PCPhoto Digital Compact Camera Handbook

3 Comments so far

1. REG on February 19th, 2010

   I bought this book expecting some unique info and insight into using a compact camera. Instead, I discovered a basic digital photography book (with a redundant emphasis on the benefits of the LCD display) with information available in any number of other photography books.

   Is the portrait mode of my compact a better choice for portrait photography than the program mode? Why or why not? How about selecting the sports mode versus selecting a fast shutter speed in shutter priority mode? Again, why or why not? These are the types of questions I was hoping for an answer to. Instead I got a book that told me compact cameras have a portrait mode, an aperture priority mode, a shutter speed priority mode, etc and defined what those modes were, but no information as to why “portrait” mode was better for portraits than selecting “program” mode and setting the largest aperture I could based on the available light.

   Not a bad book, but for the basics of digital photography there are lots of other choices.
   Rating: 2 / 5

2. Blondie59 on February 19th, 2010

   I have been shooting digital for four years. I like especially to do wildlife photography. I have a digital zoom camera (Minolta Dimage Z2). Have gotten very frustrated though because the quality of my photos just wasn’t good enough (in my opinion, but when I show them around to family and at work, they ooh and aah). Anyway, was almost getting ready to chuck my camera and invest $2000 in a digital SLR setup. Then I read this book. Wow, it explained so much to me about how to better manipulate the settings on my digital zoom camera to get the best quality from my unit. It also helped my understand the limitations of my unit as compared to film and digital SLRs. So armed with this knowledge, I am not coughing up $2000 for another setup, but I am going to continue working with the equipment I have and using the settings properly to enhance my photography.

   I highly recommend this book as it was well-written, concise, with lots of great illustrations and recommendations. If you own a digital zoom camera or are trying to decide between purchasing a digital zoom vs a digital SLR, this book is a must read. It will help you a lot.
   Rating: 5 / 5

3. John Matlock on February 19th, 2010

   I got this book because I am finally taking the plunge into digital photography. I wanted two books. One book would look at all the digital cameras that are avaiable and tell me which one to buy. I found this information in Consumers Report.

   But beyond that, I had a bunch of questions as to what the various features and specifications really mean, and what are the differences in taking digital vs. film pictures. From my experience with film photography I knew that I wanted a single lens camers. I didn’t want to carry around a bunch of lenses. And the single lens needed to be a zoom with the ability to focus up close for macro work.

   This book answered the questions I had, and many more that I didn’t even know I had. It covers the digital zoom cameras on a conceptual basis, it does not pick out a particular brand. But it talks about zoom lenses. It talks about macro lens adapters (I need to try out the particular camera I ordered before making decisions about what, if anything, I need in this area). More important it talked about the differences in film and digital in areas like color sensitivity, and the digital equivalents of the ISO film speeds. Like I said, it talks about things that I never thought to ask.

   The few bucks that this book costs will be well paid back in either choosing the right camera or in getting better pictures.
   Rating: 5 / 5

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