Digital photography is very much film photography in some ways: you can take your happy snaps without picking up a user manual or reading any guide, or it can take a lifetime to master the instrument. The conventions in the taking of digital photographs are exactly the same as film photography, which is why author Dave Johnson, in How To Do Everything... , takes considerable time to explain the mechanics of taking a good picture.

Johnson takes an obligatory tour through the technology, explaining the differences between CCD and CMOS sensors, the common features of digital cameras and some of the jargon peculiar to digital photography. You get an idea where the authors sentiments lie with this opening chapter title called Welcome To The Future.

Exposure, white balance, composition and techniques in special situations are all explained with many of Johnsons real-life experiences with actual current models of cameras used as examples.

The real digital camera-specific part of the book is where you get the good oil on how to get the most out of what attracted you to the digital still camera over a 35mm camera in the first place. Special modes like sepia tones and panoramic scenes are dealt with, the advanced topics and treatment of the subject material making it the part where readers will want to push their equipment to the limits including the computer and software. Photographers moving from the film to the digital world will find this invaluable, although if youre coming from the computing side of things, then this will prove old hat. Then its into the smart stuff that you can do with the host PC and software to get those snaps looking and printing just right.

How To Do Everything... will not make you into a Photoshop whiz but it will help you get the basics down if you find the convenience of digital photography an allure too hard to resist.

David Lin