Customer Reviews

Magic Lantern Guides: Canon Powershot G10

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I gave this guide 5 stars because I found it to be a godsend. I'm very new to digital photography and bought my G10 a couple of months ago. I found the Canon manual very difficult and uninspiring. I then ordered this new G10 guide by Jason Schneider. When it arrived I felt like I was delivered from techie hell. It gives me an appreciation for the truly outstanding camera I blew my budget for. The approach is rational, the information is accurate, and the experience of reading this guide is pleasant. I brought this manual on a recent vacation and learned as I snapped away. I would encourage anyone to order this book as the first accessory for their Canon G10.

This book is written and illustrated the way camera manuals that come with a new camera should be. It has photographs of the camera and its components. I don't understand why camera makers like Canon who are in the photography use drawings and not photographs.


Chapter Summaries
There are ten chapters or sections and about two-hundred pages to this booklet. The author, Jason Schneider covers everything about the camera: how to configure and use it.

The first chapter is a brief one on appreciating your new camera, explaining the improvements over previous models of Canon PowerShot cameras and other such information.

The second chapter, like a camera manual is on Getting Started. Some readers might not appreciate this method of tracking the manufactuerer counterpart manual, but I do. It's a tried and proven format that is common to Magic Lantern Guides published by Lark Books. The only difference, as I mentioned above, is that this book is much better. So, in the second chapter, Schneider covers the very basic to starting to use the camera: the battery, memory card, initial settings, and the minimal things to know to take a simple picture, review it, copy it to a computer, and delete it. If you've figured all of this out on your own, skip this brief chapter.

The third chapter is on basic features of the Canon G10. This includes things like how to set the aperture, the shutter speed, and the ISO sensitivity. This also includes much more detailed explanations of the various icons and numbers on the camera's LCD view screen when taking a picture and when reviewing it afterwards. I can't always remember what everything means or how to check that I have it set right--especially if I haven't used the camera in a few weeks and have been using one of my other cameras in between. Jumping to this section of the book makes it much easier.

To provide quick and easy access to some settings, the Canon G10 has a Function button to be able to make adjustments on the fly. The fourth chapter is on these settings. It's not much, so Schneider has only ten pages for this chapter.

The fifth chapter is on the menus related to shooting modes. It's one of the longest chapters in the book, at about twenty-seven pages. It not only includes information on menus related to taking photographs, but also on shooting videos. Additionally, it covers setting up your own menu of settings which you often change depending on the situation you're in.

There's one aspect of this chapter, though, that I particularly find useful. I like Canon products and I like this compact camera very much. However, the shooting mode menus are confusing. In an attempt to make the menus simpler, any item which doesn't apply is grayed out. When I see a setting subdued like this, a setting that I can't change and have no idea what I did elsewhere that caused it to be unaccessible, it's frustrating. I rely on this chapter of Schneider's book to help me unravel what I did and to get me what I want.

In the sixth and ninth chapters, Schneider reviews the features available for reviewing images or playing them as a slide-show on the camera. This includes organizing, categorizing, and altering images on the camera without having to first transfer them to a computer. Additionally, he discusses how to print images directly from the camera to a printer. The sixth chapter explains the various menu settings related to these play-back features and the ninth chapter explains how to play the images.

The seventh chapter is a short one on the different drive modes. This includes discussion of single-shot versus continuous shooting modes. He also explains the different auto-focus modes and manual mode.

The eighth chapter is longer and covers light metering (e.g., spot metering) and white balance. If you don't understand how this camera's light meter operates and know how manipulate it, you'll be disappointed in your photographs. If you handle it properly, though, you will be surprised at how good of a camera it is. This chapter of Schneider's book can help you with the light meter.

The final chapter is on some accessories for the Canon G10. Most of the chapter is on configuring and using external flashes (i.e., Canon SpeedLite external flashes). He also talks about the teleconverter Canon makes for G10 so that you can increase the focal length of the camera's lens.


Conclusion
I know I'm repeating myself, but this book is what Canon should be providing with the camera. Since they don't, if you get a Canon PowerShot G10, you should get a copy of this book so that you can get the most out of your camera and so you can quickly get answers to questions you'll have about your camera.

While all of the necessary information about operating the G10 is in the compact instruction manual, the manual is dense to read and assumes a general knowledge of the Canon G series. The Magic Lantern guides present the information in a much easy to understand manner as well as giving advice. If only this had been available when I purchase my G10, thelearning curve would have been much flatter. Highly recommended for new owners of Canon G series.

Camera owners' manuals are generally hard to use, and the G10 manual is no exception. This Magic Lantern Guide is very readable, and structured so that you can read and play with the camera as you go. The instructions are very easy to understand, and not only tell you what to do, but also why you would do it. I strongly recommend it, not only to current G10 owners, but also to prospective G10 owners. (It's cheaper to buy the book than it is the camera.)

I received this book several days ago and already I love it. The small size is convenient to bring along on trips and it elaborates much better than the manual on how to use the G10. There's plenty of color photos in the book as well. Highly recommended.

The Magic Lantern G10 user guide is simply an overview of the Canon G10 User Manual that came with the camera. It provides watered-down versions of the Canon User Manual's descriptions and explanations. This Magic Lantern Guide is useful only if you are not inclined or don't have time to read the real manual. If you are expecting to read creative insight into techniques and tips for using the camera's many functions, you won't find them here. Save your money. Read the the User Manual that came with the camera.

I've owned a G10 for more than a year and still did not know half the things I discovered in this book. If you spent the money on the camera your going to double your delight with this book. One night of reading will open up a whole new world of features that frankly canon just does a bad job in their book of describing.

The book is so poorly bound that pages fall out easily. Within the text, symbols are so small as to be unreadable. Information is reasonably organized, but the frustrations in trying to hold the book together and identifying what the symbols mean are great.

This was pretty good. It's the almost the same as the manual that came with the camera, but it's easier to read than the manual.

I ordered this book after experiencing frustration navagating through the product manual that came with my G10 camera. I have no regrets whatsoever. I was able to sit with the book open and camera in hand and work my way through each page. It is clearly written, adequately illustrated in color, and small enough to carry in the camera bag.