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1. 
   David J. Marcou

   Understanding Digital Cameras: Getting the Best Image from Capture to Output, by Jon Tarrant. Focal Press, Elsevier: Amsterdam, Boston, London, etc. Paperback, 346 Pages, 2007, [...]
   
   Reviewed by David J. Marcou for Publication on amazon.com –

   Two very worthy elements reside side-by-side in this excellent follow-up to the 2003 predecessor book by this gifted author, `Digital Camera Techniques’ – i.e., excellent technical insights into every aspect of digital camera work, and human touches of kindness and interest.
   
   Jon Tarrant has put in his time over the years experimenting with and analyzing cameras, prints, and related photographic equipment and supplies, especially with regard to the human life around us. And though he always writes with a fresh eye for that life, he has paid his dues. He has edited three international photo magazines, including the `British Journal of Photography,’ and he still writes technical studies for that magazine. He has also contributed both writing and photos to many other magazines, newspapers, and books. In addition, he is very good about employing others in his books, like other photographers (including Paul Stewart, Michael Ruskin, and Andrew Stevens), who have joined him with model images that teach in basic and advanced ways, how to operate and utilize digital cameras and images.
   
   One lesson of particular merit is the notion that a flash warning light should not always be heeded. Too many times, people use flash to spoil images, by wiping out visual details in the foreground, like shadows and silhouettes that would be gorgeous without flash. On the other hand, Jon also points out how fill-in flash can be advantageous, as when one is shooting a family portrait with family members standing backs to the sun. Other key lessons include keeping your subject in focus despite, or while showing, movement or complex fields of view. Fine-art printing is also covered, as is color quality, plus working with models, among many related subjects here. Jon also points out that a photo should generally be in-focus when made, but that the Normal setting not the Fine/Sharp setting should be utilized in-camera, with exceptions to be sure, so the image can be sharpened further, on-computer.
   
   In `Understanding Digital Cameras’, one feels that Jon Tarrant fully understands each camera’s and subject’s basics and nuances, and imparts his carefully obtained wisdom to the reading public – a public he continues to capably educate in the most advanced forms of modern photography.
   
   
   Rating: 5 / 5

   January 24, 2010 7:28 pm | #1
2. 
   Robert S. Lyss

   I couldn’t agree with the previous review writer more. This is an outstanding book. If, however, you’re just starting out in digital photography and want to learn the basics, this book may offer more detail than you want. If you’re a bit farther along and want to know some things like how sensors work or why lenses made for digital photography differ from lenses made for film cameras, this is your book. The author goes into quite a bit of technical detail in a way that is never overwhelming and usually a lot of fun.
   
   The book is also printed well and the numerous illustrations are excellent.
   Rating: 5 / 5

   January 24, 2010 8:14 pm | #2