far more comprehensive than the included Canon manual. I carry this in my camera bag as a quick reference.

I find the manual very informative, illustations are great, and easy to use. I highly recommend it.

This is a very nice book that reviews all the features of the superb, multi-featured Canon 5D Mark II.