Magic Lantern Guides: Canon EOS 30D
by Rob Sheppard
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Book Summary Information
Author: Rob SheppardBrand: Sterling
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09-28
ISBN: 157990971X
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Lark Books
Book Reviews of Magic Lantern Guides: Canon EOS 30D
Book Review: The 30D manual is better and free
Summary: 1 Stars
This book is a huge disappointment. Why are you thinking of spending $15 for a supplemental manual? If you're like me you want something that goes beyond the camera manual, a second resource that explains your new camera in more detail than the often abbreviated explanations in most manufacturer manuals. This book fails miserably.
First, the camera manual is much better organized. This guide wanders and meanders, the author repeats information and appears to be trying to pad the length of his guide to make it more impressive. He has two sections that repeat the same information about 30D file formats. He has three sections that repeat the same information about the LCD display, probably one of the simplest and most self explanatory parts of the camera. Other examples of redundancy abound throughout the book.
Second, the manual is actually more explicit than this book for many camera functions. In the section about histograms on the display the manual has an illustration, this book's author relies on pure verbal descriptions. In the section on manual focus he tells the reader to use the exposure meter system without any kind of illustration to explain what the meter is how it operates. The camera manual has a picture of the exposure meter and specific details about how it works.
Third, when the author does seem to be going beyond the manual he stays annoyingly vague. For example, when discussing the two types of tripod heads he only says they differ but doesn't say HOW they differ or what the advantages and disadvantages of each are. When talking about high speed flash synchronization he says that some flashes can operate with shutter speeds above the 1/250 second limit, but he doesn't explain how you can accomplish this.
Fourth, the book is full of unremarkable photos that poorly illustrate what the author is saying. Pictures of the camera lack any kind of pointers to specifically show what button or feature he is talking about. One picture illustrating fill flash doesn't show with and without comparisons to show the reader what fill flash can do. Some pictures simply don't have anything to do with the caption beneath it. One picture is supposed to illustrate the continuous 5 frame/sec shooting mode. But the picture is of an SUV driving down a dusty road...how does that illustrate the camera's feature? The printing resolution and detail is so poor that most of the pictures look amateurish or just bad.
Finally, in many instances the author simply rephrases information from the manual without adding anything new. He spends 8 pages detailing the custom functions available but each one is an almost literal copy of the manual, differing only in a few verbs or adjective used.
Don't buy this book. It won't provide you with any information that isn't in the manual and the information it does present is poorly organized.
Summary of Magic Lantern Guides: Canon EOS 30D
Packed with diagrams, instructions, and tips, Magic Lantern has become the world?s most popular brand of camera guide. Sturdy and well-produced, with laminated covers for long life and sized for portability, they have a tradition of helping photographers make the most of their equipment. This newest entry is dedicated to the just-released Canon EOS 30D. Canon has added or improved the following features, all of which receive in-depth coverage in the superb Magic Lantern style: a new and larger 2.52, 230K pixel, 170º wide viewing angle LCD screen; an 8.2 megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor; and picture style image processing parameters.
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