Through a series of easy-to-follow lessons, The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/D450 Companion gives you a complete class on digital photography, tailored specifically for people who use this camera. This is not a typical camera guide: rather than just showing you what all the buttons do, this unique book teaches you how to use various Digital Rebel features to make great photographs. With The Canon Digital Rebel XSi Companion in your camera bag, you have the perfect field reference for taking stunning pictures of any occasion or place, any time. You get valuable creative tips and technical advice for capturing professional-looking images of people, landscapes, action shots, close-ups, night shots, and more.

• Get to know the Digital Rebel XSi and how it works

• Take creative control and go beyond automatic settings

• Learn the basic rules of composition

• Know when to let the camera work for you

• Photograph fast-moving objects, and learn to capture decisive moments

• Discover ways to use a flash indoors and outdoors

• Learn the advantages of different lenses, and the best time to use them

• Understand the options for shooting RAW, and whether it's right for you

There are plenty of photography books, but only this companion guide teaches you how to take high-quality digital photos using the camera model you own. Professional photographer Ben Long includes plenty of full-color examples to show you what's possible once you graduate from snapshots and focus on the pictures you've always wanted to take.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 62 Ratings

Must Have Reference - 2010-02-05
Reviewer Rating:
I devoured this book cover to cover after also reading the XSi manual. As others have said, Canon should include this with their camera. It will get you up and running in no time at all.

I also bought the 'Complete Digital Photography' book by Ben Long and even though a lot of the things are a repeat of what I learned from the first book, this one allows me to really delve into the subjects even more deeply.

Much Better Than Your Manual - 2010-02-04
Reviewer Rating:
Though I love Canon products and have owned many, they unfortunately are like most every manufacturer in failing to provide a quality instructional manual. Manuals are great with giving you the bare details on every feature of the camera, but the fall well short in providing actual instruction to the new user of making use of the real capabilities they now have available.

With entry level dSLR cameras really starting to become approachable and accepted by a broad market, we are seeing a crowd buying these cameras that really has no idea where to start. Unfortunately that means most end up sticking the camera in Auto mode and never leaving it.

This Companion does an excellent job not only explaining the camera features, but taking it even further into the how and why you would put those features to use. Camera illustrations, menu shots and photo examples all work together with the well written information to be a valuable education to the new camera user. The mid-sized form factor of the book is also perfect to stick in a camera bag to take along while you get out and explore with your camera.

I highly recommend anyone who has purchased a dSLR for the first time work their way through a companion book like this for some excellent self-run, hands on education. This is a far better start to getting the most out of a camera than any beginner class or workshop.

Better than expected. - 2010-01-28
Reviewer Rating:
I thought this book was a how-to-guide to the Canon Rebel but its the little touches that elevate this book beyond that. The book is an excellent primer on becoming a photographer too.

Previous to this book, I read "DSLR for Dummies" cover to cover but I found this book to have additional information that that book did not have. I pretty much will state that this book is a must-have for people who just purchased a Rebel camera.

Well written and helpful! - 2010-01-25
Reviewer Rating:
I just purchased a Canon EOS XSi and was new to digital SLR photography. I needed more in-depth info than was provided by the XSi user's manual so I purchased this book. One chapter at a time, it walked me through the camera's functions and settings as well as providing info on the basics of photography. It also gave me helpful hints on how to make my photos better under not-so-perfect lighting conditions. Each time I referred to the book with specific questions, the answers were there. I would definitely recommend this book.

Even After Peterson and Kelby, This is a Hidden Gem - 2010-01-18
Reviewer Rating:
Although this seems to be, and it certainly is, an excellent book for beginners, Ben Long's real brilliance is, I think, to show you how to apply every kind of advanced photographic technique very smoothly to this particular camera, without losing his beginners audience. If you are interested in the latest HDR techniques, or creative exposure, or simplifying your workflow with custom settings, whatever you've read about in the other books, he blends in all the high power techniques in the guise of beginner's book. We have a whole stack of photography books, but this one brings it all home to the XSi, 100%.

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