Table of Contents
Introduction. What’s in This Book?
Icons Used in This Book.
What Do I Read First?
Chapter 1: Gearing Up: Does Your Equipment Fit Your Needs?
The Savvy Shopper’s Camera Guide.
Design options: Point-and-shoot or SLR?
Picture-quality features.
Lens features.
Photo-enthusiast features.
Make-it-easy features.
Speed features.
Other fun (and practical) features.
So . . . is it time to upgrade?
Equipping Your Digital Darkroom
Sources for More Shopping Guidance.
Chapter 2: Extra Goodies for Extra Fun.
Buying and Using Memory Cards.
Memory shopping tips.
Care and feeding of memory cards.
Storing Your Picture Files.
Adding more hard-drive space.
CD storage.
DVD storage.
On-the-Go Storage and Viewing.
Protecting Your Camera.
Seeking Software Solutions.
Image-editing software.
Specialty image software.
Getting Support from Tripods.
Types of tripods.
Scrutinizing tripod features.
Checking out tripod alternatives.
Making Good Use of an Electronic Flash.
Types of electronic flash units.
What to look for in a photographic slave flash.
Acquiring Other Useful Devices.
A filter holder.
Filters.
A second camera.
Waterproof casings and housings.
Battery packs.
Chapter 3: The Digital SLR Advantage.
Six Great dSLR Features.
A bigger, brighter view.
Faster operation.
Lenses, lenses, and more lenses.
Better image quality.
Camera-like operation.
More control over depth of field.
Six dSLR Drawbacks That Are Ancient History.
No LCD preview? Meet Live View!
Limited viewing angles? No longer!
Lack of super-wide lenses? Improvements made!
Dirt and dust? Automatic cleaning has arrived!
No movies? Not always!
Too much weight and size? The gap is narrowing!
How Digital SLRs Work.
Managing dSLR Quirks.
Noise about noise.
The real dirt on sensors.
Going in crop factor circles.
Chapter 4: Working with Lenses.
Optical Allusions.
Primes or Zooms.
Pros for primes.
Pros for zooms.
Special Features.
Chapter 5: Top Ten Maintenance and Emergency Care Tips.
Keep Spare Batteries On-Hand.
Format Your Memory Cards.
Keep Your Memory Cards Clean.
Clean the Lens and LCD with Care.
Update Your Firmware.
Protect Your Camera from Temperature Extremes.
Keep Your Camera Away from Water.
Clean the Image Sensor.
Back Up Your Images Regularly.
Clean Out Your Computer's Hard Drive.
