Customer Reviews

A Short Course in Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT/350D Photography (Book & eBook)

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

 

 

Don't buy this book! After I received it, I returned it the next day. It is almost the same as the manual that comes with your camera.

Just received and opened this item. I am appalled! This is a book on photography complete with photographs and illustrations and descriptions of the photographs and illustrations. It includes a discussion on how to achieve the results that are depicted in the photographs and illustrations . The problem is the photographs and illustrations are all black and white so you have no idea what the result is. I think it is just a photocopy of a real book. That is exactly hwat it looks like is a photocopy. Not professionally typeset at all. I am very dissatisfied with this purchase.

This book was recommended to me by many online photography forums, and I'd have to say that for a BEGINNER I found this book very helpful.

Essentially, it is an expanded reader-friendly version of the user's manual. I've read the user's manual a few times through, and my eyes pretty much glazed over. I only actually applied the various setting by reading through the functions in this book.

You most certainly will be disappointed if:
(a) you're already familiar with dSLR settings
(b) you've already mastered every technique in the manual
(c) you can't get past the black and white photos (they are color in the pdf)

But if you're looking for practical, more user-friendly way of accessing the power of the Rebel XT, this is your book. A lot of techniques and terms are explained in detail that are only mentioned in the manual. This might be redundant for some, but for those totally new to photography, where the Rebel XT is their first SLR, I found the expanded explanations very helpful.

I'll admit the black and white photos are a bother, but for what I've practically applied from reading this manual, it's a small price to pay.

This book bridges the gap between the instruction manual that comes with the camera and more generic digital photography books, and does a pretty good job at this. This book not only provides more detail than the manual on the "what" and "how" of all of the controls and settings, but also devotes space to the all-important "why". So it's of value to people who are new to this camera, as well as those who are new to digital photography. There are thousands of other books on photography, but they generally assume that you have mastered the mechanics of your camera. This book will get you to that point.

I was disappointed that the printed images are bw, but I found myself using the included Acrobat version anyway for its searchability, and there, the pictures are in color.

This is an excellent, well written manuel for beginner to intermediate owners of a Rebel XT. The book is in black and white and sprial bound (it actually stays open when put down) but there is a full color cd with the entire book on it. This book along with "Digital Rebel: Digital Field Guide" is all you need to get the most out of your investment. Once you've outgrown these two books, you've mastered the camerea functions and ready to move onto the higher aesthetics of digital photography

I have to agree with what has been said thus far. This book is a big disappointment. The title suggested that the book was more of a course, which I took to mean a step by step guide, a how to if you will, with examples to follow using the Canon Rebel XT (like a course, duh) and what I got is some regurgiated mumbo jumbo from the manual. The book would have been better titled, "A Beginner's Guide to the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT".

This book was perfect for me. I'm not an avid photographer, but I want to be able to take more complex photos like low light or different types of focus, etc. All the other books on photography I looked at in the book store and library provided details on how to achieve my goals, but not how to make *MY* camera actually do it. That book was the missing piece for me. This book spells out how to take various types of photos and how to archive them with your specific camera. For example:

"* Shutter speeds faster than 1 second are actually fractions of a second,
but only the denominator is displayed. For example, when the shutter
speed is 1/4 second, it is displayed as 4.

* Shutter speeds of 1 second or slower are displayed with quotation marks.
For example when the shutter speed is 2 seconds, it's displayed as 2".
When the shutter speed is 2.5 seconds, it's displayed as 2"5. "

The book tells you in very simple language how to read the information my camera is showing me and translate that into what the other photography books teach you. It doesn't leave it up to me to take that general information and apply to my camera. This is what makes me so happy with this book. Easy to understand photography principles told in the context of my camera. The author has the same book for a wide variety of cameras, so be sure you're getting the right one for your camera.

Things keeping this from being a 5-star book: The print out you get with the book is in black and white in a spiral binding, straight out of a Kinkos. And it's still $36.95. Spring for the color print at that price! It does include a CD-ROM with a full color PDF of the book, which is required viewing since you can't tell the color and focus details from the black and white photocopy you get with your purchase. Since you're taking pictures with a digital camera, I guess it's a given that you have a computer to go with it, but $37 and it's black and white?

At any rate, still 4 stars from me. Now I'm taking low light pictures by candle light and getting the short depth of field 'soft focus' look I want on my other shots.

I've had this book from when I just got my Canon Rebel XT, and do like it very much.
I do think that the reviews I've read here are not at all fair. Perhaps this book won't help you take
superb photos, because its not intent to do that.

But, it will tell you how to use the Rebel XT correctly, and then, the rest is up to you.
Yes, I still refer to this book when I'm not too sure of how to use a certain feature on the XT.
What I do wish is for the Publishers to print another book by Mr Curtain, that would go into more
detail on taking better photos.

But, this book will always remain on my desk for any quick references.

Real bad book, you're much better off buying the digital rebel field guide, by charlotte K Lowrie,