Digital Photography: The Missing Manual: The Missing Manual

I found the book to be comprehensive. It is a great starting point for the novice and a good reference for someone who is familiar with the subject, but not a pro. The chapter headings are "tabbed" in the upper corner of the page, which makes topics easy to find. Also, the numerous illustrations and various fonts made the book extremely readable.

Very well written - clear, simple, easy to follow. And it does have some great tips - even for the intermediate photographer. But this is really a book for someone who has never used a digital camera before or who has never taken the time to understand their camera's features. It also spends a lot of space discussing several specific photo management software programs (EasyShare, Picasa, Elements), as well as some common on-line photo sharing sites. If you're new to this art then this book will be a great start. But if you're already familiar with your camera and with digital photo editing and on-line sharing, you probably won't get much new out of this. Plus, if you don't plan on obtaining the specific software the authors discuss, at least half the book will be of no use to you.

Any newcomer to digital photography who longs to get the most from a camera will find DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY: THE MISSING MANUAL goes beyond brand-named camera books to cover the extent of digital possibilities. Camera tricks from pros supplement tips on editing photos on the PC, picture sharing, and much more, taking full advantage of the digital format's versatility and potentials. Plenty of books have been written on the topic, but DIGTAL PHOTOGRAPHY: THE MISSING MANUAL is the most comprehensive. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

In actuality, only the first of the four parts of this book is about the art and science of digital photography itself. The rest of the book is about moving your photos to the PC, editing them, and sharing them via printing, email, or even coffee mugs. The part that is about photography is helpful when it is discussing artistic techniques, and somewhat frustrating when it is trying to give you specific instructions on operating a generic camera such as "If your camera has a portrait mode, indicated on this camera and many others by a silhouette of a human head, you may not have to fiddle with manual aperture settings". The question is, how do I know whether or not my camera even has a portrait mode? This is not the vague type of instruction I am accustomed to when dealing with the Missing Manual series. Outside of my general frustration with part one, though, the rest of the book is quite good. That is because the author now has a limited set of software packages to work with as far as instructions go, and here we get back into the high quality specific Missing Manual instructions that are so familiar. The author talks about specific aspects of using Easyshare, Picasa, Shutterfly, Snapfish, Flickr, and Photoshop Elements for organizing, editing, and sharing your photos with good comparisons of the different software packages and specific instructions for each. Overall, I recommend this book. Just realize that the part on photography itself is somewhat vague. I notice that the table of contents are not shown, so I do that below: Part One: DIGITAL CAMERA BASICS Chapter 1. DIGITAL CAMERA BASICS Point-and-Shoot or Single Lens Reflex? Image Resolution and Memory Capacity Batteries Deciphering Optical and Digital Zoom Image Stabilizer (Vibration Reduction) Flip Screens for Multiple Viewpoints Optical Viewfinder Taking Control with Manual Options Improving Autofocus External Flashes and Other Attachments Minimizing Shutter Lag Burst Mode for Rapid-Fire Shooting Creating Panoramas Software That Comes with Your Camera Eliminating Specks (Noise Reduction) Taking Movies with Your Camera Chapter 2. POINTING, SHOOTING, AND BASIC COMPOSITION Composition Explained Apply the Rule of Thirds Get Closer for Better Pictures Eliminate Busy Backgrounds Go Low, Go High A Final Thought Chapter 3. BEYOND THE SIMPLE SNAPSHOT Shooting Sports and Action Taking Portraits Kids and School Performances Weddings and Celebrations Sunsets and Nighttime Photos Landscape and Nature Photographing Objects Digital Movies Cameraphone Photography Part Two: ORGANIZING YOUR PHOTOS Chapter 4. GETTING PHOTOS ONTO YOUR PC Moving Pictures from Camera to Computer Moving Pictures from a Card Reader to a PC Importing Photos with a Scanner Three Ways to S