The DSLR Field Guide: The essential guide to getting the most from your camera (The Field Guide Series)

I still have no idea how do I know the size of the book it is really a great book, with great information, but way 2 small to read

This should actually be called a pocket reference - not a field guide. Field guides are "how-to" / guide books. A field guide for birds, for example, has photographs of birds, with accompanying information. Some even include photo tips. I expected this to be something akin to that. Pages of exposure guides, example photos and the like. That's not what this is. It's a mini-encyclopedia covering almost every topic you can think of for digital photography, accessories, etc. If you're a beginning-intermediate DSLR photographer, you'll get a lot from this book. Advanced users, not so much. Expert users and accomplished users will garnish little from this book. This book would have come in handy when I first started out with DSLR's. I discovered what I needed by trial and error, and wasting a lot of money. If you're new to DSLR photography or are an amateur seeking that "next level" in results, I'll highly recommend this book. Sensor cleaning, must-have accessories, color profiles, HDR, white balance, EXIF, metering - it's all here. Can't tell an EXIF from an HDR? Think a color target is something at the rifle range? Think camera noise is what occurs at a loud party or a profile is a side-shot? Not after reading this little book - Each topic provides sufficient information to tell you what it does and why you need it - usually 2-4 pages. "It" being a piece of hardware, theory, setting, software, or option. After you read a section, you'll probably think "Oh - that's what that does - I'll have to try it!" You have a DSLR - you spent a good chunk of change on it. Spend the fifteen bucks or so this book costs and read it. You'll save more than that with the information it provides. Physically the book is 4.5x6", 3/4" thick, printed on heavy, glossy paper. Nice, heavy feel to it. Not that cheap pulpish paper we're seeing more of today I can't let anything go with all glowing comments... The one criticism I have is that some of the information appears to be the result of research, not personal experience. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but some extra care must be exercised. One example of this is the section on "stitching images." The information is really out of date, and the panoramic example does not match the description. When the author states that cylindrical or spherical images are usually saved as QuickTime, he's dead wrong. I'm a professional panoramic / VR photographer. I have not produced a QTVR (Quick Time Virtual Reality) product in years. It's 99% Flash - that's how it's done today. QuickTime is just too slow and basically obsolete when compared to Flash panoramics. Apple stopped supporting QTVR in the last several QuickTime updates - so even if you exported the image as QTVR, nobody could view it. Even the description of the equipment is incorrect. I happen to own both the panorama heads he uses as examples. The Kaidan description is inaccurate, and the Manfrotto description vague. Manfrotto does call their head a QTVR head, but nobody calls it that. It's a milti-row pano head, or a 303SPH (SPH is for Spherical Panoramic Head.) The photo of the Kaidan shows a pano head system, including the arm and rotator. The description of the Manfrotto head as being designed to let the viewer look up and down is also incorrect. That extra "adjustment" is for multi-row panos, and while it can enable the viewer to look up and down, it's not required to do so. That's accomplished with wide angle lenses. Both the tripod heads shown can produce full spherical images. There is no description for the hardware in the upper right corner except for a make (It's a rotator base.)The example of the three images used to create the sample panorama would never work. A minimum overlap of 20%-40% between photos for the stitching software to work. Even manual alignment would fail with the example shown. He mentions overlap, but then ignores it in the photo example. That said, my critique of the panoramic section is almost as long as the section itself - but inaccurate or confusing information drives me crazy. There's also no mention of the software required for actually creating the final product - just the hardware. Without the special software (some of which is FREE, such as Microsoft ICE) you're going nowhere fast.

I was really torn upon reading the DSLR Field Guide - on one hand, I was hoping that this book would be a great bridge between my general knowledge of point-and-shoot cameras and an introduction into the world of DSLRs. While I have owned my DSLR for about four years now, I haven't really delved into the bits and pieces of the photography world. So to give you an idea of my personal experience, I'm pretty much a camera-newbie... but that being said, I am pretty technologically inclined and have a pretty good background with Photoshop. This book is half about digital photography and half about image editing. Unfortunately the depth on each of these topics is incredibly shallow. In that sense, it does work as a field guide type of format. When you compare this book to the Simon & Schuster type nature field guides, it is very similar. For instance, when you look at Simon & Schuster's Guide to Rocks & Minerals it gives you a very "wiki-like" overview of the subject. A general "what it is," "where you can find it" and "general characteristics". This book is the same way about DSLRs. What is a Lens, what types of lenses are there, what is white balance, what is lens refraction. Imagine each of these subjects as a quick one to two page summary and you get the general idea of what this book is like. So, for the newbie like me, this book is not very useful; and so that leaves us with seasoned professionals. Well, professionals will find this book pretty useless as well. Since many features on a DSLR are brand-specific (as far as where to find them in the menu and so-forth), having a book that just tells you "fix your tonal balance," probably won't be of any real help. So who is this good for? Well, the DSLR Field Guide will work as a starting point of reference for further research. You can utilize this guide more as a physical index of terms. The information which is presented is presented in a well planned manner, unfortunately the quantity and depth of that information is rather lacking.

Perfect for a beginner photographer and my high school photography class.

இ Fuzzy Wuzzy's Summary: ѾѾѾѾ Recommended with warm fuzzies (but more for beginning photographers). First of all, I think that it is a misnomer to call this compact pocketbook-sized book "The DSLR Field Guide" since "field guides", to me, tend to refer to small books that you take into the "field", or on-location, to be used as quick look-up reference books for identifying or diagnosing situations, or solving problems and answering questions that specific situations may present (e.g. field guides for identifying wildlife). This "DSLR Field Guide" was actually previously titled by Freeman more appropriately in its previous published version as the Photographer's D-Slr Pocketbook , and I think that a title of "DSLR Pocketbook" or "DSLR Primer" is more appropriate for this pocketbook's superficial overview of the large myriad of DSLR topics that are covered here. Each topic is covered by two to four pages even though topics like exposure, image editing, and post-processing easily justify entire books that just discuss those single topics. Because of this light, but broad, overview of so many topics in a pocketbook format, I think that this book is ideally suited for someone who is just starting out with DSLR photography. For people who are making their move from point-and-shoot cameras to using their first DSLR, this primer would provide a good all-around coverage of many digital photography and DSLR concepts. Intermediate and (especially) advanced photographers, however, will be disappointed at the front cover's wording of "The essential guide to getting the most from your camera" since a truly essential DSLR guide would probably need to be at least two to three times larger in page content. And so I am rating this book at 4 stars from the perspective of this being a "primer" for beginning photographers, and NOT from the perspective of this pocketbook being "the essential guide to getting the most from your camera" for intermediate or advanced photographers. This pocketbook's compact size makes it suitable for carrying inside your camera bag or backpack. However, since much of the pocketbook's information is not really applicable when you are out in the field or on-location (again, if you incorrectly assume this to be a "field guide"), only the first half of this book would be useful out in the field. The second half of the book deals with image editing, and you would likely not be editing images out in the field. Typically, when someone gets their first DSLR, one of the most complex and intimidating tasks is how to get the correct exposure for various shooting situations. Getting the exposure correct can even be problematic for intermediate and advanced photographers sometimes. Most DSLRs offer user-friendly "Full Auto" shooting modes to mimic more of a foolproof point-and-shoot camera. But, eventually, knowing how to balance ISO, shutter speed, and aperture considerations, where to take a meter reading, etc. are topics that really should be covered more in a "field guide" (e.g. "Eeek! My scene is at night or in low light! How do I set my DSLR?"). Those are the kinds of questions that you will have in the field or on-location, not questions like how you are going to edit the images once you load them onto your computer. Although they are not pocketbook-sized "field guides", per se, I would recommend either the books Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera or Freeman's own Michael Freeman's Perfect Exposure: The Professional's Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs . Another great book on exposure that covers various shooting situations is the Exposure Digital Field Guide ; the size of this "field guide" would actually fit in most camera bags and backpacks.

I'll preface this review by stating that I usually enjoy photography books by Michael Freeman. However, most of his books are to point, but I believe this one goes astray. My idea of a field guide is something I can pack in my kit and use as a reference when on a shoot. However, I didn't really find much in this book (other than its size) which meets that definition. Rather "The DLSR Field Guide" is essentially a high level overview of DSLR cameras and an intro to digital editing. For a beginner the first section on cameras might be beneficial, but quite honestly, your camera's manual or a 3rd party guide to your camera (Magic Lantern, etc.) would be of more use. This is really far too general. As far as the digital editing, the information is again too general and, from my perspective, doesn't really fit the normally accepted view of a field guide. Yes, more photographers than ever are taking their laptops with them on shoots/assignments. But againn, something more appropriate to your editing tools would provide greater assistance. I considered giving this a two star rating, but the writing is crisp, concise and non-contradictory, and the illustrations are appropriate to the material contained in the book. As previoulsy stated this may be appropriate for a beginner - until he gets develops a greater understanding of the basic concepts.

I consider myself a "point-and-shoot graduate" in that although I still keep my trusty little camera around for capturing everyday happenings, I'd like to get to know more about DSLRs and actually use the one I have access to effectively. This book, "The DSLR Field Guide" is a great bridge from point-and-shoot to DSLR. Michael Freeman explains the camera by parts -- sensor types, how image processors work, lenses, etc. -- and explains how those parts work with a DSLR. Then you learn about camera menus, image resolution, and more. I appreciate that he writes the book in general terms so whether you have a Nikon, Canon or whatever, his descriptions can apply to your brand of camera. The book is divided into two main sections: 1. The Digital Environment which covers what I mentioned above, and; 2. Image editing -- details about common lighting scenarios, monitor color calibration, downloading and processing raw photos, basic photo adjustments, etc. Overall a very comprehensive book capturing more than enough details for what you need to advance your photography into the DSLR world. Definitely not something you'd buy for your professional photographer friend, but the perfect gift for your shutterbug friend who wants to dive into more advanced photography. If you're still a point-and-shoot loyalist, this is still a great title to get a good foundation of basic digital photography knowhow. The whole section on image editing is filled with useful info. The compact size of the book is also a plus. At ~4.5"x6.0"x0.75", it can easily fit into a large camera bag or a purse. It's not really an on-scene reference guide because it doesn't lend itself to quick lookups (which I don't think was the point of the book anyway), but it's nice to keep near the camera especially when you're exploring DSLRs for the first time.

I am a Nikon shooter and shoot only in raw (limited exceptions). My status as a photographer is best described as part-time professional in that I have a day job but make low level money on nights and weekends using my skills. My workflow involves SHOOT>transfer & tag using NIKON VIEW> Basic raw file editing in NIKON CAPTURE NX2> advanced editing in CS5> and general image management (watermarking) and output via LIGHTROOM 3. Granted, my workflow can be streamlined by using LightRoom instead of Nikon View. But, I am still working on my best solution and uncomfortable ditching Nikon at this point (even though Capture crashes regularly in Win 7). The DSLR Field Guide is a great reference guide to DSLR photography and is best suited for those staring out in serious DSLR and less so for those who just bought a D90 and are essentially doing "snapshot" photography, just with a more expensive camera. This book will definitely help those advancing into serious photography save money buy avoiding buying all the "stuff" you have to have but don't know why. I think they called this a field guide due to its small size (fits in a bag easily) and less so for it's value a guide while in the field. Semantics I am sure. But, the typesetting can be a little frustrating to say the least. NOTE for advanced photographers- This book is very broad and general in scope and therefore will prove far less valuable to anyone who has already hit that serious mark in digital photography (where lenses and light matter more than anything else for example). NOTE for beginners- Because of the previous note, this book is well suited as foundation material if you are just hitting the point at which you are wondering "what's the big deal with off camera light." This will help you for sure. But just know that most photographers don't reference a pocket guide as they shoot.

Great reference

Not much of a guide - you can get more from internet