Thu, 01 Dec 2005
Digital Photography Pocket Guide
Derrick Story, Digital Photography Pocket Guide,
Third Edition, O'Reilly
This is a compact (4"x6", 155 pages), well-indexed guide to what you can
do with your digital camera. While the information is available in other
places, e.g. at photo.net, there's added value in having it in a pocket
format that you can take with you and look at while you're in the field.
The book starts with an explanation of the different kinds of cameras on
the market and why you might want to pay for which features. One
paragraph that would have saved me a frustrating and expensive trip to
the local computer store is in the discussion of memory cards, and how
much of one you might need:
Some cameras don't even provide a memory card in the box. Make sure you
have a compatible one on hand, or you'll be sorely disappointed. The
experienced amateur photographer probably knows most of what's in this
book, but will probably still enjoy browsing through the tips. For
instance, the explanation of the "Red-eye" flash mode in the manual for
my Kodak CX4300 is fine for telling you how to use it if you know about
the phenomenon:
flash fires three times, once to set the exposure, once to reduce
red-eye, and once to take the picture. But the book also tells you how
to reduce red-eye without using the mode if the extra flashes are
annoying the photographer or the subjects (have the subject look at a
bright light to constrict the pupils just before the picture is taken).
And it suggests using the red-eye mode for subjects who blink at the
flash, on the grounds that their eyes will be open again by the time of
the final flash.
The compact size of the book is made possible by limiting the subject
matter to the use of the camera itself, and not discussing the use of
the computer to process or publish the results.
So if you want some advice about how to go about choosing a digital
camera, or to spend some time thinking about how to use the camera you
have to take better pictures, this book would be a good choice for a
companion.
(Laura Conrad)
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pre Dec 04 reviews are here