David Busch's Canon EOS 50D: Guide to Digital SLR Photography

David Busch's Canon EOS 50D Guide to SLR Photography is outstanding: an introduction to Canon's newest SLR camera showing the many opportunities for making the most of its features. From selecting the best autofocus mode and flash capability to using Histograms and troubleshooting common camera issues, this offers a wide range of tips for operation and maintenance and is a pick for any owner of the EOS 50D 'next generation'.

I used David Busch's book on the Rebel XSi and it made an enormous difference in what I was able to get out of the camera. When I upgraded to the 50D buying this book was a no-brainer. It has helped me to explore the full potential of a great camera and provides a lot of tips on both gear and technique that have improved my overall results and enjoyment of the hobby. It reads well and he has a good sense of humor. If you have a 50D and aren't a top pro, you need this book. Don't ponder, just buy it. It will make you happy.

This book is clearly the definitive guide to using the Canon EOS 50D. It's filled with the information you need to get up and running with this camera quickly. It devotes several chapters to familiarizing you with the 50D, with large full-color illustrations that show the location of every control, button, and dial, and descriptions that help you understand how they work, and when they should be used. I recently switched from another brand of camera, and found this information very helpful. I really liked the two very long chapters that spelled out exactly what each of the 50D's menu choices are, especially the Custom Functions, which are not that easy to understand. It explained what each option did, and gave examples of why you'd want to use them, and how your results would look when you did. Basically, the author has taken the dry listings of functions that you find in the manual packaged with the camera, and explained those features in a much more understandable way, with examples. The rest of the book explains exposure, lenses, electronic flash, and "troubleshooting" the camera if something bad happens. Although these chapters all relate directly to the 50D, you'll find that you can learn about photography as you're learning how to use your camera. While it's possible to learn what you need about camera operation from the manual, this book makes the process easier. And you'd never learn this much about picture taking without it.

At nearly 400 pages, this full size book about my new Canon EOS 50D beats the pocket guidebooks hands down. I browsed through two other books at my local book store before buying this one, and was surprised at how much better Busch's book was. The others had a lot less information (not much more than what you get in the Canon manual, although they explained most features more clearly), and one was even illustrated with black and white pictures that didn't really have much to do with the point being discussed. The author uses the extra room he's been given in this book to really explore the camera in depth. For example, Busch devotes two chapters and 90 pages to explaining each and every customization and menu choice. He not only tells you what all the options and parameters are, but why and when you might want to select and use each feature.He even tells you when not to use a particular feature. For example, I had difficulties with the AF microadjustment feature, and managed to turn a small focus problem into a large one. If I'd read this book carefully first, I would have sent my lens to Canon to fix under warranty. There's a thick chapter on choosing lenses, with descriptions and recommendations on many of the current lenses in the Canon line. Another chapter offers a thorough explanation of light and lighting, including electronic flash. The chapter on fine-tuning exposure and fixing exposure with histograms was the clearest I've ever seen on this topic. I also learned how to use Picture Styles, which had been a mystery to me in the past. I'm visually-oriented, so I really enjoyed being able to read the text, view the illustrations, and then try out what I learned with my camera, as opposed to listening to some announcer or voice-over artist droning on about the camera on a DVD. This book shows you how to use your camera -- rather than tells you. The approach was perfect. I recommend this book highly.

This book is definitively a way that makes your Canon camera more accessible, especially if you're a first-time dSLR owner. The book even starts from the ground-up, leaving nothing to assumption in terms of even telling you how to charge your battery, how to insert it, and how to place your Compact Flash card (and which options are available to you) in your camera. And it's not just text either! He includes photos to explain what he means at times where it's appropriate and even occasionally shows you examples of failed pictures (i.e., lighting of a shot versus the histograms that your camera can display). From bare minimum knowledge to experienced photographer, David tackles the issues from fully automatic picture-taking to fully manual adjustments and even goes so far as to cover ground on every mode that the silver-topped dial on top of your camera has to offer and every menu screen that allows the minute adjustments of noise reduction, etc. to occur. He'll offer you some advice regarding lens selection as well should you purchase the camera as a body kit alone or if you want to purchase additional lenses. There's even full discourse regarding flash photography should you chose to augment the camera with a coveted 580 EX Speedlite flash. If you find your camera manual to be detailed but not overly-helpful in the "well what happens if I DO use this?" department, this book is for you. If I had to dock it half a star, however, it would lie within David's occasional tongue-in-cheek ramblings about various scenarios like "why you would need extra batteries." Yes, we get it, but we don't need nearly an entire paragraph about maybe you're hiking and you're too far from an AC power source, ad nauseum. It tends to be a little annoying although that I can see that he's trying to write to an audience that is very broad in nature and may feel that the diatribes will make the inexperienced a little more comfortable with his "fireside chat" style approach. Apart from those minor detractions, this book is an excellent starting point specifically written for YOUR CAMERA. Enjoy!