Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is certainly the friendliest camera guide I've ever used, starting with the gentle easing into the use of this camera in the three Quick Start chapters, to the author's friendly, easy to understand style, and responsiveness to questions. There's a link to his blog in the beginning of the book, and I was surprised when he almost instantly answered one question I had when I sent him an email. (The answer was in the book, and could be found in the index, but I hadn't done that, and David kindly answered my question without quoting page number and verse.}
Now that I've taken the time to look at the book more closely, I find that everything is in there, including information I couldn't find in other guidebooks or even the book packaged with my T3i. The book is divided into 14 very complete chapters:
CH 1 - This is the introduction Canon should have provided with the camera. It describes everything you need to know to get started, and each section is preceded by a green highlighted box that tells you what will be described in that section, so you can skip over it and jump to the next section if you want. Most users who have owned a digital SLR in the past can skim through this helpful chapter, which has information on everything from charging the battery and formatting a memory card to setting diopter correction.
CH 2 - This is the true Quick Start meat, with the same green highlighted introductions that help you discover how to choose a shooting mode, focus mode, select a focus point, set white balance, ISO, use the flash, and review your first pictures. If you're unfamiliar with the T3i, this chapter will tell you everything you need to know to go out and take pictures.
CH 3 - This chapter has 20 pages of "roadmap" coverage of every control, dial, and viewing/playback screen of the T3i, replacing the couple pages of black and white drawings with endless cross references in the user manual, with 22 large, full-color illustrations. You'll know what each control does from this chapter, and can use it as a reference after you've been using the camera awhile.
CH 4, CH 5, CH 6, CH 7- Next, the author explains the basics you need to know to begin taking great pictures, with full chapters on Understanding Exposure, Mastering the Mysteries of Autofocus, and using Live View and Movies. In each of these chapters, he offers many tips, including advice that will help nail autofocus and exposure perfectly, and shoot interesting movies. Chapter 7 has advanced shooting tips for working with time exposures, long exposures, WiFi, and Geotagging. I was delighted to finally see these topics explored in a camera guide.
CH 8, CH 8 - Wow, did we ever need these 90 pages of advice on how to use the T3i's menus. I finally understand some of the more esoteric functions, and know why I should use every option. Other guides I've seen just list the entries and possible options with very little explanation. Thank you!
CH 10, CH 11, CH 12 - If you've been using your T3i long enough to wonder what lens to buy next, Chapter 10 gives you a clear comparison of all the most common lenses, with the author's evaluations The next two chapters are devoted to lighting and flash, and include the only chapter I've ever seen that covers only wireless flash, a new capability for this camera. It made me want to go out and buy a 320EX Speedlite and begin putting the author's lessons to work.
CH 13, CH 14 - I found these two chapters the least useful, with basic introductory information on software available for this camera (but without much how-to, as this is a camera guide, not a software book), and some troubleshooting advice that I haven't used yet, because I haven't had any trouble, upgraded my firmware, or needed to clean my sensor manually. I'm sure I'll find use for this later.
All in all, this book is a must for anyone who has bought a T3i and really wants to understand how to learn to use it directly from the leading Canon guru.
Click Here to see more reviews about: David Busch's Canon EOS Rebel T3i/600D Guide to Digital SLR Photography (David Busch Camera Guides)
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