My bias is that most people should focus more on taking good photographs - paying attention to lighting, exposure, composition, etc. - than on technology. It takes a lot of editing to fix a bad shot. So the fact that this is written by a photographer is another big plus (though he appears to do mostly coffee table books, rather than guides).

A better book for some is Steve Bavister's Digital Photography. It's much clearer on the key fundamentals of photography. It has less detail all around, but that is a plus for those who want the main ideas quickly or looking for an accessible introduction. That's the book I bought for my teenage nephew; he's smart, but given his limited experience, I thought it better to give him a book with more emphasis on photography.

Note that Freeman's book discusses technical aspects of hardware and software generically, not specific to any program, which may be a negative for those users looking for a step-by-step guide to their programs or software. Also, if you don't think you'll ever do more than resize or fix red-eye, the technical discussion may not be much use to you. OR, it may open your eyes to what can be done!

Another set of alternatives, for a narrower group of users looking more for specifics on the technical aspects of hardware and software, are books like Long's Complete Digital Photography. But those books don't use photos and illustrations in the text, and are written by technical writers - not photographers. They emphasize the "digital" far more than the "photography," and aren't good as an all-in-one first book.

This is one of many books where the rating really depends on the fit to your needs. My 4 rating assumes that you are a match ... it may be the wrong buy for some.

30 of 32 found the following review helpful:

Excellent primer covering all digital photography topics  Oct 30, 2008
By New England Yankee
I have quite a few photography books - virtually all film and film processing related. All of those are looking pretty horribly dated. Even the most basic topics, like exposure and composition take on different implications in the digital world. As just one example, while relationships between aperture and shutter speed haven't changed, the finality of the exposure isn't as critical in digital, you have very different kinds of under and over-exposure considerations for post-processing, you have in-camera options (depending on the sophistication of the camera, of course) for adjustments, color curves, white balance, etc., and the results in terms of exposure artifacts and how you deal with them are just different.

What this means is that a book written for the digital photographer really should not be a re-work of an older film-based work. Freeman's Complete Guide to Digital Photography is written 100% from the digital point of view. It's brief bits of content regarding film cameras, formats, processing, lenses, etc. are only by way of explanation - and often the starting point for explaining why and how they are changing because of digital.

My purchase of this book is the result of a search in order to go back to square one. Like many, I'm late to digital, apart from owning a digital point and shoot camera or two. I wanted a book that didn't rehash what I already know about photography and wanted one that had the right balance of content range and emphasis to get me off on the right footing. Unfortunately, almost every beginner's digital photography book I found suffered from one or more of the following deficiencies: throwaway content (e.g., the history of photography, evolution of digital cameras, too much computer hardware content); film content; superficial coverage; deep coverage on only one or two topics (typically section after section on specific types of subjects such as portraits, landscapes, etc.); dated content (e.g., dead websites, old cameras, PCs, and software); and condescending content that talks down to the reader.

I wanted something that focused on the essence of digital photography. While you can't avoid some of the above, I didn't want it to dominate either. I found the type of coverage I was looking for in this book.

The format initially led me to think it was too superficial. A huge range of topics are presented, typically taking only 2-4 pages each. I picked it up and put it aside several times while comparing other books, finally noticing that content in each section sets you up for content in later sections in a rather subtle way. Some early chapter content on 35mm format and sensors, for example, leads directly to comments on viewfinder and LCD screen changes in a later chapter.

This book covers a lot of ground - cameras & sensors, in-camera processing, exposure, workflow, post processing and software, printing, PC and monitor considerations, file formats, cards (CF, XD, etc.), lenses, stabilization, and a lot more. The format - very brief topical chapters - is easy to read and, again, deceptively simple. The result is a beginner's guide that adds up to more than the sum of its parts.

This book will be first on my recommended list for anyone starting out in digital photography.

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Best book I've seen!  Apr 14, 2004

This is the best book I have found so far on digital photography. If you know the basics and are looking for some in-depth info, I recommend you buy this book because it covers all aspects of digital photography well. I guess I would describe it as an intermediate guide, since one person complained that it is not a beginging book. Actually, I think that depends on the person and how much you want to learn about the topic. Also, it is easy to understand and unlike many books I have seen it is really well illustrated and the pictures helped me to understand the text--so the illustrations are well thought out. If you are shopping for a book on digital this one should be considered strongly.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

Good but out of date  May 31, 2008
By Larry Puckett "cofga"
I have checked this book out of the local library a couple times in the last year and find it a very good intro to the subject. The sections on modifying photos using software, especially Photoshop may be a bit more sophisticated than a general user looking for an intro may want but I find them very useful. The author introduces some very important issues like the fact that dust is a major problem with the sensors on interchangeable lens cameras and that because of the smaller sensor size relative to a 35 mm film image the image is 1.6 times bigger than with 35mm using the same lens. However, I would have liked to see info on selecting lenses for various photo settings. The thing that perplexes me most is that Amazon is selling the 2nd edition of this book however the one I am reading is the updated 3rd edition and among the other titles for sale here is the even more recent 4th edition! Why is Amazon still pushing this outdated edition? Don't be fooled, buy the 4th edition!

See all 9 customer reviews on Amazon.com