Next- The Negative: This book is VERY BASIC. If you read your owners manual that comes with the camera, much of what is in this book is covered in the owners manual.

I bought this book after I read my owners manual and took a simple photography course at the local college (non-credit for fun course!) This book was much more basic than I wanted. I found that I learned very little from this book because I had read the owners manual of my camera. However, I can see how this book might be helpful to a very beginner.

5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

"Basic" is an understatement...  Jul 27, 2001
If you know nothing about 35mm photography; if you have never held a 35mm SLR in your hands; if you need the low down on "how to" in the simplest form, then this may be the book for you. Otherwise, skip it--"basic" is an understatement. I gave my copy to a needier friend. Nat'l Geographic's "how-to" and the Kodak guide to 35mm photography (although both on the heavy side) are better choices and are both packed full of more advanced information (and exciting color photos)for down the road.

19 of 19 found the following review helpful:

Start your introduction to photography here  Jun 30, 2001
I started here and couldn't be more thankful. First, I must concede that to find any value in this book, you pretty much have to be totally ignorant about 35mm photography. However, if you are (like I was), it is EXACTLY what you need. To me, an absolute novice photographer is someone who has never shot a photograph using a camera other than a simple "point and shoot" model. You know you're this type of person if someone has ever asked you to take a photo for them with a non-point & shoot (e.g. a 35mm SLR) and you panicked because you didn't know how or didn't think you could. If this example doesn't suffice, then ask yourself this question: Do you know what "SLR" stands for and what it means? If not, then you need this book.

All told, this book is something like 112 pages long. However, I was able to read it in about 30 minutes. The reason is because the author gives you only the absolute basics you need in three or four sentences per page, with one or two visually explanatory accompanying photos. As such, it's PERFECT for explaining (and demonstrating) the nuts and bolts that you absolutely must know if you want to step up into a camera in which you have some control over the camera functions.

Beyond that, you will admittedly learn little. However, what little you learn is absolutely essential. I recommend buying it too (rather than just reading it in a library, for example) because I still refer back to this book every now and then to make sure I'm correctly understanding the more advanced techniques I'm trying to learn in other books. I can't say enough about this book. If you want a small compact easy-to-read introduction to the bare basics of 35mm cameras and photography, this is the one and only book you will need. Enjoy!