Customer Reviews

Magic Lantern Guides: SONY DSLR A300/A350

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

 

 

I have purchased recently a Sony A300 dSLR and wanted to learn some tips & tricks, in addition to the materials in the excellent users guide.

As the book hinted that it may fit the bill, I have purchased it.

The book looks very nice from the outside - but the inside is very disappointing.

1. The structure is not very logical, and key parts are missing (for example it discusses the menu and fn button functions, but never gives an overview of what happens when you press the button first).
2. There are no tips / tricks in the book which I would consider useful - it looks simply as cut / reshuffle / paste of (some) parts of the users guide. (There ARE various hints and recommendations in the book - and they may be useful for some, but they did not help me.)

The original users guide (came with the camera) has lots of recommendations about how to use the camera and also how to take good pictures, in an easy to understand manner. This book is not good for either - and it actually may confuse the reader more than help. (It did confuse me for sure!)

Of course, if you like puzzle games: you may like this book as you will have to flip back and forth to find something (but in some cases you will never find it). If you want a solid document, helping you to make most of your camera: this book is not it.

Note: I had previous experience with SLR and digital cameras. I have also read a number of other similar books. As a result my perspective and the perspective of others on this books may differ. If you have no experience whatsoever about SLR cameras, or digital cameras in general, you may find this book interesting.

A reasonable supplement to the camera manual but a I felt that a substantial amount of the text is boiler plate applicable to any DSLR. A better, albeit somewhat more expensive, guide is Friedman's "The Complete Guide to Sony's Alpha 300 & 350 Digital SLR Cameras." In addition to the basics, this latter guide gives the reader some tips and procedures which are not covered in either the manual or the Magic Lantern guide.

I recently purchased a Sony A300 at Circuit City's close out sale for an unbelievable price. I found the Sony A300 owners manual a dissapointment and purchased the Sony A300/A350 Magic Lantern Guide at a Barnes and Noble store because I didn't want to wait a week for the book to show up.

The Magic Lanter Guide is like the perfect owners manual for the camera. Sony should include this book in the camera box. The paper back is logically written and easy to understand.

If your looking for a good book on the functions of the camera, this book is a great choice. If your looking for a book that tells you how to use the manual functions to take a great picture... don't buy this book.

Right now I'm just trying to learn how to use the camera and what all the buttons and menu's do. I find the Magic Lantern Guide very useful. Once I understand the camera's functions I'll shop for a book that tells me how to take great pictures in manual mode.

This manual is fun to read and unlocks all the potential in the Sony 350 DSLR. I have read many manuals on many topics I rank this as one of the best.

First of all,you must understand that I am truly a newbie into the realm of DSLR.

I got the Sony A300, because of a couple of different reasons, compatability with Minolta & Konica, Value for my hard-earned dollar, and the reviews that I have seen on many different sites.

The book that comes with the camera, I feel does not do a fair job of really explaining what is going on with the whole process, let alone just the camera. I recieved this book yesterday, just have began to read it, and so far it has explained things that others take for granted. For example(just to show you how little I know), I have no frame of reference for the terms, what they mean, and how they represent what is occurring within the camera when you change the f-stop or the ISO.

When looking at the reviews listed, please be careful, because I almost didn't buy this book. But so far, I am glad that I have made this purchase.

Good Luck...It Is A Jungle Out There!