Field Guide or Magic Lantern Guide for the 40D?

[expats]

Heidi-Ho:

 

I'm picking up my 40D later this week and wanted some input on the best field guide to purchase.

 

With my 400D I bought the <i>Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D Digital Field Guide</i> by Charlotte K. Lowrie. It

was a decent guide, but a little on the simplistic side. I didn't pick up the Magic Lantern Guide. Living in

China, I have to shop online and can't look at the physical books before purchase.

 

I wanted to know if anyone has seen/used the <i>Magic Lantern Guides: Canon EOS 40D</i>? Are the Magic Lantern

Guides good? Or would is the <i>Canon EOS 40D Digital Field Guide</i> by (again) Charlotte K. Lowrie, better

than the 400D version?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Steve

[joseph_martines]

The accompanying manual which Canon provides leaves a lot to be desired. Such a shame to pay so much for a camera

and get such rubbish for a manual.

 

I had to wait about seven months before Magic Lanterns' Guide for the 40 D was available. I was happy with it and with the

DVD that is also available.

 

Depending upon your expertise in using a digital SLR the manual may be all that you need. Highly recommended.

[expats]

I would agree, Joseph. Canon's manuals are minimal, at best. The manual with the 580 EX II Speedlight was an

absolute joke. Thanks for your advice.

<p>

<p>Steve

[JDMvW]

I'm not so sure about the supplied manual being "rubbish", but I've had very good luck with the Magic Lantern series on older cameras. I think that the Canon manuals are better as reference than as learning guides, to be sure.

[akajohndoe]

Why not just take pictures?

 

While I do have some MagicLantern books, hands-on is highly preferrable.

 

Other than battery charge, wear and tear on the camera and memory card, and time, what have you got to loose?

 

 

Experiment! It could be fun for you.

[steve_brantley2]

Well, I bought both version for my 5D, and I can say the Digital Field Guide is far superior in content and illustrations. That makes me assume the 40D Digital Field Guide is the better choice.

[expats]

JDM: Very true.

 

DN: I will, but I'd like to have something to refer to when my experimentations don't go as expected. I'd like to be able to know the "whys" of certain functions.

[PuppyDigs]

The Canon manuals are not textbooks aimed at teaching you digital photography. They simply detail the names and

locations of camera controls and basic operation. If you need to know why you should use spot metering or AI servo, shoot

RAW or select flash averaging, you need to look elsewhere, take a class or experiment on your own. I prefer the minimalistic manual approach. Otherwise you'd be stuck with a thick volume nobody will read and won't fit in your camera

bag for quick reference.

 

The Magic Lantern Guides are among the worse written books I have seen: wordy, awkward prose, poorly translated from

German, terrible images and full of recycled "basic photography" material from older guides.

[expats]

Puppy Face: Thanks for your thoughts. Surely there is a compromise between Canon's minimalist approach and a text book? I'm not looking for a text book but some further elaborations on how the features and functions work might be useful. Yes, and small enough to fit into a camera bag.

[wvjoe]

Steve, I have been very, very pleased with the Canon EOS 40D Guide to Digital SLR Photography by David Busch. Having had several Magic Lantern Guides and comparing the 40d Magic Lantern Guide side by side in the book store, I have been very happy with Busch's guide. I learned quite a lot about the camera I would not have picked up otherwise. Just my input.

[lheusinkveld]

I had the Magic Lantern Guide for my first Canon SLR (film), and found it vastly more helpful than the manual, and with useful things that were not covered in the manual. So I bought the one for the 20D when I moved on the a DSLR, and frankly was very disappointed. There was nothing useful there that was not dealt with in the manual. I didn't bother with the one for the 40D. Once you are used to a Canon DSLR, I don't think you need anything more than the basic operation as covered in the supplied manual.

 

Why not wait until you have had a chance to use your 40D for a bit, and then decide what sort of additional documentation you need?

 

Louise

[kerry_grim]

Prior to my purchase of the 40D, I bought and studied this book: Canon EOS 40D Guide to Digital Photography, by David D. Busch. Available from amazon.com for $19.79.

 

I am not familiar with the Magic Lantern Guides, so I can not compare. However, this is a good book and highly rated. I would recommend it.

[andy_witkowski]

Canon EOS 40D Guide to Digital Photography, by David D. Busch.

 

I second that