Canon Powershot G12: From Snapshots to Great Shots

This is an absolutely great book. Recommended on Amazon as I had purchased something G12 related in the past, I downloaded a sample chapter to the Kindle (a dangerous action at the best of times) and I was hooked. From Snapshots to Great Shots takes the very prudent and useful tact of assuming you already have the manual and want to go beyond ... but here's the rub, it doesn't just go advanced ... it bridges the gaps from manual and adopts a very practical and hands-on approach to taking great pictures. It doesn't assume you just want to know how to use the camera...it teaches you how to use it to take great pictures. This may seem rather obvious but the approach of all too many manuals is simply directed at explaining every feature as opposed to identifying a use and explaining in simple, but applied terms how you accomplish it. What does this mean in practice? Well, what hooked me was a quick introduction and then an introductory chapter that identifies the first 10 practical things that you can do to get up and running with your new G12. Make the right adjustments to settings, charge your battery and get shooting. The chapters each are provided with solid exercise following to get you using the things you learn. The book is all about good solid advice based on the author's own experience. The section on how the triangle of ISO, aperture and shutter speed combine to produce the desired image is probably the clearest most understandable explanation that I have found in any photography manual and this sets the tone for the approach taken by the author. Although advice by the author is to make sure you read the first four chapters in sequence and then by free to browse and jump about, I found the entire presentation so compelling and chockfull of advice I could immediately put to use that I just grabbed my G12 and started shooting and following along through the book. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is well written and for me absolutely perfectly positioned to give the the advice needed to start using my G12 to its utmost. It is practical, fun and has give me a great new re-engagemwnt with photography.

If you already know how to take great shots with the G12 and are looking for a book to give you a few tips on how to get even better shots, then this book isn't for you. If you are the type of person who bought the G12, but always uses the auto setting because you think ISO means "in search of", then this book is for you. If you don't have a clue what the purpose of AF Frame, white balance or anything else that the G12 is capable of doing, then this book is also for you. The G12 was my first advanced point and shoot camera and I didn't want to use just the auto settings. I wanted to not only learn and understand the features of my new camera, but I wanted a book that taught me how to take full advantage of my G12. I had a lot of questions like when should I should use this, why I should use that and how do I use it with the G12? Those questions and more were answered in this book. The things explained are the basic things you would learn if you took a beginners class in photography, but you learn it using the G12. This was exactly what I needed. I needed to know where each setting was, what was the purpose of each setting and when should I use them. What I also liked were the little photography assignments in the book that helped you along the way. I found the book easy to read, follow and understand. My only problem was that I didn't realize the author was in "P mode" when going through the top 10 list of things to do first. Other than that, this book turned me from a beginner to an intermediate photographer. Note: You will still need to read the manual to get a basic idea of your new camera, however I did skim through it and went back to it from time to time if I felt the book was missing something. At least read a few pages of the manual because well, everyone should read it.

The author made good suggestions as to which menu items to use and how to set them. The screen shots of each selection were valuable to insure that my menu selection was correct.. It saved a lot of experimentation.

Having only used an Olympus point and shoot up until now, I wanted to be able to shoot better photos with my new Canon G12. I have just finished chapter four as the author suggests reading the first four chapters before skipping to other areas that interest you. I have learned more about the camera from this book than the literature that came with it (although I do admit that I haven't looked at the CD yet). I am a newbie to camera settings other than "auto" so it has been interesting learning how the different settings affect the image that you want and there are several sample images in the book that show comparisons between the settings. The book is easy to follow and the writing is actually interesting, not dry as you would expect from a technical manual. Oh, and I can't wait to try the setting that makes things look miniaturized!

I am really glad I bought this book, it provided a user-friendly approach to learning the complicated and powerful features of this camera without having to wade through menus on a CD ROM. The two canon cameras I had owned in quick succession before this one (Canon Powershot S100, and then the S95...both with good stories with how I lost them), would have been much more useful had I acquired a guide, I learned that I am not one that wants to read a camera manual cover to cover, but Carlson's book demystified all the features and settings without being cumbersome, and reinforced them with assignments. Much cheaper than taking a digital camera course, and accelerated my knowledge of how to use a camera properly. In addition, I am really glad I selected the G12. It is much easier to hold compared to a rectangular compact camera, and takes superior photos to the S100/S95 which took forever to focus. It is worth the extra size/weight, and maybe this time I'll notice when it's missing.

I've always had high-end compact cameras, never having wanted to make the leap to a digital SLR with all the weight and paraphernalia involved. However, with a camera like the Canon PowerShot G12 Digital Camera (High Sensitivity 10 MP, 5x Zoom) 2.8 Inch Vari-angle Purecolor LCD , the functions are not far off what you'd find on an SLR and although I've had the camera for three months, I've still not really made a lot of headway in learning what all those dials and settings are capable of. The manual was just too much of a slog, and in any case, being only available on CD, it was not the most convenient way of reading about the camera. From Snapshots to Greatshots G12 was the answer to my problem. At last a book which majors on the practical. This book assumes nothing. It starts of by briefly explaining what all those dials and buttons but straightaway get you experimenting with the camera. Each chapter finishes with a list of assignments so that you put what you've learned into practice immediately. Even in the first chapter I learned about the focusing flexizone (something I'd never heard of before) and showed me how to move the focus zone around the subjet I was photographing. Chapter 2 explained all about focal lengths and gave me advice on how to optimise these for portraits and landscape shots - and the many illustrations in the book really helped me understand what I was aiming at. The book advances steadily through the creative modes, taking photos of moving subjects, how to get a great portrait shot and optimising the settings so can get the the best landscapes. Later on we learn about the more complicated features like bracketing exposure, dynamic range correction using an external flash - and we even get a chapter on using the video settings. What I like about the book is that it misses nothing. By the end you've walked through every feature of this great camera - nothing will be wasted because of your ignorance. I am not saying that you will remember everything you learn in one reading, but you can keep coming back to review what you need for every photography situation. The book is supported by some great online resources including flickr galleries of every image in the book, and a flickr group where users can post their own images and discuss the contents of the book. Really, with a camera like this you need something to help you get the best from it. Without this book you'll probably never get the best from your G12, but with it at your side you have the potential to become a highly competent photographer.

Wasnt sure what to expect. Great book for the price good for beginners who want to learn more. The G12 camera is a good camera for thee who want to learn about having more controls of camera and pictures this book is a good guide.

Tutto quello che c'è da sapere sulla G12, in inglese, ma spiegato molto bene. Ci sono cose che se non le sapete, sul manuale non le troverete mai. Ottimo

very informative

Ho acquistato questa fotocamera lo scorso Natale, e dato che volevo apprendere di più sulle sue qualità e potenzialità ho acquistato questa guida. Ho iniziato a leggerla da poco, ma posso dire che descrive da molto vicino tutte le vari funzioni, dando qualche dritta e consigli utili. L'unica pecca, per chi non conosce l'inglese, é che non é tradotto in italiano. Problema inesistente per me! Consiglio