Rating: 
Summary: Essential Reference
Review: Real World Digital Photography is a reference book for digital camera owners of all levels. The book covers topics such as how digital cameras work, how to buy one, imaging techniques and fundamentals of photography. Real World Digital Photography is a book that you will refer to often. It authors, Deke McCelland (Photoshop Bible) and Katrin Eismann, are experts in the field. Real World Digital Photography is written in a clear, concise, understandable style. I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about digital imaging and getting more from their digital camera.
Rating:
Summary: very detailed, very comprehensive, and very useful.
Review: So far I have not seen a better book on digital photography than this one. The authors did a great job of thinking about every aspect, every problem, every question that a person considering switching to digital photography may think about. They start with general practical questions, such as what are the advantages and disadvantages of digital photography compared to traditional film photography, how good a digital camera should be for each purpose, how much a digital studio would cost and how this cost compares with cost of photography on a film. Then they describe at length how digital cameras work, what features they must have and may optionally have, and to which extent these features are useful. Then they discuss what computer, printer, storage device, and software you will need to edit, store, and print your images. Some basic operations in Photoshop are explained, including preparation of pictures for the web. Finally, there is a very nice introduction in the essentials of studio and outdoors photography. The style of writing is very nice - clear, detailed, but at the same time not too wordy. There is no silly jokes, and only as many pictures as necessary to illustrate the text. It is worth adding that since this book is not oriented at particular models of cameras, computers, or software, but rather deals with general ideas of digital imaging, it will not get out of date as fast as it happens with most books on computers and electronics. Books as comprehensive and detailed as this one are few, and I can highly recommend it for anyone interested in digital photography. About 400 pages full of detailed information are certainly worth the price of this book. I would characterize the level of this book from novice to intermediate, maybe even with some overlap with the advanced level.
Rating: 
Summary: Book Lacks a Clear Focus
Review: The back cover says the book is suitable for absolute beginners, intermediate and advanced photographers. I don't believe it's possible to write that covers all levels and "Real World" illustrates my point. There is a table that compares the costs of cameras and films with a $45,000 investment in absolute top end studio equipment (maybe there are three people who might be interested in this -- for the rest of us a wasted page). No comparisons for the person who takes snap shots, the amateur, or the advanced amateur (I would guess over 99 percent of the buyers of the book). At the other end there is an example of a scene taken with a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens to illustrate wide-angle image bending and telephoto image flattening. This is clearly of interest to beginners only. The book also suffers from a common problem in photography books. Much of the time the sample photos are much too small to illustrate the differences in resolution the authors are trying to show. The authors try to solve this problem with special color pages. Sometimes this works, sometimes not. The first color plate compares four digital cameras. The pictures are all of pumpkins but not the same shot. How do you compare? The best choice (according to the authors is a Kodak DC200). But the comparison with 35mm film is of two pumpkins of quite different color saturation. There is much material about specific products that will be obsolete by the time you buy the book if not when the book was printed. For example the three cameras the authors compare with 35mm film (Casio QV-10, Canon PowerShot 350 and Kodak DC200) are all no longer actively sold. The book also needs a good editing. There are obvious typos. Now having said all this, why do I give it 2 stars? If you want to know a bit about the technology behind digital cameras, digital photography, computers as they relate to digital photography and printers you can get a quick overview (enough for a beginner to ask some intelligent questions when he or she goes out to buy some equipment). There is a worthwhile chapter on studio lighting. There are useful hints that can improve your photographs (many of which you may have heard before -- move in close, angling the subject, rotating the frame, etc.). There is some good stuff in the chapter on Photoshop. All in all there are much better books on "taking good photos", and much better books on Photoshop (my personal favorite is "Photoshop 5 & 5.5 Artistry"). This is the only book I've bought that addresses Digital Photography in the large and it's probably the last I'll buy. I will probably buy more specific books on individual photography subjects. For example I've just bought a book specifically aimed at the Nikon 990. The field moves too fast. There is much better information in some of the forums; although I'll admit much of it is buried in a ton of clutter.
Rating: 
Summary: Generally Useful, But Too Broad a Mark
Review: The cover of "Real World Digital Photography" checks off the target audience level as Absolute Beginners, Intermediate, *and* Advanced. That may be the main problem with the book -- while there is a lot of useful information within, it's a bit all over the place and thus won't turn you into an expert at anything. This may be the author's goal, as they declare that their readers are "working professionals" -- those who need to use digital photography in their work: graphic artists, designers, editors, real estate agents, insurance adjusters, etc. However, it will leave experienced computer users looking to learn more about the Photography aspects of Digital Photography a little bit empty. I found a few of the authors' choices on organization to be counterintuitive. For instance, a long section on studio lighting in Chapter 8 that gets very advanced very quickly (e.g., comparing photofloods with halogen lamps with HMI lights, using light meters and grey cards) comes before the Essentials of Photography section in Chapter 9. Similarly, a chapter on Immersive Imaging and QuickTime VR -- taking panoramic shots, building interactive object movies -- (Chapter 11) comes before the chapters on Correcting Your Photographs, Preparing Images for Print and The Web, and Archiving Digital Images. You can, of course, always just jump to the section you need. On the positive side, the book is printed on high quality stock and includes tons of very valuable sample photographs, both in black-and-white and in four sections of color plates. Also, I found a number of valuable tips in the section on Correcting Your Photographs, such as how to use Adobe Photoshop features like the Unsharp Mask and manual image adjustment of "levels" (though the section does not pretend to be a complete manual of Photoshop's features). The authors have devised a useful categorization of camera types: Gadget, Entry-Level, Deluxe Point-and-Shoot, Professional Lite, and Professional. These terms are used helpfully throughout the book to refer to the various kinds of cameras that are available. For me, the book would have been much more useful had the authors expanded the chapters on photography itself and on manipulation of digital images to help you creat great photos, and less time talking about RAM, storage devices, and hardware; but I think that's because I'm more of a hobbyist/photographer with a lot of computer experience rather than an average computer user who needs to suddenly use digital photography in the workplace. Those users may find this work more valuable. A final note: The book is copyrighted 1999, and so it is a bit dated at this point with its references to prices and camera features.
Rating:
Summary: Digital Photography is the right book at the right time
Review: The current zoom in digital photography has spawned literally hundreds of thousands of "new" photographers and at the same time lots and lots of questions about this new craft. The &FOTOgraphics department at graphic-design.com has received hundreds of letters with all kinds of questions on how to take better digital pictures. Real World Digital Photography is what we'll be recommending from now on! Deke McClelland and Katrin Eisman have forged what will become the BIBLE of Digital Photography -- with the answers to everyone's questions about this new way of taking pictures. I recommend REAL WORLD DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY to anyone who wants to take their digital camera out of the realm of snapshots and into the world of industrial strength image techniques.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Bad start
Review: This book is a good start for perhaps someone that knows nothing of Digital photography. A lot of time is spent on the types of cameras and how to set up a shoot. I would have liked to see more information on actually working with the resulting photos.There are examples of this, but it would have been nice to have more focus on it.
Rating:
Summary: SUPER
Review: This book not only covers settings for the camera but takes you into saving, organizing and most important, into editing, particularly with Photoshop CS. This is not sugar coated obvious stuff but really gets into the pros and cons and the whys of their recommendations. Great for ex-film users and for the serious amateur.
Rating:
Summary: SUPER
Review: This book not only covers settings for the camera but takes you into saving, organizing and most important, into editing, particularly with Photoshop CS. This is not sugar coated obvious stuff but really gets into the pros and cons and the whys of their recommendations. Great for ex-film users and for the serious amateur.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific text on digital photography
Review: This book serves as a great reference and instructional text for all interested in digital photography. The sections on image enhancement and advanced digital darkroom techniques are indispensable to having a succesful digital workflow. Real World Digital Photography is a very welcome and useful addition to books on digital imaging and is applicable to both newbies and advanced users.
Rating:
Summary: If you only buy one digital photography book, this is it
Review: This is the best single, overall volume on digital photography that I've seen. Equipment selection, composition, lighting, camera settings, and post-production are all covered in detail. This is not by any means a "For Dummies" book. If you are seriously into photography and are willing to spend the time, this book is an excellent resource. The post-production material is very much centered around Photoshop. If are are interested in using another program, much of this material will be of limited use to you.
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