Customer Reviews

PCPhoto Digital SLR Handbook (A Lark Photography Book)

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Digital SLR's offer two real advantages over the much more common point and shoot cameras.

First, these cameras are the top of the line from the various companies. Here is where they put in all the new technology first. So any improvements in components such as the CCD's will be here first. While point and shoot cameras now usually have 3 to 4 megapixels of resolution, the digital SLRs start at about 6. The new Nikon D2X has 12. Do you need this much, maybe, maybe not, but Digital SLR's get this kind of thing first.

Second, Digital SLR's have more controls, interchangable lenses, every accessory known to man and so on. More control give you more the ability to do things that you simply couldn't do with the earlier cameras. It also offers you more opportunity to screw up, but with the LCD viewer you can catch this faster.

This book is a general introduction to the features you typically find on Digital SLR's and what you get with those features. It is not so much a description of what cameras are available with what features, there are magazines to do that -- and still they go out of date quickly. Here you will find more generalized information to help you decide what features you really need.

This is the most complete generalized introduction to what these cameras do that I've ever seen. Buy it before you spend a lot of money on a camera, relatively speaking it's cheap.

I found this particular book to be more user friendly than other SLR books. Color photos help as opposed to black and white. The information is easily understood and the book is not overwhelming. For a beginner using a SLR camera, I would recommend this book.

Having used digital cameras for a number of years, I was ready to move to digital SLR. I bought a Nikon D80, which has many automatic features. I used those exclusively until I read this book. Understanding white space, lenses, and what the various settings can do beyond automatic has been very valuable. My photographs are now getting attention and even being purchased. Understand, I had never used an SLR camera before, but this book made me much smarter. The author does a very good job of pointing out those things that must be in the original photo and those that can be edited with photo software.

I read Sheppard's book primarily with the hope of better understanding what an SLR would offer vs. a quality point-and-shoot digital camera, and what various lens might offer, given a particular SLR. "PCPhoto Digital SLR Handbook" provided neither.

Probably the simplest way of accomplishing this would have been to provide comparative photos using an SLR vs. simpler camera with standard settings, and differing SLR photos using various lens settings - along with an explanation.