98 of 102 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Scott Kelby of camera guides, July 2 2009
By FredM - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: David Busch’s Canon EOS Rebel T1i/500D Guide to Digital SLR Photography (Paperback)
When it comes to useful camera guides, David Busch is the master. (The cover blurb notes that he is the #1 selling camera specific guide author, and I can understand why.) Like Scott Kelby he explains everything you need to know in a comprehensive yet conversational way, with lots of examples of how to use his tips. He provides something that none of the other guides, mostly rehashes of the vendor's manual, are able to do. Busch gives you an in-depth introduction to a camera like the Canon EOS Rebel T1i and to photography at the same time.
This book offers Busch's typical in-depth explanation of Canon's "upgrade" from the previous Rebel XSi. The T1i has more megapixels and the same full HDTV movie-shooting capabilities found in the professional EOS 5D Mark II. With such features, it is in many ways superior to Nikon's equivalent offering, the D90. Busch really understands the advantages of the T1i, and lays them out for you in his easy to understand style.
Need to learn how to set up and choose basic options for your T1i? Busch carefully explains every feature in about 150 pages of well-illustrated text. Other manuals skimp on these important details; Busch takes the time to clarify confusing choices, and refers you to later chapters if you want to learn more about the photographic techniques that use them.
Already understand your T1i's features and ready to master photography with your camera? Busch explains exposure more clearly in a single chapter than in entire books I've read on the topic. Ready to expand your lens collection? He includes an astonishingly complete chapter describing the best Canon lenses. Have you found that your T1i's sensor cleaning feature isn't perfect? Busch has a chapter that demystifies the scary topic of manual cleaning.
It's always a pleasure to review one of David Busch's books, especially his camera guides, because he doesn't follow the established paradigm of simply rehashing the vendor's manual with longer explanations. His approach is unique, and will help you become both a better Rebel T1i user as well as a better photographer.
47 of 50 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
This should have been included with the camera, July 3 2009
By Robert Anson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: David Busch’s Canon EOS Rebel T1i/500D Guide to Digital SLR Photography (Paperback)
Unlike the book Canon packs in the box with the Rebel T1i, this one is easily understood, and contains all the information you need in a sensible format. I am upgrading from a Digital Rebel XT, and have found that this book helps me learn all the features and adjustments quickly.
It contains many things the guidebooks I purchased for my XT did not have. Unlike the pocketsized books, this one is a full sized book with easily twice as much useful information and much more in depth explanations. It is better for learning your camera, and has much more complete discussions of the Custom Fn. settings and menu options than the other books I looked at. The pictures are all in color, not black and white as I found in another book, and are much larger than those used in the smaller digital field guide type books.
The writing style is friendly and great for a beginner, which I am not, and it also has a lot of depth. Busch really digs deep into the T1i's features and capabilities. He explains how to perfect your exposure, describes how autofocus works, and reveals the secrets of using Live View and movie-making. The Picture Styles section was very complete. If you're just starting out, this book will get you up to speed quickly. If you want to learn more about photography so you can use this camera better, it does that, too.
35 of 38 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another superb camera guide, July 4 2009
By Lzo. Tomas - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: David Busch’s Canon EOS Rebel T1i/500D Guide to Digital SLR Photography (Paperback)
I love Canon products and have been very happy with my 40D. I bought a Rebel T1i specifically as a backup to my 40D because it had more megapixels, and also includes HDTV movie making. I ordered this book at the same time because I was so pleased with the Guidebook he wrote for my 40D. This book is also easy to read and much more detailed than anything else available for the T1i, particularly the user manual Canon includes with the camera.
Like his previous Guidebook, this one has nine chapters that explain how to set up the camera, a listing of each of the buttons and controls, what they do, and how to use them, and an exhaustive chapter that explains all the menus settings, with both a listing of options available and, most important, which options are best for particular kinds of shooting. The manual offered by Canon confuses me on these points, but here I found all I wanted to know. I am now confident that I can set up my camera correctly in all situations.
Before reading this author's books, I had problems getting the correct exposure at all times and often had out of focus images even when using autofocus. Now I understand, especially when using the new Live View feature. The explanations are much more clear than in the small Guidebooks which are as the other reviewer says pocketsized. I would much rather have all the information I need than to have a smaller book. I recommend this book if you are new to the Rebel T1i or even if you are upgrading from a previous Canon EOS camera.