Digital Photography Pocket Guide

by Derrick Story

Even film diehards have a tough time resisting the instant gratification of the digital camera. Today's digital cameras are more affordable then ever before, and they deliver high quality images that are a snap to share. Plus, you can take risks with a digital camera you never would with a film camera. You waste nothing; there's no film required, and because you only print the pictures you need, digital photography is cost effective and environmentally friendly. But to take full advantage of a digital camera, you need to be an experienced photographer and an expert at digital photography too. With more than 15 years of experience as a photojournalist, author Derrick Story brings you Digital Photography Pocket Guide , 3rd Edition. For everyone who owns or will own a digital camera (and that pretty much means everyone!), this is the perfect on-the-go guide for taking top-notch digital photos. In this third edition of the bestselling pocket guide, Story expands on the basic photography techniques that he introduced in earlier editions, including an explanation of each camera component and what it does, tips for choosing just the right settings for your needs, and much more. This indispensable guide covers everything from how to shoot sports action, close ups, and night shots, to dealing with image resolution, archiving, and memory cards. Affordable and portable, Digital Photography Pocket Guide , 3rd Edition offers full-color photographs, screen shots, and line art illustrating all the topics in the guide's three main sections ("Digital Camera Components," "Standard Camera Functions," and "How Do I?"). Contents are labeled A to Z for quick reference. There's also a comprehensive table of contents and index so you'll waste no time flipping to the specific information you need--whether you want to transfer images, make a QuickTime movie, or just figure out what purpose that mystery setting on your camera serves. There's even a section of easy-to-read reference tables for quick look-up of white balance settings, exposure compensation, camera mode explanations, and plenty more.

Genres: Photography, Reference, Nonfiction, Ebooks, Art

169 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2002

Reviews

[Stephen Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book (although a little dated) for new users of digital cameras. Goes over some of the basics on cameras and equipment and does touch a little on actual photography techniques. Would not benefit experienced photographers.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

While published in several editions in the first decade of the new millennium, this O'Reilly guide is still a helpful book today. Unlike many other publications of the era, this guide does not describe in detail the specifications of cameras and memory cards that today would strike readers as absurdly dated. Instead, it focuses on general feature of digital photography still relevant for any point-and-shoot camera sold today.

If all one wants to do is take photos in the "auto" mode of one's camera, then one hardly needs a guide. The value of this O'Reilly book, however, is that it describes all the other modes, introducing the reader to such photography basics as aperture, ISO value and shutter speed. Understanding this basic principles will allow one much greater control over the result. The guide puts these techniques into practice by giving advice on typical environments like portraits and landscapes. The guide also describes how to edit photos on your computer, namely operations such as scaling down, sharpening and cropping.

Cheap used copies of this book abound, and an ebook edition is easy to come by. I'd recommend it to anyone with a digital camera wondering how to use more of its features. It is not meant to be a complete course in photography, but will satisfy those who don't mind staying outside the field.