photography book

[pheonix]

hi, my camera is on its way (panasonic dmc fz5) and im biting at the bit waiting for it to arrive, getting very frustrated seeing things i want to take photos of but cant?!

anyhow i have ordered a new memory card im looking for a spare battry but i was really wondering if any one can recommend a book or magazine that i can use for refference as to how to use different camera functions and general photography methods? (one that covers the basics is needed )

thanks

[wildone]

I would think that the camera will come complete with a basic book.

[glsammy]

Hi,
Good choice with the FZ5. I've got the FZ30, had it for a few weeks now and I love it. It handles and performs superbly and as yours uses the same venus II engine, you should benefit as well.
As for photography guides, what about the Web? Most books seem to be aimed at specific types of photography, i.e landscapes, travel, macro etc. Have a look at Amazon.co.uk and do a search for Photography guides, various ones come up including Travel landscapes, and How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera by Bryan Peterson (£15.99)
Personally I just love to dive into the camera and try all the various modes, you can see instantly if you've made the correct choice, and if not the beauty of digital is that you can simply shoot again until you get the shot you want.
Happy shooting!

[pheonix]

thanks, i'll have to see how i get on, and actually read the guide

im hoping it will arive today (fingers crossed!)

[Fourwings]

I think you have made an excellent choice Pheonix, judging from glsammys photos those Panasonics really deliver the goods in terms of image quality.

I agree totally with glsammy, the best way to find out what a camera can do is to dive in and have a play, the manuals are a handy guide but are often full of over-technical stuff that you will not need for a start, & should you read it all they only serve to confuse.

I've not used a Panasonic so I don't really know about their settings but my advice is to try getting used to working in the aperture priority mode as soon as you can, this gives you total control over setting the depth-of-field & lets the camera set the shutter speed accordingly. This mode is possibly the best for general photography & close-up/macro work.
Full auto( point & shoot) mode is ok for a start but there are just too many situations where it can be fooled into making the wrong settings for optimum image quality.

I can reccomend one book, that is Digital photographers handbook by Tom Ang, an excellent over-view of digital techniques with some very helpful tips and advice included. it costs around £18 and has just been completely revised & updated.

Look forward to seeing your images soon.

[BartonFlyer]

Outdoor Photography magazine is well worth the cover price - I'd go along with the others & say play around with the camera first beore buying a book - however what you may want to consider is how you process the images afterwards - most cameras come with some software. Photoshop is the bees knees (but ludicrously expensive). I use Corel PaintShopPro and there are lots of books around on that, plus a number of sites that do tutorials on using it in particular http://www.khiba.com/PSP/index.htm is excellent.
Cheers
Ian

[nightshade]

It is old fashioned but try the library for books, they will even order paperback photo books on occasion,if there is anything in particular ask online first.
ABE books have a good selection of 35mm based books by the excellent
Heather Angel her photo techniques are still applicable for flowers, butterflies, wildlife and at around £5 a go very good value

[Helen]

The only way to get to know your camera is to use it, use it and use it some more. Manuals etc are all very well, and useful as a general guide, but nothing beats on-hands experience.

[pheonix]

my camera finally arrived!!!!
but a little late so i couldnt take it away with me

well although fairly easy to use the basic funtions so im happily snapping away, it didnt come with a user guide in english so im trying to download one so i can figure out what some of the more complicated functions do!

so when ive finished playing ill see what pics i can post,
thankuo every one

[sweet pea]

Practical Photography.

Or you could change and buy a cannon 350d.