Beyond Point-and-Shoot: Learning to Use a Digital SLR or Interchangeable-Lens Camera [Paperback]

I am owner of one of Young's other books, Mastering the Nikon D7000. I appreciate his writing style because he presents very complex material in a down-to-earth way, making it easy to understand. I was able to learn a great deal about my camera from reading his Mastering series book, so I was quite interested in Beyond Point-and-Shoot for a particular reason. I consider myself a fairly good photographer so I didn't get the book for myself. I bought it for a friend who just got her first DSLR camera and was somewhat overwhelmed by the step up in complexity. My friend has been shooting with a point-and-shoot camera for years and doing wonderful work with it, however, recently she noticed the extra noise P&S cameras often create and also wanted to know how I blur the background when I take portraits of her. I told her about how the aperture controls depth of field and how you can use a camera with better lenses to do things like blur the background. With my proddings finally she finally bought a DSLR. I gave her a copy of Young's book to help her learn things like how lenses work and how the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all work together to control exposure. She is about half way through the book and tells me that it is easy to understand and has helped her learn what she needs to do to control the more complex DSLR camera. We are now out shooting together and having a great time. The book has really made a difference in her understanding of the most important aspects of photography.

I am quite impressed with Beyond Point-and-Shoot and thought I would try to write a good review of the book. The publisher of the book, Rocky Nook, is an outstanding company for photographers, making very high quality books about all sorts of photographic subjects. The book itself is made with a heavy glossy cover and end-flaps that can be used to bookmark your current location in the book while reading. The pages are thick, with nice dark type, and pictures that look like real pictures. That's important in a book about photography! It should last for many years and through multiple readers.

I think the intended audience for this book is previous point-and-shoot photographers who are in love with photography and have decided to move into the more advanced camera world, but are having some trouble with the extreme complexity of the new digital SLR and ILC cameras. This is not a camera manual. Instead, it is an introduction to the world of "real" cameras and how to learn the cornerstones of taking great images. I like the fact that Young does not just start flinging jargon at the reader. Instead, when a new, important word or concept is introduced, Young takes the time to explain what the word/concept means, instead of assuming the reader already knows. This is very important for a person who does not know, as Young puts it, "the language of photography." I know one thing, I had previously tried to explain to my friend how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together, and even though I do understand it, I found it very hard to get the concepts across. My friend read the chapter on "Understanding Exposure Controls" and was able to grasp the concepts right away. She had some questions for me, but it was a lot easier to help her after she had read the chapter. Chapters 3 and 4 alone make this book worth its cost. This would be a great book to give to a family member with a new DSLR, as a gift. It will help them develop the courage to take the camera out of "dummy mode" (automatic) and actually try using aperture or shutter priority, with the resulting benefits of better pictures. My friend used her new knowledge of motion control (shutter speed) to start taking pictures of birds. Young did a great job explaining how to control motion with the shutter and depth of field with the aperture. He used real-life examples that people will identify with, like the pupil of your eye for how the aperture works, and made it really simple to grasp the concepts presented.

Let me tell you a little about the actual book content. Here is a brief explanation of what each chapter covers:

Chapter 1 - Camera Types, Making a Choice: This chapter starts with a discussion of the types of cameras, including P&S, DSLR, and mirrorless ILC cameras. It gives information on how the cameras work including both similarities and differences. Then it progresses into discussing important information on how an imaging sensor works, the different sensor sizes available, and how to decide how many "megapixels" to use. This chapter also discusses digital noise and how to avoid it. It talks about camera brands, how to buy into a camera "system" so that you can grow as a photographer with few limitations, and even discusses the different levels of cameras (consumer to professional) so you can decide which level to start with.

Chapter 2 - Choosing and Using Lenses: This chapter is about lenses and how they work. It introduces and explains important concepts, such as: focal length, angle of view, how the size of the imaging sensor affects angle of view; wide-angle, normal, and telephoto lenses; zoom versus prime lenses, macro lenses, autofocus versus manual focus, and even how to buy a "three-lens kit." There is a good section on lens problems and how to identify them, such as: flare, light falloff, distortion, aberration, and how to recognize good bokeh in blurred backgrounds. The section on filters discusses why it is important to use only filters with multi coatings, and which filters are important for a new photographer.

Chapter 3 - Understanding Exposure Controls: Young starts out with examples of good and bad exposures and then introduces the concept of "three exposure controls for good exposure." This chapter is a well presented discussion of the control relationships between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO sensitivity. It illustrates each of the three primary exposure controls in a way that gives the reader confidence in their ability to experiment with and successfully use them. It helps the reader understand photographic terms like stops, EV steps, and f/stops.

Chapter 4 - Taking Control of Exposure: This chapter builds on the previous chapter's knowledge of exposure controls and helps the reader apply the new knowledge. Depth of field is carefully explained, by picture examples, and the reader learns to use the aperture to control it. Next, motion control (stopping or blurring subject movement) is discussed, with many example images helping to show what the shutter speed allows one to accomplish. ISO sensitivity is presented as a "base" upon which to build the proper exposure. This chapter is key to taking real control of the more advanced ILC and DSLR cameras.

Chapter 5 - Camera Modes and Controls: This chapter takes the reader into their camera, teaching them how the individual modes work. The chapter starts with a discussion of the types of exposure meters built into today's cameras, such as Multizone or matrix, center-weighted, and spot meters. It discusses the auto and scene modes (such as child, sports, party, etc.) and why the user should use them in emergencies but learn to progress beyond letting the camera control their photography. It then introduces semi-automated modes like Programmed auto (P), aperture priority (A or Av) and shutter priority (S or Tv), explaining how and why a photographer should use them to apply the knowledge learned in the previous chapter on "taking control." It then discusses when to use Manual mode (M) photography for those who want ultimate control over their cameras, along with when Manual is not a good idea. Young strongly favors using aperture and shutter priority modes and explains why.

Chapter 6 - Understanding Image Formats: This chapter is all about formats and covers the three most important ones, explaining their differences. Young discusses when and why a photographer should use RAW, JPEG, or TIFF modes. This chapter goes into a deeper technical, but well explained, discussion of some of the more confusing aspects of digital photography, by presenting a tutorial on bit depth and RGB channels. It leads quite well into the final chapter on the histogram, color space and white balance.

Chapter 7 - Histogram, Color Space, and White Balance: This final chapter is designed to help a digital photographer deal with things that can be quite confusing but are very important. Young's presentation of the histogram is easy to understand and shows a photographer how to use it well for a much higher percentage of correct exposures. He then explains how Color space affects how many colors the camera can capture with an eye to increasing the quality of the new DSLR/ICL users images. Finally, he ends the book with a discussion on white balance and how it works, along with tips on using the correct white balance for consistent color results.

The index in the book is very thorough and allows a photographer to use the book as a reference for later review. From the immediate results my friend received, I can recommend this book for beginning DSLR photographers or for those who have never really quite wrapped their brains around how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together. If you have been afraid to take your new camera out of AUTO mode, you won't be after reading this book.

Unlike the author of "Beyond Point-and-Shoot" I did *not* grow up with lots of photos being taken. The Kodak or Polaroid were hauled out for special events only--and even then family members found no reason to cooperate with the poor photographer, usually my mother.

This is a great beginner book for those of you who are getting into this area because of the great revolution that digital technology has brought to us. Cheaper, less technical, more flexible, more powerful access to image-making, saving, and manipulation for the rest of us.

Yes, we want to get beyond the easiest cameras because we recognize that stepping up offers more fun and opportunity. But the jargon--it's worse than computers! This succinct book has lots of images and clear definitions to get us past that. The index is serviceable, but you should not need it because the subject sections are clearly delineated.

After reading the first chapter I have learned more than any other book I've read on the subject.
Darrel Young explains hard to understand concepts with ease. I had never really understood Digital cameras till I read his book and now it's so clear in my mind I can explain it to others. He doesn't assume that you know anything about cameras, digital or otherwise but he doesn't talk down to his readers.
Reading this book was like unlocking a code. I now feel confident that I can find the right camera for me and use it without any problem.