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Complete Digital Photography (Digital Photography Series)

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Product Details

Binding:	Paperback
EAN:	9781584505204
Label:	Charles River Media
Feature:
Publisher:	Charles River Media
Studio:	Charles River Media

Editorial Reviews

Complete Digital Photography has become a classic book for helping traditional photographers move to digital! It's also the book of choice for many new digital photographers who want to learn how to take great digital photos. Now in its 4th edition, it's better than ever. Thanks to the availability of new technologies and digital cameras at all ends of the price spectrum, today's digital photographers can produce amazing, high-quality photos rivaling the best from the film world. For those who have shifted from traditional to digital photography and need to know what's different about shooting digital, this is also the book for them. The fourth edition of this bestseller has been fine-tuned and updated to provide the most current information available. Covering everything from the inner workings of the camera to the subtle intricacies of image editing software, the book is divided into four sections. The first section provides the basic technical foundation needed throughout the rest of the book. It details the basics of how digital cameras work and provides a quick photography primer. The second part explores everything needed to make an informed decision about which camera, computer, and software to choose. Section three has been thoroughly updated and expanded to cover the nitty gritty of shooting, including metering, choosing the right exposure, using histograms, flash photography, and much more. And the final section, teaches the latest digital editing and correction techniques, including new coverage of workflow and raw conversion. This is the one digital resource all levels of photographers need: for those new to photography, all of the traditional theory is covered along with the latest digital tools and techniques, and for the experienced film photographers, they'll see how to translate their knowledge into the digital realm.

Customer Reviews

I'm a professional photographer, and when I decided to go digital, I bought about a dozen books on the subject. This one leaves the others in the dust.

One of its greatest strengths is that the author explains digital by referencing film photography. This allows quick understanding of the new by comparing it to the familiar.

But if you're new to photography, this book is still for you. The author has a real gift for explaining complicated processes in a way that makes them easy to understand and utilize. And he covers what you need to know, without putting the pro to sleep.

I read omniverously, but I'm rarely impressed enough to write a review. If I could only keep one book on photography -- digital or film -- this would be it.

And thank you to the author for insisting that digital photography is created with a digital camera, NOT a scanner. I am SO tired of books that are supposedly about digital photography which are really about digital manipulation of film photography.

Do yourself a big favor: if you're interested in this subject, buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

As an instructor of Photography and Digital Imagaging, I have found it difficult to recommend texbooks that incorporate ALL the most important points of capturing, transmitting, printing, storing, archiving, and retrieving digital images. I generally need to list several titles to cover these various topics. Ben Long not only does the job with the Complete Digital Photgraphy, but he does it in a very concise, logical and easy to comprehend manner. This book is timely, informative, accurate and thorough. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to jump into to the art of digital photography. I especially praise its use for instructional value. I am replacing next year's text with this one.

I've found Ben Long's Complete Digital Photography an excellent writing about today's superior digital imaging equipment! As an advanced nature film photographer, I've had my eye on the recent advances in digital photography for quite some time, and this book will help anyone, experienced or beginner grasp a good thorough understanding of what digital photography encompasses. This writing does not go into the specifics of all the digital cameras in today's market, there are plenty of excellent equipment review sites online to handle that task. Instead, the book provides excellent material regarding how digital cameras work; what components are common and present in the various models; how to match a camera to your particular shooting requirements; the "similarities" and the "differences" between digital photography and traditional film-based photography. It further gives a good basic understanding of photography fundamentals which apply to picture taking in any medium. The book includes a CDrom disk of actual sample photos, and is presented in a tutorial basis so that you can actually try out the explained techniques and examine for yourself on your own computer/monitor and or scanner equipment setup, the qualities and results from photo editing tutorials etc., that are presented in the book. There are some excellent Adobe Photoshop image editing lessons included as well as a demo version of this popular image program on the CD. I could ramble on about this book, but let me just summarize and say that if you are serious about digital photography and/or are interested in making the transition from film to digital photography or just want to get the very best results from your digital equipment, this book should greatly help you achieve your goals... highly recommended!

It is BEST digital photography book I have read and I have purchased over 10 different books on the subject. It is comprehensive covers not only digital photography but also the principles of 35mm photography in general. It is complete! You can get information from camera type, file size, camera control, lens type, printer choice, output resolutions and many many more. I am totally impressed by this book. This is idea for some one who is new to not only digital photography but 35mm photography as well. Highly recommended.

Complete Digital Photography offers a lot for it's intended audience, entry through intermediate level digital photography experience.

If you have not owned a digital camera, or your experience is limited to the more simple point and shoot cameras, and would like to understand enough to make an informed decision on a new digital camera you will find the information here to make a decision on the type of digital camera that will meet your needs and budget.

Once you own your digital camera Complete Digital Photography can serve as a thorough guide in how to shoot and edit your photos. This is not a camera specific manual. Combined with the manual that comes with your camera Complete Digital Photography will guide you through the issues and opportunities you will face when capturing images allowing you to get more out of what ever camera you have.

Complete Digital Photography also provides a guide to the selection and use of editing software, or the "digital darkroom". One of the most intriguing aspects of digital photography is the opportunity to get creative after you take the picture in a way that was just not possible for most shooters with film. there are many inexpensive, and expensive, digital editing programs available that anyone with a basic PC can take advantage of, Complete Digital Photography takes you through the options and provides a good overview of how to make your shots yours.

The included cd includes trial versions of many of the applications referenced in the book as well as sample files for the examples used in the book.

Someone with experience with digital SLRs and Photoshop will likely find this book a waste of time and will be looking for more specialised books that dig deeper into specific areas. For the vast majority of readers Complete Digital Photography will provide an interesting and thorough overview of digital photography.

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.

I have been messing with photography for many years. I wanted some pointers and a little refresher, so I ordered this book. The book had a lot of detail about how digital cameras work etc., but also a descent amount of exposure, focus etc. My finished prints are 300% better now than they were before reading this book. I picked up several very useful tips on camera settings, camera limitations (both digital and film) and Photoshop touchup techniques (very good) in one quick read through the book. I look forward to studying some of the more advanced Photoshop tutorials soon. I could barely put the book down until it was finished. No real content on how to compose an interesting picture though, but author never claims to touch on this subject. A good all around book that any fairly serious amateur photographer should read.

I'm a photonut. Even more so with my latest DC gadget.

This book is a terrific resource for me - previous books discuss digital photography from an old media (chemical film) perspective. With my latest dual-mode camera, I wanted to master lighting, framing, click to clicks and feature adjustments quickly. This book helped me out alot, and comes highly recommended as a companion to your next digital camera purchase (regardless of the grade camera you buy).

- GiddyupGuy

I picked this book up on a whim when looking for gifts for others. And boy am I glad I did. I have other photo books that are either too basic or too specialized, or don't explain fully. I actually read this cover to cover, and am now going back and re-reading sections as needed. It's the most comprehensive and useful photography book I've found.

I am a beginner to Photography. I have owned a auto 35mm Pentax IQ zoom for about 5 years and then went on to buy a Kodak DC290 in 2000. I am now thinking of upgrading to a 'prosumer' or a SLR kind of digital camera. I had a small, limited background of apertures and shutter speeds, from what I have heard from my father (he had an old Yashika).
Given my background, this book has been a wealth of information for me. The author doesn't beat around the bush, and give lenghty anecdotes - the book is very precise, with lots and lots of information - about photography in general, and the book never once veers from the main topic - digital cameras and digital photography. If you are shopping for a camera like me, if not for anything else, you can get this book just for Chapter 5 - 'Choosing a Digital Camera'. You can make a check list of things you want in your camera, cross-check with dpreview.com and get the camera that has it all that you want! And the good thing is, it doesn't get too pedantic - there are practical illustrations and common usage tips.

All in all a fantastic book for beginners. On the negative side - the book doesn't seem to have been thoroughly proof-read. There are typos, one reference to a wrong illustration and minor grammatical errors. Also the illustrations in the book do not always bring out what the author is trying to say (limited colors?) - you have to refer to the jpeg's in the accompanying CD.

I plowed through the book in just one week of evening sessions. The author tried to keep the discussion of camera features in the first part of the book to to a generalized level that is fairly current (as of 1/03), It does a decent job helping both digital imaging novices and non-pro film photography converts grasp the fundamentals. I fall in both of these catagories so I felt it was well written for my level of pre-existing knowledge. In the second part of the book where he delved into photo manipulation software I was frustrated by the fact that the Photoshop Elements 2.0 tryout software included on the second edition CD did not have some of the tools that he uses in text and the tutorials, such as Curves and Channels. He kept mentioning that any brand imaging software should have all the tools he used so one does not have to get the full version of Photoshop. Not True. I now realize that the PS Elements 2.0 demo (30 days use) included must have been a last minute addition. I did find his beloved Curves tool on the limited version of Photoshop 5.0 that came with my camera but otherwise this version of PS was lacking in the layering features that the author uses in all his tutorials and was inadequate to follow his examples. The Video segments (about 30 minutes) on the CD provided a nice "over the shoulder" demo of several of the editing features as used by the author. His on the screen cursor disappeared at times while he was pointing out details which made it harder to follow his verbal explanations. This book is definately just an introductory guide to image manipulation software so I have ordered two more books and PS Elements 2.0.

This is such a good book, I'm new to photography (as a serious hobby) and this is my 10th book. I read the scot kelby books and Mcnaly books and watched tons and tons of podcasts. I started reading this book as I wanted to get deeper understanding for the technical, creative and image capturing skills. This book has it all for me. If you just want to learn a little bit about photography this book is not for you. If you are interested in the science and technology this book will deepen your understanding and increase your excitement. This is a textbook so buy it with the same intention you do when you buy any other text book.

I looked quite hard for a good digital photography book...before I chose this. I selected this one based on some of the reviews. I was really disappointed in the few color plates, and the black and white picture examples made it very difficult to see the author's point of discussion. I found quite a few printing errors too...but I can live with that, although it does cast an unprofessional cloud over the book. I have a small Kodak digital camera so am familiar with the basic technology of digital. I was (and still am)searching for a good book that includes weighty information on the latest SLR digital cameras and their front and back end processes...this book doesn't address that for me. I also got a real negative feel for digital as I read about the first ten pages and it tended to show me all the problems inherent with this technology. Thanks to Amazon who is giving me a refund...and I will continue my search.

Excellent book! Ben Long did a wonderful job on this book. I'm currently in the process of buying a pro-consumer digital camera (something at least 6 mega-pixel using CMOS or CCD technology) and this book helps me understand the wonder of digital cameras and how I could maximize any limitation of the equipment. There are many other similar books out there and I own several of them (4 others), but this is by far my favorite.

I found this to provide a wealth of information on the digital photo revolution as well as providing an exhaustive treatment of processing after the photograph.I learned a lot and am still learning a lot. I downgraded the manual 1 star because of the reliance on the use of Photoshop which I don't have even though sample software is included with the book.

Although I have the first edition, it is really excellent and explains the technical aspects of digital photography with great clarity. I am anxious to see the newer edition's updates on How To Choose A Digital Camera since so much has changed in the past 3 years, but otherwise the 1st edition is sufficient for my needs.

I had my doubts when I bought this book because the book is over 2 years old. I wanted to learn about cameras to be able to make a good selection when I bought one but I was afraid the book would be too out-dated. I was suprised when I started reading. It gives you a good universal view of all digital cameras that are still applicable today. It teaches you the concepts from the inside out including technical terms. I was even impressed with the section on Photoshop, because I have worked with the program for two years and I still learned really interesting concepts. I now know what camera discriptions mean. It is worth the money but I would really recommend this book for a person who wants to purchase a camera or who has a camera and wants to understand the technical side of it better.

This book lives up to it's title. It is a great book for those just starting out, or for the advanced amateur switching from film to digital. Everything about digital is explained, from how the image is captured to how to print and present your final image. It's a great overview, with some excellant references for the more detailed topics. BUY IT!!

I graduated in photography in 93, just before digital was considered serious photography, unless you wanted to spend $ 13,000 on a less than a megapixel camera. I had a view camera and a decent 35 mm and a canon D60 second generation camera. I used digital for many jobs, but film was still the top choice.

When I decided to upgrade my camera and software, I found that I was behind on both accounts, and needed an information source that would make me understand digital as close to what I know about the film process. This book was the link I needed.

For photographers coming from film and still not so sure about digital, (sometimes, but fewer and fewer times, film beats digital, but not by as much as a film photographer thinks anymore). This book was a great source to understand the digital process as well as I understood film. Although it has explanations that are for true beginners, I still had things to learn.

But when it came to digital workflow and photoshop CS3 resources, it made me realize how many hours I had lost in post processing doing things using older versions of photoshop, and missing out in many features that did the work for me, it made me regret not buying it sooner, it now saves me 70% of the time I used to take from organizing to processing and preparing the photos for their different outputs. I was a film photographer in a digital world, doing things the hard way, and not knowing it.

For film photographers needing to upgrade, and for beginners this is a MUST, even if some of the basic information is not new, the way we do it now is. You will need more books after this one, sometimes more technical ones, sometimes to detail newer techniques (like HDR photography). But this should be digital photo 101 for old school photographers and semi-pro enthusiasts.

The exercise CD was a great help, especially when I needed to learn more about ps curves and masks, things that I barely used before (used to do it by hand), since when I was in school we had photoshop 3.0, I had a lot of tricks to learn. Great job Ben, I will look more carefully at all your books, this one "hit the spot" for me.

This book explains entry level concepts well and touches upon all the topics one would need to start using a digital camera proficiently.
I only award this book 3 stars since it appears that no editing or proof reading took place prior to going to press. Also, the author explains that there is more material on his web site. However, the web site appears to be still under construction, even thou this book was published in 2001!
Hope this helps.

This book is LACKING much needed information. I am a serious amatuer digital photographer. I was hoping for a book with good examples and several colored photographs. This is one fat book and it only contains EIGHT COLOR PAGES with POOR EXAMPLES.
Ben Long (the author) just "touches" the subjects and never bothers to go into much detail. He also does not offer many suggestions or situations when manual functions would be helpful. Charts with examples might help (but they do not exist within this text).
I also agree with the other[Amazon.com]reviewer that stated that this book needed an editor or proofreader. While reading this book I came across SEVERAL ERRORS (one error in a book is too many and this book contained many).
This book did not offer me any assistance in mastering the art of digital photography. I wish I had spent my hard-earned dollars on a different book :o(

I enjoyed the chapters about digital cameras, that what this book is about, but I feel there are far to many chapters devoted to image editing with photoshop. Although there is a demo version on the CD I don't want to learn photoshop, I use PSP and if I want to learn more about image editing I have several books devoted to teaching PSP!
If you want to learn about digital cameras and Photoshop this is an excellent book,

Ben Long's book on digital photography is one of the best primers I've come across. It could have been titled "Ben Long Explains It All." Mr. Long keeps just the right balance between technical detail and broadly accessible simplicity in his discussion of virtually everything most photographers really need to know. Yes, there are far more tecxhnical discussions of the digital photographic process available, but this one really does cover 99% of what almost any photographer needs to know outside of technique--and he even covers a bit of that as well. For the past few years now, I have been using this as a textbook in several of my more basic digital photography courses, and my students all rate the book quite highly. It's also the book I recommend to any of my friends who want to learn about digital photography. I'm looking forward to seeing what's in the upcoming edition.

Digital photography is a fast-moving target, and this book manages to keep abreast of the latest changes with valuable information that's vital for anyone doing digital photography. It explains all the key concepts clearly and completely, with lots of advice on getting the best photographs with any type of digital camera. I would have liked additional coverage of digital SLRs, but I have found that elsewhere, and still prefer Complete Digital Photography's treatment of the broader topics.

I bought this book at the same time I bought my first DSLR. I intended to use the book as a supplement to a 5-week class I took on digital photography and that is what I would recommend it for. As a stand-alone book, I am not sure that it would serve a novice photographer as well if it is used simply as an introduction and not in conjunction with an instructor-led course. The book provides great technical background and goes into a lot of detail about digital photography, not just photography. I wish it had more illustrations as the text becomes dry pretty quickly but then again, the merits of this book are its technical depth and details. There is a very long chapter on how to select a camera so if you have alrady bought one, this chapter would be pretty irrelevant to you. I still browsed it but keep in mind the book is a little dated in that respect. Nevertheless, I feel the book gave me a good foundtation and I definitely had a better graps of shutter speed, aperture, depth of field than everybody else in the class who relied on the instructor and the handout alone. I plan to continue using this book as a reference and expand my photo library with books on specific subjects/genres/techniques.

I am not a professional photographer, although I have owned more than one digital camera and recently purchased my first digital SLR. I have acquired several digital photography books over the past few years. No single book can do it all, but if I could have only one this would be my clear choice. The writer is a pro, as one reviewer noted, but his writing style simplifies the subject to the extent possible. If a person only wants to learn the basics for shooting in Auto mode then the camera's user guide will usually suffice and another book probably isn't necessary. I first read this book rather rapidly, start to finish. Since then I use it frequently as a quick reference, picking subjects as needed to refresh my memory or acquire more detail. The book is well organized and it's easy to find particular topics. The author covers pretty much the whole scene including camera selection, digital technology, composition, working with digital files, producing prints, and use of photo editors with emphasis on Adobe products. If you are a reader who truly wants to acquire useful information and who is willing to think, then I recommend this book.

This is a very complete book that takes you from soup to nuts, with some very tasty and filling side dishes along the way. He explains the differences between film and digital photography and gives a lot of good advice about choosing cameras, etc. I have quite a bit of digital experience, and 18 years desktop publishing experience and I still learned valuable info in each chapter.

I spent hours in local bookstores examining the various digital photography books. I did not like most of them: they either assumed the person had knowledge of regular photography so they focused on only how the digital aspects work, or they were too simplistic (this is a lens cap, this is a button), or they were too much into jargons.

This book is very well balanced. It explains all concepts in plain english, discusses all the various options found in most digital cameras, and has a good balance between two parts of the process: taking the picture and processing it afterwards.

As such it is an excellent all around reference book and tutorial for beginners who want to understand the concepts and be able to apply them.

I am a traditional film photographer and what I really needed was a book that could bridge the gap between film and digital. This one really does that well. It starts with a review of digital cameras, but more important, goes into a discussion of the important factors in film and them moves the discussion of these important factors into the digital field. Great book, highly recommended.

I started learning photography 25 years ago, and have spent 15 years as a travel writer/photographer based in Hong Kong, I have only in the past few weeks made the transition to a digital SLR, as I was sceptical about digital cameras over film SLRs. This book has smoothed the way for the switch, and I can't speak highly enough of it. There are many books on photography out there that are superficial - great covers masking a lack of substance. That is why I check out the Amazon book reviews before making a decision on which one to buy. Complete Digital Photography is absolutely thorough, and makes a complex subject easy to understand. No need to say more. The reviewers have said it already. Buy it! You won't be disappointed.

Excellent. This is the best book I have ever read on digital photography and I think on photography in general too. His way of explaining things is very simple and understandable. And, yet, he explains things I have never read elsewhere....exactly how a digital camera works, how lenses work, why some autofocus systems are better than others, etc. etc.

Highly recommended!

If I had to suggest a single book providing a Complete introduction to digital photography, I would have no doubt to go with this book. As an introduction it perfectly fits the need as it succeeds in covering virtually all of the topics faced when going digital (and not only) without leaving the impression of being too superficial. Of course it can be deemed to be Complete in absolute terms and in depth coverage of each single topic, that'd be impossible in a single book. One of the greatest pleasure of (digital) photography is that it's the sum of several broad topics that well worth being explored individually: if you think of Composition, Exposure, Lightning, Post-Production, you'll soon find that the literature provides dozens of books specifically dedicated to each of them. That's why putting all this together is a complex endeavor and requires a careful thinking and organization.

Going into some more detail about the book's organization, I particularly appreciated the underlying idea. So much that I couldn't tell it better than the author himself: "[...] we've been studying the theory behind all the different parameters that affect the creation of an image, as well as the controls that you have for manipulating those parameters. I have been calling this the craft of photography. Photographic artistry is the process of using these craft skills to represent a scene--whether it's a portrait, still life, event, landscape, or abstract--in a way that evokes some of what the subject makes you feel." And indeed, as an amateur, I feel the compelling need to improve in both, something in which the book proved helpful. Moreover, I was completely new to post production and through this book I got the necessary fundamentals. As rough figures, keep into account the book has the first 300 pages about dedicated to everything involved in getting the image in your camera and some 270 following pages talking about images management and post-production. It's not everything you should know about this, but they're definitely enough to start with.

On the specifics, it was kind of a very appreciated surprise reading the topic in the first chapter ("Eyes, Braing, Light and Images", i.e. how we see) as well as the chapter on composition and the idea that to improve in this the first need is to Learn to See (or gain back again this lost capability we had as children). As a computer scientist, of course I found interesting the coverage of the technological aspects that lie behind the whole process of acquiring an image.

Looking for similar books, my personal experience has brought in my hands two other interesting books, namely Dickman and Kinghorn's Perfect Digital Photography(Second edition) and Michael Freeman's Pro Photographer's D-SLR Handbook (A Lark Photography Book), which would respectively be my second and third in place alternatives. (Note however that Michael Freeman easily gets back on the throne with his other many excellent books, including bestsellers like The Photographer's Eye: Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos and The Photographer's Mind: Creative Thinking for Better Digital Photos).

I received this book shortly after ordering it from Amazon.com. I recently purchased a new Canon Rebel T2i digital slr camera. I bought a couple books on this specific camera, which were both fine, but I also wanted a book that would teach me about the entire gamut of the digital photography world. After reading reviews on this book, I decided to buy one. It is without a doubt one of the best and most comprehensive books available on the market to cover this topic. If I could only have one book on digital photography, this one would be the one. It has 22 comprehensive chapters covering the theory and practice of photography, cameras, workflow, and several very detailed chapters on how to modify your pictures with Adobe Photoshop. Why spend money on an expensive correspondence course or online class when you can get all the information you need from this book? It is not the kind of book that you can read in one sitting, with your feet up and sipping a glass of wine. However, if you are a good reader and read this book in sections as your photography skills develop, you will become a better and more knowledgeable photographer. I would recommend it for the motivated individual, or as a textbook for someone teaching photography. It is an excellent selection and one of the best that I have seen. It also has an excellent website with lots of good information available. Buy it and put it to use, you will not be disappointed.

I am using this book to learn digital photography. simple lessons that make learning easy.

Well written book with explanantions that the beginner can follow and learn from. Excellent book for both the beginner or amateur photographer.

I have used film cameras for over 50 years and thus come from a back ground of using this media. My reason for purchasing this book was to gain knowledge of the digital photography which I have only experienced with video cameras. I am finding the book very readable and appears to answer many of my questions relating to upgrading to a digital SLR.
Prior to reading the book I was feeling some concern at the thought of spending relatively large sums of money on new digital equipment but now feel much more confident. I like the layout and the order of presentation and would certainly recommend the book to others making the transition from analogue to digital photography.

Complete Digital Photography (4th Ed) is a good basic explanation of how digital photography differs from film. Having browsed the 3rd edition before buying the 4th, I found much of the 4th Ed to be repetitive and there was not substantive new material. That does not diminish the value of this book if you are getting started in digital photography. This book should be of value to the novice photographer as well as the accomplished amateur who is switching from film to digital. Warning: if you are looking for a book to guide you through the artistic side of photography -- the 'how-to-take-a-great-picture' instructions, this is not the book for you. This book explains how things work, why they work the way they do, and can serve as an excellent reference for the novice digital photographer as he or she gets more into the craft and wants to try new things. As a relatively accomplished amateur film photographer, it has eased my transition to SLR-digital.

I have never written a review on anything, but I felt compelled to write a few lines about this book. It is simply AMAZING! I went from nearly zero knowledge about digital photography to producing great looking images with my Nikon D40. As a matter of fact, I just put one of my first photos in a frame and I'm ready to hang it and display it in my home. The feeling of accomplishment is just great.

This very thorough book begins with a non-intimidating review of technical aspects of digital photography (focusing on digital SLRs), follows with tips for better shooting (composition, exposure, etc), and finishes with post-processing (color and tone adjustments) and output (printing). It truly offers EVERYTHING you need to dive into digital photography. The post-production tutorials are particularly useful. I would suggest that you download a trial version of Photoshop CS3 or get a copy of Photoshop Elements in order to enjoy tutorials in the included CD.

Five stars! No question about it.

This review will be, by necessity, a little incomplete ,in that I read the whole book but the post processing part-I only skimmed
Nonetheless, I found this book to be highly readable, informative, and logically laid out. The author starts with basics- technical information on just what digital photography is. The second part is an outstanding treatment of how to choose the appropriate digital camera for one's needs, while the third part has tips on shooting & the last part on post processing.
The author accomplishes what I consider to be an extremely difficult task. What's that? Taking an extremely technical topic and explaining it in thorough but understandable way.
Some may think there is a paucity of pictures; just check out the enclosed CD. There may be other other equally good books out there-no doubt.
But my point is this is excellent choice and is money well spent. And it really doesn't matter your skill level-there is much in here to chew on regardless of your level of expertise.

The reviews below are based on the first edition of the book. The second edition, released in December 2002, is 4 color throughout and completely updated.

Bought this book to go along with Digital Rebel XT purchase. The book has not disappointed. Explains everything there is from aperture, exposure, shutter speed etc in great detail yet easy to understand. Recommend it to beginner, intermediate & expert alike

This book is incredible! It deserves nothing less than 5 stars! Ben Long's Complete Digital Photography is about as complete as complete can be! I don't think the author left a single stone unturned. The book is laid out well making the text easier to understand and follow. The author begins by detailing the differences between the way the human eye sees a scene and the way the camera sees that very scene. He then describes the different functions/features on digital cameras and how to use these functions/features to take better pictures or make things easier. After that a few chapters about the creative aspect of photography to teach you how to make your photographs more appealing. The remainder of the book has instructions and tutorials to teach you how to use Adobe Photoshop to edit your photographs and Adobe Bridge to help you organize, sort, evaluate and rank your photographs.

Before I read this book, I knew nothing about the different functions of digital cameras or how to use them effectively. But I also didn't have a full understanding of exposure and the different parameters that can be adjusted to fine tune exposures for a variety of scenes and/or situations. The author repeats several times throughout the book how the 4 adjustable elements related to a good exposure can be manipulated in a variety of situations. I feel that now I do have a good understanding of exposure. Now I just need to apply it to the variety of situations and make it part of me while most of it is still fresh in my memory.

This book is a fantastic value. It's full of a lot of knowledge and experience being offered at a great low price!

This book is clear easy to follow regarding the digital photography. It covers the basics to the advanced in an easy to understand format. As someone who is just getting back into photography after a 10 year layoff, this book has been an great help in understanding the digital age. Highly reccommended reading!

This book covers topics other digital photography books do not. The author Ben Long starts from basic and fundamental concepts and progresses to topics on the "finish product". Very worth the price. Just as the title says "Complete".

I just upgraded my camera and got this book to give me a little more knowledge of digital photography, and I found it to be a very useful teaching tool. It is complete, covering all the topics I wanted to learn. I was able to browse through and study just those things I needed help with, and then go back to my camera and use its features more effectively. Thank you Ben Long!

I am a semi-professional film photographer having published 100 or so images and am making the transition to digital. I am also interested in keeping the cost down, especially for software. The book is well-bound on high quality paper. It is helpful but I find its emphasis on Photo$hop annoying. He claims to be software agnostic but virtually every software manipulation example uses Photoshop. He spends considerable space on hardware, which is changing so rapidly I wonder if the info will stand the test of time. Otherwise, I found this better than some other books I read, more thorough and with details on workflow and improving image quality that are easily followed.

This is an introduction to digital photography book that you can read from cover to cover (I did). I just purchased my first DSLR after many point & shoot cameras and I believe it's vital to know the info covered in this book in order to upgrade your photography skills to match your new equipment.

Highly recommended.

This book reminds me of a college textbook but its easy to read and gives you information on everything you would ever need to know about digital photography. Ive already finished reading the book once and im almost done reading it a second time. I would recommend this book to any advanced amateur. It also gives you lessons in photoshop that are easy to understand! Dont buy any book before picking this one up first!!

As an utter amature with an interest in going part-time pro, I bought this book based on its customer reviews. I was NOT disappointed. Ben Long has an easy writing style with concise explainations that make the material accessible to anyone. He even interjects a bit of humor into a vastly technical subject which I expected to find dry and confusing. To the contrary, I was delighted by my own fascination with this textbook. It has turned into a pleasure read. I cannot recommend it enough -it removes the intimidation factor, and hold the reader's interest. This review is based on a slightly older edition, but I LOVE this book. Get it.

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