Magic Lantern Guides: Pentax K10D (Paperback)

by Peter K. Burian (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The K10D 10-megapixel digital camera is proof positive that Pentax has become a serious contender in the digital SLR market. With its impressive 10.2 megapixel image sensor, shake-reduction technology, automatic dust removal cleaning system, weather resistant body seals, and more, it’s both feature-packed and an excellent value. This new Magic Lantern Guide details every function and operation of this exciting camera. Page by information-packed page, it helps camera buyers become better photographers by helping them take advantage of every control, as well as providing general principles of photography and lighting.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Lark Books (July 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160059185X
• ISBN-13: 978-1600591853
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #64,649 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All you need to know to create K10D magic - crisp, clear & concise, July 26, 2007

By	Rudy "pain-doc" (Columbia, SC USA) - See all my reviews

Mr Burian - who also wrote the Sony Alpha manual in this series - truly is a hands-on professional who obviously has used the camera extensively. He shares his knowledge and experience in crisp clear language and doesn't hesitate to offer advice on important settings. Properly, he devotes more than adequate time to RAW (digital negative) photography. After more than half a year of camera ownership, I still learned a great deal - some of it quite revealing.

To keep costs down, illustrations are black & white; some quite stunning and nearly everyone making a photographic point. Some line art would have been helpful - the photo of the 4-way navigation control (p. 40) barely reveals the all-important directional arrows, and stating that 'the menu has four tabs' hardly takes the place of a line drawing as shown in the Operating Manual. Not to worry though, as the balance of the figures is sharp, detailed and very much to the point.

Complete newcomers may wish to pick up the point-and-shoot basics from the unusually well-done Pentax K10D User Manual before moving up to this book. Moreover, the author assumes you have the latest automatic lenses - ignoring the fact that many users retain Pentax loyalty because of consistent backward lens compatibility. My old manual f4 80-200mm zoom is sharp as a tack, but learning how to properly meter exposure using the manual aperture ring would be appreciated by many readers (hint: use the 'green button').

These minor detractions aside, the sections on exposure adjustment and flash photography alone are worth the very modest price. Well Done!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More opinionated than the manual, July 17, 2007

By	L. Levy (Dallas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Peter K. Burian has used the K10D and it shows. Unlike the manual, which shows you the options available on the K10D, this guide makes recommendations and gives reasoned, logical substantiation for the choices. He's changed how I use the DSLR for the better. That's the highest praise I can give.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply indispensible, December 8, 2007

By	James K. Bashkin "bashkin001" (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I can hardly believe how great this book is. I'm used to so many product guides that are disappointing and little more than recapitulations of the manual plus pictures of available accessories.

THIS guide is absolutely outstanding.

The guide has taught me a lot that I didn't know I was unaware of about digital photography, and it gives real advice on which features to use, when to use them and how to use them.

The camera itself has a huge range of features. Without this guide, I'd be confused about many of them and using far fewer than I am today.

I do need to keep reading the guide because I'm old and forgetful, but the organization is excellent, so I never have trouble finding what I need.

Even if you know digital photography like a pro, I can't imagine how this guide for the K10 wouldn't help you.

If you are making a switch from a simpler camera, or have a background in film-based photography, this guide will explain where film and CCD diverge, especially with regard to linearity of response to light at different wavelengths (or nonlinearity, in the case of film). If this seems too esoteric to be of interest, trust me, it isn't: you don't have to understand the details, but you do want to know how to get the correct white balance under different shooting conditions.

The Pentax K10D guide by Magic Lantern explains, in very practical terms, how to use the features of the camera to adjust white balance, and even fine tune it. Also made clear are the slow and fast flash synch options, including setting the flash to fire at the end of the exposure rather than the beginning. Example pictures are given to explain why and when to use these modes.

This book is worth its weight in gold (maybe more!).