Reviews (11)

Free Learning center for Digital Rebel
Here is a link from the Canon web site to the Canon digital learning center for the Digital Rebel (300E).It contains basic info about this camera.I found it helpful.Best of all, its free!

http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/lessons/

Canon Digital Rebel Short Course
Respectfully, I disagree with the negative reviews on this book.It probably is not a great book for the advanced photographer, but as an amateur trying to make the best use of a very versatile new camera, I found the book helpful.It is in 81/2 by 11 format, so the print and format are larger and easier to read than the manual.While it may not contain much information about the camera that is not in the manual (the manual is pretty good), it presents the information in a more helpful way.The cross-referencing within the book is also helpful (which the manual does not have).Moreover, I found the book helpful in describing the reasons why and situations in which I might find the various features the Digital Rebel has to be useful.For example, this book explains why the Av (Aperture-priority) would be useful and why types of situations would make it beneficial.The manual does a fine job of explaining the feature, but does not give examples of how it may be useful. I also found the complaint about the spiral binding of the book misplaced.I like the spiral binding because it allows me to lay the book flat and fold it over when I am reading it.While I agree that the book is probably somewhat overpriced, I found a lower price for the book on Amazon.I found the book valuable (remember, I am just a beginninng photographer) in helping me learn more about digital photography and the Canon Digital Rebel at the same time.

Forget this book... Read the manual.
Disappointed, but should have been expected.The Canon manual was specifically written to cover every aspect and feature of the camera; otherwise it's not doing the company any justice.That being said, the only thing this book could have done was add a few tips, possibly better explanations of features (with illustrations) and add a bunch of non-essential photography basics.

While the visuals do help one understand what each feature can produce, it's nothing a good photography book couldn't provide.In fact if it's a photography primer you're after, you're better off searching for a dedicated book.The manual from Canon is more than adequate if supplemented with a good photography book (that is if you're new to photography).

Disappointing was the amount of errors I found.Not technical or theoretical errors but simple grammatical errors.Some of which could really confuse new photographers.

I've never been impressed with publishers who produce a series of "cookie-cutter" books.This book is no exception.It's a rough primer on photography with some good examples supplemented by some technical details easily found in the Canon manual.

Reviews (31)

Just what I was looking for!
This book was just what I was looking for!

Great information on picture-taking:composition, lighting, etc.

Great information about digital photography:the hardware, connections, transfering pictures, and editing.

Thanks, Rick.

Surprisingly lacking
This book is laid out for the absolute novice.Considering Sammon's long career in photography, I am really very surprised that this book does not have any inspiring photographs.Many of the lessons are repetitive - the same photos are used for various lessons and the same techniques are mentioned over and over again (i.e., photos - Hearst castle, Amazon Indians; techniques - nik Pro filters, Photoshop curves).And some lessons are almost unnecessarily inserted on a whim. Sammon has a well-deserved reputation as a photographer, but his take on digital photography does not do justice to this exciting field.It is an exciting time in photography, and Sammon fails to portray that excitement in his book. I would recommend Tom Ang or the "How to Wow" series of books for better content.I hope to see a more inspiring book from Sammon in the near future.