Customer Reviews

A Short Course in Canon EOS 30D Photography

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

 

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The book itself is well-written, and does very well at telling me why I should use the 1,317 features on the Canon 30D. That's what I wanted, and that's what I got. There are some disadvantages.

For $25 I would have expected color printing - in many cases the printed pictures in the book are almost useless because of the lack of color. And this is why I would say the CD is essential. I'd suggest that you get the CD or CD + book. Not only are the CD illustrations in color, there are many `animations` which you can click on to get additional, usually animated, instruction. Many of them are controlled by the mouse. An example is the animation on hard vs. soft light, where you use the mouse to drag a light away from or toward the subject, viewing the difference this makes in the illumination. This is also one of the animations where it's not immediately obvious just what you're supposed to do with the mouse to get the animation. But they usually tell you how to get the animation more clearly, so this is seldom a problem. Also unfortunately, to get the animations you must be on a computer connected to the internet - the animations will not work on a stand-alone computer.

As I mentioned earlier, the book tells you not just the use of the buttons, but a background in photographic principles. For example, they have 4 pages on depth-of-field, including how you can control it and how it affects your images, including two animations to illustrate the concepts. Even if you're fully conversant with depth-of-field, it's still worth going over.

This is the kind of book where you need to have the camera within reaching distance. And be sure you have the Canon instruction book right close - on several occasions the instructions tell you to `To access the DoBeep function, push the reberfar button', with no hint as to where the reberfar button IS! But then again, I guess any semi-adequate 30D owner should have memorized the location and function of all the buttons and dials by the third day :>)

Bottom line - would I buy it again? You becha'. It is, after all, the very best book published on the 30D!

One of the best books I ever read - perfectly tailored towards the Canon 30D. I have my 30D a year now, use it on a regular basis and still found some information I was not aware of. Go and get it!

Only thing I have to criticize: Book is printed in black and white not in color - kind of defeats the purpose. So I printed the color version of the book from the DVD and I LOVE it!

As other reviewers have said, this is for the book and the CD which only has a readme and the an Acrobat File of the book. The PDF is beautiful and well illustrated compared the the book which is printed in black and white and is really only good as a field reference. I would have preferred going to the authors website and just buying the CD instead of the book and printing it out myself in color.

No complaints about the contents, I just disappointed in the quality of the black and white book which was just printed off an a laser printer and spiral bound.

(I am writing a general review, not specifically for the 30D.)

When I was getting into photography six years ago, this is the first book I read for my SLR-like Olympus C-2500 L. There are lots of books that teach photography, and the camera manual will tell you how to use the camera controls. But this series combines both at the same time -- aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc.

It is by far the most efficient and practical way to get started in SLR photography.

One criticism that I will offer is that it doesn't make sense to buy a new edition for each new camera you purchase. The book tends to simply be re-edited for each new model that arrives. Don't get me wrong -- the content is thoroughly updated accurate. But while you may learn about the uniquely new features when moving to a new model, most of the information will be very familar. Since you'll already know the basics of photography byt the time you get around to upgrading, you'd be better-served just reading the manual on your second go-round.

This book is the best complement for the Manual included with the camera. If you are considering the EOS 30D, and you are not an experienced photographer, this course becomes a MUST-BUY in order to take advantage of all features of your new camera.

I have not had a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera for 20 years so this was a good refresher. The material related to digital photography was especially useful for an old codger like myself

I had to send this item back because the CD was not included but they were easy to communicate with and refunded not only my purchase price but S&H as well. And it was all handled quickly! It was a pleasure doing business with them.

The Book of Learning is a good one except that I expected more gear to the advance users. It is great for anyone who wants to know or learn the best features of the Cannon 30D.

Canon EOS 30D 8.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) [in Canon Outfit Box] + Transcend 2GB 120X CompactFlash Card + Spare Replacement Battery for Canon BP-511 + Cameta Incognito 1000 Deluxe SLR Gadget Bag