Digital Photographer's Handbook

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Summary: New to (digital) photography? This is a great book!
Review: A large portion of my work entails dealing with image manipulation on computers. I am very comfortable with Adobe Photoshop and other similar software programs, but I have never used an SLR camera, let alone a digital one. Although the first chapter was information I already knew about the technology aspect of digital photography, it would be great reading for someone who is new to the subject. I'll agree, the software emphasis is on Macs, but that's because if you know anyone who does any publishing work, they use a Mac.

The most useful and easily the best reason to own this book are the example photos. They are all in exquistite color! Heck, even if you could care less about digital photography or how to get the most out of your camera, this would make an excellent coffee table book because of the beautiful pictures alone. Each concept is beautifully illustrated with great example photos and explained in detail.

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Summary: Great for beginners as well as advanced photographers.
Review: A year ago I transitioned into digital photography, prior to which I used regular cameras (pocket as well as sophisticated) for years. I found Mr. Ang's book perfect for a mixed audience, as it covers basics as well as advanced concepts, all well illustrated with pictures. The color pictures really trigger ideas about what is possible with your own photographs.

A full 20 -30 percent of the book is devoted to what technology can help you do once the picture is taken i.e. using software. That is so critical in digital photography - and Mr. Ang gives umpteen examples and tips.

This is the kind of book you will use as a reference constantly. It is not for sitting down and reading from beginning to end - but using different parts as you mature into digital photography.

I borrowed it from my local library, and eventually bought it - even though I have several digital photography books already.

I definitely recomend this guide - especially at the fantastic Amazon price (cheaper than the store).

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Summary: One of the digicam/image editing books I've seen!
Review: As a relatively novice photographer (haven't owned one since my old Brownie Hawkeye) with some knowledge of computers and a new digital camera, I've been working my way through as many books on digicams and image-editing software as I can find. Some are pretty general, some are more specialized, but most seem to repeat the same mostly superficial information and advice on both photography and digital editing. This book is the great exception! Ang is a very talented photographer and this lushly printed... volume is crammed with his work, but he's also a very good teacher. The first part of the book, under the heading of "Total Photography," is a mini-course in types of cameras and lenses, lighting, optical physics, and the essential practical differences in using film-based and digital cameras. (There's also a survey of information on specific models of cameras, printers, and scanners, which will soon be outdated and which might have been omitted.) The second section, "Photography for the Digital Age," leads you through such topics as composition, zoom, optical distortion, color balance, and how to avoid or at least fix the most common mistakes; I learned a great deal from his clear explanations and visual examples. "A Compendium of Ideas" is almost a separate book, being an excursion through all the major categories of subjects that interest people with cameras, from buildings and travel to microphotography and high-speed sports; you'll want to return to this section now and then for leisurely browsing. "Radical Conversions" and "All about Image Manipulation" are worth the price of the book all by themselves, with very clear and often very detailed discussions of issues which I'm sure are old hat to experienced shutterbugs but which are new and often perplexing to me, including proper cropping, burning-in and dodging, sharpening, blurring, cross-processing, color vs. black-and-white, and lots of others. Ang is quite good at balancing received photographic wisdom with new digital ideas. He also gets deeply into such computer-specific subjects as levels, cloning, and the differences and similarities between channels, layers, and masks. (He seems not to have much use for such glitzy effects-filter tricks as stained glass and embossing filters, with which I have to agree.) "The Output Adventure" is very good on getting the color on your monitor to agree with the color your printer produces, and there's a final section on portfolios, copyrights, and the business of photography. I can't recommend this one highly enough.

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Summary: Beautifully done - Excellent content - I use it in my class
Review: As an instructor of digital photography at Florida Atlantic University, I recently selected this work for use as a required Textbook for all my classes. It is a must read for a variety of levels of experience. The selection of pictures, illustrations, use of color are well thought-out. Even the gloss-coat paper gives a notice of quality. Let me say this another way; I had already begun writing my own textbook, being unsatisfied with what was available, until I came across this book. My classes contain many diverse students, from practicing medical doctors, attorneys, e-bay retailers, photography enthusiasts, and of course college students. All are quite satisfied with this 400+ page work of art. ...

Rating:
Summary: not bad
Review: Except for the rather tacky Mac bias this is a very well written book. PC users can just ignore the silly comments and reap a lot of benefit from the knowledge Mr. Ang so kindly shares. Would really help anyone starting out. Good examples and illustrations make most concepts quite clear and understandable. Ignore the fruit plate and enjoy the meat. Well worth the money.

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Summary: A broad introduction to digital photography.
Review: Fist, I want to say that the layout and presentation of 'Digital Photographer's Handbook' was very functional and pleasing to the eye.
This book starts out with an overview of the equipment involved in digital imaging; cameras, printers, scanners and computers. There is a lot of good info for someone who knows very little about such things. I must mention, however, that the author is obviously biased towards Apple computers vs PCs, and frankly I find this inexcusable for what is supposed to be an impartial source of information.
Here is a excerpt from the "Mac vs PC" section:
"All Macs readily accept peripheral devices, professional models expand very easily, and all network as soon as you connect together two or more. On a PC, the addition of anything beyond a printer is tricky at best - at worse, which is not unusual, you will have to reinstall all your software."
If you know how modern operating systems work, you will realize how ridiculous that statement is. Now, moving on.
The author then gets into the actual photography- picture composition, perspective, color and exposure. All good things but not exclusive to digital photography.
The next section is the one that I found most useful: Image Manipulation. Image manipulation is what makes digital photography so great. I can take a bunch of pictures, then transfer them to my computer and adjust them to my heart's desire. A caveat here, though, is that the author uses Adobe Photoshop in the examples so if you use another program it might be difficult to follow.
The last chapter is about outputting your photos to a book or portfolio and is very well done.
As an intermediate photographer who knows about all the latest technology, this book was much too simplistic and broad for me.
I would have been better served by two books: one focusing solely on Photoshop techniques, and another on image composition.
But if you are a beginner to this subject, and want an all in one introduction, you would probably be well served by Tom Ang's 'Digital Photographer's Handbook'.

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Summary: Basic Digital Photography Book
Review: I bought this book as a Christmas gift for my husband, who has been into Digital Photography now for years. From some of the reviews I read before purchasing this book, this would be a great handbook for the beginner AND the more experienced photographer. Not so. I flipped through this book (thank goodness) before wrapping it. The first few chapters of this book discuss the basics, and I mean BASICS, of computers & photography. I know more than the average about photography just from being around my husband, and in the beginning chapters it's too basic for me. I have to give Tom some credit, some of the pictures were beautiful, and I'm sure as you read more into the book, there was probably more detail than I read. I would not recommend this book to anyone who knows the basics about digital photography, how to save & store your pictures & how to print, because you'll get a refresher course. There's also a LOT of nudity in this book, so I wouldn't recommend it for the younger crowd. Goodluck Tom on your next one.

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Summary: One of the most misguided books ... ever!
Review: I bought this book knowing nothing about photography, as I'm sure many others will. I wanted to learn about the technical aspects of digital photography and how they affect the image (such as exposure, aperture, focal length, depth of field, etc.) I already had a sufficient understanding of computers.

Needless to say, I shouldn't have bought this book. I don't know what Mr. Ang was trying to accomplish with this one, but it seems to me that he gathered every topic that is even remotely related to digital photography, all the while ignoring the relative importance of these topics and what they contribute to the book as a whole.

The first chapter is the culprit, which is unfortunate because I might have spent some real time with the book otherwise. In it, Ang begins by spoon-feeding us information about which digital camera to buy. The problem is, how many people are going to buy this book before they buy a camera? And how significant would Ang's 20-word blurbs be in the process anyways? And how long is the information going to be current? And ... right.

After that, Ang completes the process of diving off the deep end, and gives us all modes of useless information ranging from the innards of LCD monitors to how inkjet printers work and how to adjust your computer chair. I most definitely could not believe how ridiculous the first chapter turned out to be.

After the first couple chapters, we're given photography techniques for many, many different scenarios. If this book has a selling point, those techniques would probably be it. Unfortunately, I'm more interested in the practical side of photography than the artistic. Nice photos, though. For each scenario, Ang basically says, "This photo turned out nice because I did this to it. You can do this too."

This (somewhat) useful content is sandwiched between the aforementioned first chapter and even more useless babble (like how to protect your computer from viruses). Reading the book was emotionally draining.

And I still don't know what f-stops are. Please avoid.

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Summary: The perfect book for the ADD photographer.
Review: I'm just learning, but I know one thing. This book is NOT the boring, black and white "Bueller...Bueller...Bueller" type of book. It's colorful and chaotic with tips and tricks strewn about the pages. Helpful and practical tips will answer a bunch of questions by showing photograpic examples and befores-and-afters. I learn best be seeing what I want and then someone telling me how to get there. That is this book. It's not a "This is your camera. Your camera has buttons. The button labeled [A] will allow...blah blah blah...snore". Lots of luv to Tom for a well done book. THNX Tom!

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Summary: Not for beginners
Review: If you are a beginner, learning photography and all the tricks you can do with it in a photoshop program you have on your computer, this book is not for you. I took a couple of photo / imaging classes and though this book was recommended by the instructor, IT IS NOT EASY FRIENDLY. It contains a lot of information but, nothing that is a step by step process in doing a project.