Quick Snap Guide to Digital SLR Photography: An Instant Start-Up Manual for New dSLR Owners (Paperback)

by David D. Busch (Author)
Key Phrases: shutter priority, continuous autofocus, single autofocus, Quick Snap Guide, Quick Map Guide, Rule of Thirds (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
If you're a serious photographer, you know that no other camera offers as much sophistication and versatility as the digital SLR. The drawback to this sophistication comes in the form of tedious and lengthy user manuals that can make it difficult to find the essential information you need to get started. Quick Snap Guide to Digital SLR Photography provides you with a concise introduction to the most important features of your dSLR camera. Each topic is covered in two- or four-page spreads with plenty of illustrations and images, making it easy to follow along. Eliminating the frustration of timeconsuming user manuals, this book is the ideal guide for any new dSLR owner who wants to start taking great pictures right away.

About the Author
With more than a million books in print, David D. Busch is a best-selling author of books on digital photography and imaging technology, and the originator of popular series like "David Busch's Pro Secrets" and "David Busch's Quick Snap Guides." He has written six hugely successful guidebooks for Nikon digital SLR models, and the most comprehensive manuals for dSLRs from Canon, Sony, and other vendors. His many other books devoted to digital photography include "David Busch's Digital Infrared Pro Secrets" and "Mastering Digital SLR Photography." As a roving photojournalist for more than 20 years, he has illustrated his books, magazine articles, and newspaper reports with award-winning images. Busch has operated his own commercial studio, suffocated in formal dress while shooting weddings-for-hire, and shot sports for a daily newspaper and upstate New York college. His photographs and articles have been published in magazines as diverse as "PhotoGraphic," "Popular Photograph & Imaging," "The Rangefinder," and hundreds of other publications. He's also reviewed digital cameras for CNet Networks and Computer Shopper.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (April 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159863187X
• ISBN-13: 978-1598631876
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #213,093 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, well-designed, excellent primer, July 27, 2006

By	Fotógrafo (Madrid) - See all my reviews

Always eager for something to read in English, I picked up several of this author's books on a recent visit to New York. This one I actually got for a friend of mine back home, but I found myself totally absorbed in it on the plane ride. What a great idea this is!

You'd think that digital SLRs are too "advanced" a topic for a simple book like this one, but Busch obviously recognizes that many DSLRs are going to be purchased by people who have never held such a camera in their hands before. They are so affordable now that it just makes sense to get one and gain all the flexibility and expandability they offer, rather than invest in an expensive compact digital camera with far fewer features.

But what do you do when you're confronted with all those buttons and dials, and, even, a lens that comes right off the camera and can be replaced with another one? I'd say you should read this book. It starts at a very basic level, never talks down to you, and provides exactly the kind of information that new DSLR users need to begin taking pictures. I wouldn't recommend this book to experienced DSLR owners. It's really too basic for them. But that's a good thing for everybody else.

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book first!, April 11, 2006

By	M. V. Smith (Kansas) - See all my reviews

Digital SLRs have become so affordable that many point-and-shoot photographers are rushing to upgrade from their snapshot camera to a DSLR. Hold your horses! As a long-time DSLR user, I can tell you that there is a LOT to learn about using these wonderful, complex cameras. Before you start out on the wrong foot and encounter disappointment, you should read this book first.

It's not an advanced or even intermediate DSLR guidebook. It's best for those who are just starting out and feeling their way, and need a quick introductory course in topics like the basic controls of a DSLR, using aperture priority or shutter priority, continuous or single autofocus, what different lenses do, and so forth. All those questions you're too embarrassed to ask your experienced friends are answered here.

The topics are divided into bite-sized pieces that can be explained in two pages, so all you need to do is leaf through the book to find what you want to know, and read just the essential information. I really liked that this book is not specific to a particular camera model, making it more useful to those who own SLRs from Pentax, Konica Minolta, Olympus, Samsung, and other manufacturers who aren't "honored" with books dedicated to their cameras alone. This book works with all brands.

The Quick Snap Guide won't replace your camera manual. It won't even replace more advanced photography books. It's what you need to get the understanding you require to begin using your digital SLR camera properly. I'm recommending this book to all my friends who need a jump start.

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Using your dSLR: the Prequel!, June 22, 2006

By	FredM (New York) - See all my reviews

It's always a pleasure to review one of this author's books, because he seems to have a knack for combining the visual and textual aspects of learning photography. In this case, Busch tackles the tricky subject of learning to use a dSLR through a unique approach that combines large images with brief, but surprisingly complete summaries of what you really must know about a given topic. The information is arranged into two-page and four-page spreads, with the key photos, captions, and explanations facing each other so that everything is laid out for you in a nice chunk.

I see this book as a kind of prequel that you'd want to absorb before studying digital SLR photography in depth. Buy this book right off the bat, perhaps even before you acquire your dSLR, and pick up the basics and jargon immediately. Use it to familiarize yourself with your camera and its functions. Then, you'll be much better equipped to use the photographic techniques included and, even, to understand your camera's confusing manual.