Back in September when I first bought my Canon Rebel Xsi, Red loaned me a book she had bought and read after purchasing her Canon 40D. The title is Mastering Digital SLR Photography (second edition) by David Busch. Its subtitle is: the serious photographer's guide to high-quality digital SLR photography. I seem to grin when I read that. That's because I really don't consider myself a "serious" photographer. I don't plan on being a professional; I just like to take pictures of what strikes my fancy. Mostly I like to take photos to have a record of what I have seen and enjoyed around me, and something to remember it by.
But back to reviewing the book. I would definitely recommend this book if you want to learn more about high quality photography and to learn more about your digital camera's features and quirks, if you own a Nikon or Canon. Other brand names were not mentioned very often. On a personal level I found the book more technical than what I would want to read and learn about my camera. Mr. Busch got into mirror size/design and pentaprisms which did not interest me. But he did have several chapters that were worthy -- like the chapter on a camera's buttons and menus and what each of them are capable of doing and when it's best to use a certain mode, like aperture-priority or shutter-priority or using manual focus. Another chapter I liked reading was about the various lenses one can use and which lenses are best for landscape or macro photography, etc. The chapters on action photography and close-up photography were good, too. Mr. Busch is a professional photographer, so he does give some excellent tips on composition and depth of field, too. Overall, if I had to rate this book on a 1 to 5 scale I would give it a "4." A lot of my photography is learning by doing, or even better yet asking my daughter (Red) about certain buttons and when to use them. She may not always have the patience with me, but she also knows that experimenting with one's toy is the best way to get to know it. Happy picture-taking everyone!
