Recommendation for digital camera book

[spidey07]

I know the basics of photography, barely. But I'm trying to get better.

Are there any really good books that deal specifically with digital cameras with examples. I'm sure there is plenty on the web, but I'd prefer a book. Something I can use as a reference from time to time.

 

[troytime]

there's a college textbook called Photography

you can get the 7th or 8th edition off ebay for less than 20
its a great book that teaches all about exposure, aperture, shutter speed, iso, different lenses and stuff

 

[virtuamike]

Photography by London and Upton? That's usually the one I recommend

 

[troytime]

Originally posted by: virtuamike
Photography by London and Upton? That's usually the one I recommend

thats the one!

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: troytime
there's a college textbook called Photography

you can get the 7th or 8th edition off ebay for less than 20
its a great book that teaches all about exposure, aperture, shutter speed, iso, different lenses and stuff

How are the earlier editions? I'm seeing 3rd ('85), 4th ('89), 6th ('97?) editions offered cheap but not the later editions. I have a fair amount of experience with B&W film photography, including darkroom experience. I'm fairly new to digital, but it's digital I want to pursue now. I have a P&S but am looking to buy a DSLR soon.

I think the 3rd and 4th editions don't deal with digital at all, but everyone says the digital treatment in the later editions is very brief, so I'm thinking that maybe an earlier edition is really OK. I even read a post by someone who missed features in the 3rd edition when they bought the 6th edition.

I have John Hedgecoe : the new manual of photography checked out of my library now, and am impressed with the quality of the photographs (saw a recommendation for it in this forum). The library doesn't have a copy of Photography.

 

[Muse]

Aw heck, I bought the 7th Edition for <$8 on ebay, figured I can't go wrong.

 

[troytime]

Originally posted by: Muse
Aw heck, I bought the 7th Edition for <$8 on ebay, figured I can't go wrong.

i think mine is the 7th edition. there's really not that much of a difference

aperture is still aperture
shutter speed it still shutter speed

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: troytime

Originally posted by: Muse
Aw heck, I bought the 7th Edition for <$8 on ebay, figured I can't go wrong.

i think mine is the 7th edition. there's really not that much of a difference

aperture is still aperture
shutter speed it still shutter speed

Yeah I had that very thought. I really need to get up to speed on a lot of things. I just read some reviews of the latest batch of DSLRs and my head is spinning around 6 RPS. I really can't make heads nor tails of 3/4 of the things they are talking about.

Difference in the editions. Well, I am getting a used copy of the 7th Edition (c. 2001) for <$8 shipped. The 9th Edition is selling for $104 on Amazon. That is a big difference!

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: spidey07
I know the basics of photography, barely. But I'm trying to get better.

Are there any really good books that deal specifically with digital cameras with examples. I'm sure there is plenty on the web, but I'd prefer a book. Something I can use as a reference from time to time.

I read a lot of reviews of the Upton and London book at Amazon.com, just about all of them that were longer than a few lines. The knock on the book (besides the high price for the latest editions, at least when new) is the lack of information on digital photography. There's a brief treatment. There isn't a treatment of software manipulation of images with software such as Photoshop. I didn't see any posts suggesting alternative books. Photography is one thing. Photoshop and how to use it is quite another, evidently.

 

[troytime]

which of the digital terms or features are confusing you?

i can guarantee that i understand them, but if you post them here - i'm sure someone will help

i've learned a lot from people here, especially odin and fuzzy

 

[yllus]

I am an enormous fan of Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera by Bryan Peterson.

A friend loaned me the older version of this book, and I was amazed at how much help it provided. Even though the old book was based around film cameras, the fundamentals that were taught and the example pictures were very, very helpful. This book is an almost complete update, with most sections rewritten, several new subsections added with specific information for digital users, and has a slew of new example photographs.

This book is even better than the old edition, and expands on some of the topics that were only briefly touched on in the first book. One in particular that sticks out in my mind is that he explains the "don't care" apertures of F8 and F11 that he uses often. The old book mentioned it in passing, but I don't recall an explanation on why those apertures were useful. There is a short section on just that in this book and suggestions on when to use them.

Full color photos are used throughout the book, and are a great help in understanding the concepts that he talks about. Each picture has a caption with the information used to take the exposure. He shows you the same picture with different settings so you can see the effects the settings have on the exposure.

I find the book pleasant and easy to read. The tone and writing are very agreeable and easy to follow. While some aspects are technical, they are written in a manner that makes them easily understandable.

This is all about how to capture the image, not processing of the image after it is captured. There is brief mention of pushing or pulling film and the effects it can create, but in general, this is about how to get take a proper picture. If you are looking for a book on how to process the picture after you have taken it, this is not the book for you.

I can not recommend this book enough if you are interested in photography. I don't know how useful it would be for professionals, but for the person just starting out or serious amateur, I can't see how you could go wrong with this. While all of the information can be applied to SLR cameras (film or digital), the majority of it can be applied to the point and shoot cameras of either variety as well.

It's a fantastic book for beginners who wish to learn how to set shutter speed, aperture and film speed (ISO) to achieve a desired effect. Peterson also goes into how to meter and deal with light in different situations (front/back/side), when not to trust your camera to pick the right settings for you, and little tricks to remember to quickly settle on the right settings for a shot. Best of all, all of this is illustrated with full-page, full-colour photographs in the book. I'm constantly buying new copies of the book to give to people I know who get into photography.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: yllus
I am an enormous fan of Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera by Bryan Peterson.


It's a fantastic book for beginners who wish to learn how to set shutter speed, aperture and film speed (ISO) to achieve a desired effect. Peterson also goes into how to meter and deal with light in different situations (front/back/side), when not to trust your camera to pick the right settings for you, and little tricks to remember to quickly settle on the right settings for a shot. Best of all, all of this is illustrated with full-page, full-colour photographs in the book. I'm constantly buying new copies of the book to give to people I know who get into photography.

In reading reviews of Upton and London's Photography at Amazon a couple of days ago, I came upon one that recommended this Bryan Peterson book as a better idea for a lot of people and I put a hold on it at my local library. It's due in a couple of weeks and I should have it by August for 3 weeks and a possible renew.

 

[Krioni]

I've purchased two books from Scott Kelby that I have foud very helpful... they basically show a type of picture and how you'd setup your camera to achieve said effect...

The Digital Photography Book - Volume 1

The Digital Photography Book - Volume 2

There's a little bit of overlap in the books, but plenty of unique info in each to justify purchasing both books.

 

[OdiN]

I always recommend this one:

The New Manual of Photography - John Hedgecoe

It's not specifically digital, but it's a good starter book.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: yllus
I am an enormous fan of Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera by Bryan Peterson.

A friend loaned me the older version of this book, and I was amazed at how much help it provided. Even though the old book was based around film cameras, the fundamentals that were taught and the example pictures were very, very helpful. This book is an almost complete update, with most sections rewritten, several new subsections added with specific information for digital users, and has a slew of new example photographs.

This book is even better than the old edition, and expands on some of the topics that were only briefly touched on in the first book. One in particular that sticks out in my mind is that he explains the "don't care" apertures of F8 and F11 that he uses often. The old book mentioned it in passing, but I don't recall an explanation on why those apertures were useful. There is a short section on just that in this book and suggestions on when to use them.

Full color photos are used throughout the book, and are a great help in understanding the concepts that he talks about. Each picture has a caption with the information used to take the exposure. He shows you the same picture with different settings so you can see the effects the settings have on the exposure.

I find the book pleasant and easy to read. The tone and writing are very agreeable and easy to follow. While some aspects are technical, they are written in a manner that makes them easily understandable.

This is all about how to capture the image, not processing of the image after it is captured. There is brief mention of pushing or pulling film and the effects it can create, but in general, this is about how to get take a proper picture. If you are looking for a book on how to process the picture after you have taken it, this is not the book for you.

I can not recommend this book enough if you are interested in photography. I don't know how useful it would be for professionals, but for the person just starting out or serious amateur, I can't see how you could go wrong with this. While all of the information can be applied to SLR cameras (film or digital), the majority of it can be applied to the point and shoot cameras of either variety as well.

It's a fantastic book for beginners who wish to learn how to set shutter speed, aperture and film speed (ISO) to achieve a desired effect. Peterson also goes into how to meter and deal with light in different situations (front/back/side), when not to trust your camera to pick the right settings for you, and little tricks to remember to quickly settle on the right settings for a shot. Best of all, all of this is illustrated with full-page, full-colour photographs in the book. I'm constantly buying new copies of the book to give to people I know who get into photography.

I just acquired this book (Peterson). I've been pretty lazy with exposure using the Easy setting most times with my P&S, but will get a DSLR soon. I also have gotten both Kelby books mentioned here and the 7th edition of London and Upton's Photography, basically a giant text book.

 

[Krioni]

Originally posted by: Muse
I just acquired this book (Peterson). I've been pretty lazy with exposure using the Easy setting most times with my P&S, but will get a DSLR soon. I also have gotten both Kelby books mentioned here and the 7th edition of London and Upton's Photography, basically a giant text book.

What do you think about the Kelby books? I've really enjoyed those myself and found them to still be good references.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Krioni

Originally posted by: Muse
I just acquired this book (Peterson). I've been pretty lazy with exposure using the Easy setting most times with my P&S, but will get a DSLR soon. I also have gotten both Kelby books mentioned here and the 7th edition of London and Upton's Photography, basically a giant text book.

What do you think about the Kelby books? I've really enjoyed those myself and found them to still be good references.

I checked them out of my local library and read them. I liked them quite a bit. They are in some demand at my library so I know I can't always get them in a day or two should I want to. I bought them because I like them and also I had just about that much credit left on a gift card I had for a local B&M bookstore, they no longer had Peterson (they told me they'd sold out the day before, I wound up getting Peterson from Amazon), so I picked up both kelby books, WTH. Kelby's a bit of a card, but I like the fact that he has a good time and he does present a lot of really good ideas, sort of a hodge podge, but I'm no organization freak, so I don't mind. Glad I finally used the rest on that gift card because I heard recently that the bookstore was closing after many years. :Q

 

[bobdole369]

Understanding Exposure (Bryan Peterson)