Very good set of books on digital photography
340235
Very good set of books on digital photography.  I have not read them all but I recommend the set from what I have read so far.
4586182
I have never read the any of the "Dummies" books...I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this particular "Dummy" book. Digital Photography for Dummies contains just about anything you need to know about the world of digital cameras: storing images, transferring images, printing etc. and a bunch of (well marked) trivia you'll never use but you'll be glad you read....
It seems digital cameras and taking photos with aforementioned equipment isn't quite enough to fill an entire book. To skirt the lack of material afforded by concentrating solely on the taking a good picture and being done with the whole mess Digital Photography for Dummies includes plenty of pages spent on various digital image-editing programs. This may seem odd to those of you who are used to the way some traditional photography books read (many focus on getting the picture right the first time) but once you accept the benefits of going digital the inclusion of methods to manipulate the image is necessary. As Julie Adair King notes: you can make a pretty average picture into a pretty good picture if you spend a little time with a decent image-editing program. Don't believe Julie Adair King? That's okay Digital Photography for Dummies is packaged with a compact disc that contains a bevy of useful software including a Photoshop Elements demo so you can actually see for yourself just how powerful digital photography can be.
One of the better features of Digital Photography for Dummies is the photo examples found throughout. Julie Adair King's visual examples are the best use of figures I have ever run across. Every point Julie Adair King makes with a figure is very well made...Digital Photography for Dummies also includes something that I once thought I would never see in a twenty-five dollar digital photography book: Color Plates. Jammed right into the middle of Digital Photography for Dummies are sixteen pages of color plates. These pages are particularly informative and you're not going to get close to Digital Photography for Dummies's level of instruction with a book that is entirely grayscale.
Still, Digital Photography for Dummies has some miscues and errors. I'll focus on one: Apparently Photographers are ignorant to the standards of science...on the whole the book is very good. The inclusion of color plates is outstanding and Julie Adair King's touch with the visuals is remarkable. Go to your local bookstore and toss any books without color plates in favor of this one...
3741746
This book by Colin Smith is the book you will want to keep handy in your digital darkroom. If you are an amateur or professional digital photographer, this is a great reference book for those quick how-to questions. This book will also help the photographer who is making the big switch from the traditional darkroom to digital. As in the past, the tutorials in this edition of this book cover basic digital darkroom techniques updated for Adobe Photoshop CS2. On the included CD, you will find the images used in the tutorials as well as sample training video clips from PhotoshopCAFE.

Smith has structured this book to make it easy to find answers to your questions. The first two chapters cover working with your photos in Camera Raw and how to easily manage your extensive selection of photos in the Adobe Bridge application. You can view, categorize and search for photos. You can even watermark your comps. Chapters three through seven teach you digital techniques for improving photos. For example, you will learn how interpolation applies to resizing photos and how to work with histograms and adjustment layers. When you are ready to print, the book explains color management. The last few chapters talk about some fun techniques such as adding frames, artistic touches and special effects to photos, and creating collages and animations.

Colin Smith has extensive experience with Adobe Photoshop. He has written several books including How To Do Everything With Photoshop CS and CS2, Photoshop Most Wanted 1 and 2, and New Masters Of Photoshop 1 and 2. He has also written several articles for NAPP, Mac Design Magazine, Photoshop User and Planet Photoshop.
203283
Beginning photographers need a book that tells them how to set exposure and focus their cameras. But after they master these skills there is a great deal of information which exists about the different aspects of photography that can help them be better photographers and that is more than just the technique of adjusting the settings on their camera. This information might be considered background but this kind of background deepens the understanding of the photographic process which in turn will help create better images. This book covers most of that information in a comprehensive and understandable way.

The author is most famous for providing specific camera guides that tell photographers how to adjust the settings on specific camera models and a new photographer would benefit from reading such a book before turning to this volume.

The book is divided into three parts. Part one delves into the workings of a digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR). The author starts out by describing what goes on inside the DSLR including an exploration of the camera's sensor. The next chapter describes some of the foibles of DSLRs including the problems of dust and formats like JPEG, RAW and TIFF. The chapter on exposure controls explains tonality and the methods of adjusting it. There is a chapter examining exposure in depth, including an explanation of how autofocus works. Busch then examines the role of the lens, and the uses of different focal lengths. Light is explored in the final chapter of this section. Part II explores newer tools for DSLRs like live view, movies, GPS, Wi-Fi, phone and tablet apps and auxiliary gadgets like filters and even underwater housings. The third part deals with specific genres and their special requirements including travel, people, concert, scenic, wildlife, nature, action and close up photography. Sprinkled through these later chapters is other valuable information. For example the chapter on scenic photography includes a discussion of composition, so the reader would do well to read about all the genres, even if he or she did not expect to practice a particular one.

This information is all what I think of as second-level information, that is, not essential for capturing an image, but useful in capturing a better image. Busch's writing is accessible and easy to understand, even when most technical. I did find that occasionally he was repetitive as if he had gathered information in notes from several different places and not consolidated it, but I found that only mildly distracting.

I suspect that experienced photographers will have encountered most of this material before, and that photographers hoping to work in a particular genre will want to follow up with a book aimed at that genre. However, for the new or inexperienced photographer, this is the second book he or she should read.
1811151
Very good, in-depth coverage of digital photography. Illustrations are very helpful as well that show the way in which the digital cameras work.
631001
I have purchased this book twice, it is an introduction to digital photography, particularly for the fixed lense Nikon SLR cameras (such as the 8700) and SLR digital cameras.  If you have a simple point and click camera you will get some benefit from the book but not as much.

The book provides a photography primer, clearly explains terms, and gets the reader excited about taking pictures.

Additionally it discusses SLR and non SLR cameras, and digital photo processing using Photoshop (a good portion of this book is dedicated to this task, roughly 40%).

This is a great gift for the person just getting into digital photography or someone looking to expand their skills and knowledge.
996823
If you are a digital photographer with some Photoshop experience and want to become a Photoshop expert, this is the book for you. Despite a number of minor typos, the book covers important topics such as selections, color spaces, color correction, adjustment layers, compositing and much more in great detail. The book has many examples where you can take an image from the CD-ROM and see exactly how to correct it by doing it yourself. Beginners will make neither head nor tail of this book, but intermediate users will soon become experts. Well worth the price.
1620153
Volume 1 of this series is absolutely fantastic, and I strongly recommend it for anyone with even the slightest interest taking good pictures with a digtal camera.  Volumes 2 and 3 are for the serious photo enthusiasts, and are also outstanding books.

Part 4 is fine as a companion to the rest of the series, but would not stand well on its own.  Scott did an outstanding job covering a wide range of topics in the previous books.  Most of the material here has already been covered in at least a cursory fashion in earlier volumes, so this one just fills on some of the gaps.

One big difference I see compared to the rest of the series is the reliance on PhotoShop.  Many of the tips cover detailed instructions for a specific version of PhotoShop, which may become obsolete in a year or two, and many of them are repetitive.
2830177
This is a solid companion for the Canon EOS 60D with all the basic and intermediate level knowledge and skills given.  Its approach is very friendly, taking the reader by the hand. Abundantly illustrated with a rich picture on almost every page, this book provides a closer association with the camera and its functionalities.  In particular, this book has most patiently explained all the menus, custom functions, and various settings.  Nothing seems rushed or abridged.
A variety of accessories and the essential `must-haves' are covered in a separate chapter, as is lighting and types of shots one may like to take.
With this one investment alone, the reader gets a fuller picture than the other books on Canon 60D.  (I bought all five published so far and would rate David Busch's book as truly #1.  (I would rate Magic Lantern Guide as #2/3 because it has a DVD tutor included but the accompanying book is too general meant for all DSLRs, and there is no particular focus on the 60D).  I hope in future editions, David Busch will also include a DVD with "talking tips" and sharing exposures/results as well.
The only complain one may have with Busch's book is that it is voluminous and, because of the high quality paper it is printed on, a bit heavy to carry along.  But it is the learning one gets from it that matters and for that, I like to sit down with a substantial book like this one, cover-to-cover, and make notes in a field book to note down my desired points and shooting tips.  You can also have your 60D next to you as you peruse the book
941164
It's a shame there aren't more technically-oriented books like this one for the digital SLR photographer looking to move from the basics into more advanced tools and techniques.  Busch provides a sampling of truly useful ideas that will help any DSLR user raise the bar, not only on quality, but on composition, lighting, and virtually every other aspect of digital photography.

I was impressed by the depth of coverage of topics such as optics (including the various types of optical aberrations), acuity, resolution, and lens design -- all in a simple and concise tone that anyone can understand.  Everything was accurate and complete, and managed to explode quite a few myths and non-myths that so many intermediate photographers think they understand, but don't really.  For example, not all long lenses are telephotos, the author says, and then shows you why.

Of course, not everything in this book is highly technical.  Most of the chapters detail useful shooting techniques for often neglected pursuits such as infrared photography, or macro work. Everything you need to get started or to improve your results is in this book.  I recommend it.
1676792
For an amateur photographer who wants to improve photo-taking skills, this book is a great buy. I had originally planned to take a photography course at a local community college, but that didn't work out. This book turned out to be quite a bit cheaper and more effective for me since it is specific to my camera. I have read several other digital photography books, but since they weren't specific to my camera, I found it hard to put those concepts into practice. This book makes it easy to apply digital photography concepts.

As many have mentioned, this is a plain 8 1/2 x 11 black & white book. I purchased the book for the content, though, and that is very good. I don't need glossy color pages to make learning easier. Even in the first chapter I learned a lot about my camera that wasn't included in the manual. There are lots of good shortcuts and tips that are not at all obvious or easily understandable from the manual. My picture taking has already improved!

This is a great book if your goal is simply to understand your camera better so you can take better pictures.
2684531
I have been following David's blog for about a year or more having started back into photography after quite a few years out. Am loving digital and always looking for the quality books. Have been waiting eagerly for this one and it is great. Practical,plenty of real life examples, well laid out although the text is a bit A B C but the info is superb. I've always liked David's style and this book I think , for me, will be a reviewing manual. Well worth it.
819671
I enjoyed this collection a lot.  easy to read, with good tips, about general photography as well as post-processing.  Maybe a bit too basic, this is more focus on the beginners than advanced amateurs.  If you are a pro or a prosumer photographer this is definitely not for you.
2110252
This book came highly recommended, but sat on my shelf for quite a while before I actually got to it. By that time, a combination of practical experience in the field, other reads, and study of the terrific photography videos available through The Great Courses meant that I didn't get much new information from Understanding Exposure. Nonetheless, I'm giving Bryan Peterson's book five stars and would highly recommend it to anyone who is fairly new to DSLR photography. In fact, even if your photography consists mostly of taking a decent point-and-shoot camera along with you on vacation, this book will be of great help toward taking better photographs. It's a slim 175 pages, easy-to-read, well-illustrated and focused. The subject is exposure, and if you're just starting out, this book will help you get to better photographs faster.
1913708
So far I'm through Volume One and starting Volume Two.  The books are written conversationally and easy to get through.  As expected, there are tons of photos throughout the book, illustrating the points.  It's definitely helped me to improve my shots.  I'm excited about what the last two volumes will cover.  Scott Kelby's writing makes it interesting, and while sometimes I want to know some more of the technical details of why, that's easily found on the internet and in other books.  The information in these volumes is not nearly as easily found elsewhere.  I would highly recommend these books to anyone who wants to take better photos, especially if you don't want to really know every technical detail about why.
3486793
the Digtal photolgraphy book part 4. Is a good value and very infornable as well good reading .  Puts things in reverday treams.
2373107
So much "learning photography" information online is about buying gear and yet that won't make you a better photographer.  This book might.

Starting with the photographs of David Bailey, this book is a series of one page articles describing how (and why) to create similar images to the one in the book.  There is a wealth of information here that was aimed at a population that was experiencing personal photography for the first time.  The digital revolution and mobile phone photography has made the information in this book valuable again.

It is important to know that about 10% of the information is 35mm film specific, but digital photographers just need to look beyond that.