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 am a travel photographer who has been shooting and using professional cameras for 62 years. I help teach young people and adults photography, especially those who have not had much or any experience using digital cameras. I have found that the G12 Canon is a fantastic pocket camera to fill in when my big Canons are too heavy or threatening to people I am photographing. I carry one all the time. When teaching photography, until now, I have not been able to find a simple but complete book on the G12 which explains why the G12 is so good for a small camera, and all the great things it can do. Now I found it - Jeff Carlson's book is the perfect blend of technical information and lessons on how to use it in the real world. I have now ordered 4 copies of this book for my friends and classes and even I am re-reading it to see what I missed. Order a copy today and throw out all the other G12 books which do nothing for the reader except confuse her/him.

I purchased the Canon G12 thinking I could work out how to use it from the Instruction Manual. Was disappointed to find I to not only had to download the manual but after printing it I was further disappointed to find no hints on how to use their instruction. After searching online I was delighted to find Jeff's book which is so easy to read. He simplifies everything and the sample pix in the book with the details of how they were shot is a bonus. I had an initial problem with some settings and Jeff was kind enough to respond to my email/s with solutions right away.... an additional bonus..

I recently upgraded my camera from a P&S Nikon to the Canon G12. I looked for a book (like this one) when I bought the camera, but it was a new model and the guides hadn't caught up yet. Searching Amazon, it seems several others will follow in the coming months, but this one is great for me. "From Snapshots to Great Shots," is a fitting subtitle for the book. The author mixes teaching aspects of photography with detailed instruction on how to achieve those results on this specific camera. I learn new technology be it cell phone, ipod, laptop, or camera by playing with it. That works great but the book provides experience to shorten the learning curve and get the most from the digital camera.