ISBN: 0764533940 Book review by Amazon.com reprinted with permission
Aimed primarily at the serious hobbyist or business professional, the Digital Photography Bible functions very well as an introduction to taking, retouching, storing, and publishing digital photographs, as well as choosing equipment and software. Instead of a step-by-step how-to on a particular application--like most of the books in the Bible series--this one is more of a discussion of the many different aspects of digital photography. Some topics--for example, emergent technologies--get only a cursory glance. However, for the most part, the book does a good job of covering everything you need to know to get started.
Launching into digital photography means making a succession of comparisons, and this book has done most of the legwork for you. It examines the different brands of cameras and accessories, as well as the hardware and software you'll need to process the images, from printers to papers. Appendices chart out the comparisons and list 46 pages' worth of digital resources--from Agfa to Zing Network, an online digital-image community offering unlimited free storage.
Author Ken Milburn shares his experience as a photographer, with tips and tricks on how to take a good image, whether it's the basics of high-quality photography or technical insights into working a digital camera--such as compensating for shutter lag or the usually excessive depth of field. He touches on several image-editing applications, but devotes the most time to the basics of using Photoshop.
If you have extensive experience taking and processing conventional photos, but have yet to dive into digital, you'll be able to appreciate how the book weighs all the variables involved. If you've committed yourself already to a particular camera and software, you still will benefit from the help on how to get the most from them. The author's gallery of color photos shows examples of different problem-solving techniques covered in the text, and the companion CD-ROM contains demos of many of the applications discussed, including Photoshop 5.5. --Angelynn Grant
Real World Digital Photography
ISBN: 0201354020 Book review by Amazon.com reprinted with permission
The title of Real World Digital Photography doesn't adequately indicate the scope and sheer practical usefulness of the information within. The book not only gives a clear breakdown of how to choose and use a digital camera, it also covers everything from sound photographic advice (lighting, framing, and cropping) to manipulation of digital images (primarily in Photoshop). This latter section is especially well-written, covering everything necessary for color correction: levels, histograms, the unsharp mask filter--all explained clearly but without an overwhelming amount of detail.
This book is aimed at neither the casual consumer nor the professional digital photographer with $50,000 to spend. Rather, it is perfect for several types of professionals: graphic designers, design students, real estate and insurance agents, and many others. It shows how digital cameras work (what makes both the inner workings and the output differ from that in traditional film cameras); which camera to buy for your needs and budget; and how to take, edit, archive, and store pictures.
Many basic terms get clarified--for example, how JPEG compression works--and there are lots of sidebar tips such as how to progressively downsample an image in a way that preserves the most detail. The book also explains how to print the images on inkjet or dye sub printers. (Did you know not to convert an RGB image to CMYK before sending it to the printer? Let the printer do the conversion.)
A lot of the information and explanations in Real World Digital Photography will still be useful long after the featured cameras are considered yesterday's technology. --Angelynn Grant
