Photography

A few weeks ago my digital camera quit working at a very bad time. I had to break out my twenty year old 35mm film camera and use it. I was stunned at the quality that my old Yaschica had over my digital camera. So I bought this wonderful book and never looked back. It is filled with great tips that are easy to understand. Tips on how to use differant lenses, filters and film. Not to mention great flash tips that almost eliminate red eye. My wife and friends are amazed at the quality of some of the pictures that I have taken. Plus digital pictures won't last but a few years stored on disk and a negative is almost forever. So if you want your memories to last a lifetime break out the old 35mm film camera and BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!

If I had to pick one book for a beginner to learn the basics of photography, this would be the one. Whether film or digital, it presents the basics in logical easy-to-grasp order. The illustrations are not just works of art, but each make a point pertinent to the topic [like comparing depth of field with wide angle or tele lenses], stimulating the reader to give it a try. This author possesses that unique knack of presenting difficult material in an understandable, pleasantly conversational, manner - assisted by attractive sketches and relevant photo's. Not the least, the high quality paper makes reading easy, and the photo's glow. The occasional Briticism is good for a chuckle, and adds to the charm [yes, the author uses both metric and US measurements]. To repeat, whether you use film or digital cameras (or both), this book presents the basics, and presents them simply, attractively, completely, and very well indeed. It's a lot of book for a very modest price.Although the fundamentals of photography remain unchanged, equipment changes over the years - and that's where the present (2003) printing shows it's 2000 origins. Digital cameras, in particular, have changed: an illustration of a "modern" 1.4 MP camera, and comments about memory 'as much as 256 kB', make the digital chapter seem undeservedly dated. Even so, the advice offered is as sound today as it was a few years ago. This superb introductory text deserves revision and updating -- keep it going Mr. Frost!

I just received the book today and am amazed at how much USEFUL information is in this book. Having both SLR and digital cameras, this is the book that I've been looking for. The illustrations are simple, precise and very easy to follow. It's not written specifically for professional photographers, but for amateurs like me who just want to better understand my cameras.

I bought this book because I just bought a Canon G2, and wanted to learn the basics to take advantage of the features of my new camera. Prior to this book, I have no idea what aperture or depth of field mean. I finished this book in one sitting -- very easy and engaging book to read for beginners. I like how it covers many of the common scenarios, such as shooting at night, shooting at mid-day and when to use manual adjustment to accommendate difficult shots. I can say now after reading the book, I feel confident to take on the many features of my camera, and I'll definitely come back to it for reference in the coming days.

Two friends (who are professional photographers) were telling me that there are too many books on photography on the market that turn a comparably simple task into something complicated. Shrouding the relations of aperture, shutter speed and film sensitivity made it difficult for me to improve my skills. But this book explained the basics of proper exposure so easily, giving good advice for even the most difficult light settings that I now have the courage to use more and more often manual settings instead of the program mode of my SLR.This is by far the best book on photography for people that want to learn the basics and move on from point & shoot to a more creative way of taking pictures.This is a must have book!