Camera manuals you can understand.

[Jim Bryant]

There are books that explain the camera functions in ways that we can understand you can go to Barnes & Nobles or another bookstore and check out The Magic Lantern Guides published by Lark Books has photographers who actually publish photo camera guides in layman terms on just about every dSLR made these days. go to Lark Books
Here ya go: Lark Books.

[PowerPix]

Funny, I just made a comment on manuals in another thread you posted in! You really do need a manual (an understandable one) if you are wanting to get the most from your camera. So many people think it's just a pick up and go type of thing.

[Jim Bryant]

I know, I thought that this might make an interesting thread for those who didn't want to read the earlier posted thread Or maybe, I'm just trying to reach 4K postings. These books are really good and easy to understand as they are not written by some camera tech, but a real photographer.

[PowerPix]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

I'm just trying to reach 4K postings.

Yeah, figured that was more like it....

[BEGM83]

ha ha ha i wont take this as a dig at my post earlier Jim, honest!

I will be going out and getting one before the new year - but i have stopped using auto now (Woohoo go me photos are in SYS lol) so thats progress!

Saying all that though, ive learnt more from having my brother (also heavily into photography but more into the techy garb than me) sit me down and explain all the gubbins on it which i find a better way of learning than from a book.

Whatever floats peoples boats really!

[amberskies]

I have the Digital Field Guide for my D60:
chapters.indigo.ca: Nikon D60 Digital Field Guide: J. Dennis Thomas: Books

It's much more helpful than the manual that comes with the camera!!

[Nathan deGargoyle]

I have the Magic Lantern guide for ny D70s. Much more useful than the Nikon "manuqal"

[candidrachel]

Thanks for the great idea Jim. I have ordered one for my Canon 40d.

I hope it it easy to understand. I am a clever woman and I don't have any learning disabilites but sometimes when I follow "instructions" my brain sometimes doesn't follow what I am reading.

Its a girl thing

[Jim Bryant]

Hahahahaha...that's why you practice, practice practice what you read so that it becomes second nature

[Dodge]

Funnily enough, after months of getting nowhere with my manual, my wife bought me the magic lantern guide for the a350 along with four of the 'Understanding' books by Brian Peterson and a Digital Field Guide by Tom Bonner.

Suddenly its all falling into place and making sense for the first time. Using the books combined, the very simplistic explanations of Petersons books, with explainations of how he got his images and then cross referencing with the camera model specific Magic Lantern book and the Field Guide has really helped me no end.

For a complete novice such as myself I can't recommend them enough.

The Brian Peterson books I have are :

Understanding Digital Photography
Understanding Close Up Photography
Understanding Exposure
Understanding Shutter Speed

The Magic Lantern Guide covers what to me is still the more technical aspects, whilst the Field Guide is kind of in between the others, and has some really neat practice exercises which help understand by doing what you just learned.

In a single afternoon with these books and an old teddy bear, I have gone from using auto or apperture settings, to feeling confident enough to be looking forward to my next trip out using only manual, for the first time. I even have a pretty good idea what all the camera buttons do now .