[Richard Day]

I know that some folk have asked about guides for the K10D, here is one that is just hitting the shelves.

As posted by Ned Bunnel in that other forum!

NED BUNNELL: Magic Lantern K10D Guide

I will quote Ned's words

"... these guides are primarily written for beginners. However, I must add that Peter Burian is a very good writer and photographer. His writing style is clear and simple and goes into greater detail on each feature than possible in the manual. I've heard that the sales of these type of guides has increased rather dramatically in the past year, which suggests they're being bought by first time digital SLR users."

Cheers

[Peter Zack]

Thanks Richard, I've been waiting for this very book. Good to know it's out now and the price is very reasonable. I see it's already on Ebay at just over $13.00

[pixelpruner]

is there a review of the book anywhere?

[maleek]

I am very much looking forward to the release of the K100D book. It would be nice for someone to review these books (maybe someone on this forum?).

[pixelpruner]

That would be sweet... *looks around*

[DigiFilm]

Although there is much information in these guides, I've found that they need a new proofreader!! At least in the D200 guide, there were many errors. Of course I realise this may sound nit-picking, but on the other hand, the errors don't shed a professional light.

Personally I find Pentax's K10D manual quite good; well written, easy to understand, and with large fonts so it's easy on the eyes. Compared to other makers guides, it's a gem.

[ebooks4pentax]

May I also suggest : “Pentax K10D – Everything you need to know…..and then some” book. Each book is assembled one at a time, and it is put together manually at their office. The book is unique in that it is made to order, specifically for you. As an avid photographer for many years, the Author had many Pentax cameras. His first “new” camera was a Pentax Spotmatic, purchased when he was still in Junior High.

When Pentax got into digital DSLR, he was delighted. Their first few DSLRs (The *ist series or Starist) were the smallest DSLRs on the market but were not particularly special with the 6MP CCD. When the K10D was introduced, everything changed. The camera is a breakthrough, in his opinion. It has the capabilities of Professional DSLRs with the price of entry-level DSLRs. It has some unique features found nowhere else at any price. The competition will certainly mimic Pentax and incorporate such features in some of their future models.

When he bought his new K10D in early December 2006, he couldn’t find any books about the camera. The closest he could get at the time was the Magic Lantern book on the Pentax K100D and K110D. He purchased that book. He found that it was not addressing all he needed to see in such a book, even for owners of the K100D/K110D. The book was too small in size for his preference and being a regular bound book, it was difficult to lay the book flat, while trying to apply what he was reading on his own camera. Within one week, the pages were coming off. The Magic Lantern books are good books, but he decided to change the format in his book. When their Book on the K10D comes out, he will be the first to rush to get a copy. (He already ordered one.) One never has enough reading about such complicated hobby as photography.

The book is slightly bigger; coil bounded for easier use, and addresses the K10D’s specific operation in detail. The book is not about him as a photographer, it’s about you and what information you will need to take advantage of this marvel of engineering that is the K10D. It has some techniques applicable to general photography as well.

Your constant feedback is important to him. Since the market for this book is clearly geared toward Pentax K10D users, he opted to publish the book himself. That way, as he gets feedback from customers, he can update the book according to what readers want to see in such a book. Essentially, it is your book. Pentax Corporation, in Colorado, was contacted and they approved the publishing of the book.

The Website is k10dbook home.

As of tonight, the book price will be lowered to $19.95. It will also be available shortly in PDF format either downloadable or on CD.

Better Half!

See what another blog had to say.
Review

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Last edited by ebooks4pentax; 06-16-2007 at 04:36 PM.

[pixelpruner]

is this available in the UK?

[ebooks4pentax]

is this available in the UK?

We ship anywhere in the world.
k10dbook home

[DigiFilm]

We ship anywhere in the world.
k10dbook home

Will the new price be reflected shortly on eBay? And is this $19.99 price for the printed version?

Edit: Never mind; I purchased it thru your website.

[stewart_photo]

I've been involved in photography for a long time, so basics about shutter speed, aperture, and so on, don't really interest me that much anymore. However, the K10D is only my second Digital-SLR camera, so I'm always looking for more info about that. And this is the reason I purchased "Pentax K10D – Everything you need to know...and then some."

So, let's start off with the title. Does this book truly contain "everything you need to know...and then some." Well, not really. But it does a fairly decent job of covering the basics. It certainly has info the beginner would benefit from, but that beginner is going to need another book to cover the basics of photography (the relationship between aperture and depth of field, photo technique, and so on).

Of course, this book doesn't claim to be a book about photography. It's a book about the K10D camera and, in that regard, does a decent job of covering "everything you need to know." It covers the camera's features (resolution, modes, etc), setting up the camera (battery, focusing, etc), and so on. It deals with saturation, contrast, white balance, bracketing, shake reduction, metering, camera modes, flash modes, histograms, and much more. It covers lens compatibility, with a description of the limits of each type. In other words, there is a lot of information in the book.

However, the book falls short of "everything you need to know" when one gets beyond the basics. For example, it doesn't sufficiently cover wireless off-camera flash, and doesn't even mention wired off-camera flash. There is also nothing about using this camera with studio-style lighting (tungsten or flash). Other similar (slightly more advanced than the basics) information is also missing.

The writing style is casual and easier to read than the fairly stark manual. There are a few spelling mistakes. For example, "JPEG" is spelled "JEPG" throughout the book (a spelling checker typing error likely corrected in future editions). There is definitely the feel of a self-published book (lacks the fine polish of a professionally done book). Illustrations are inconsistent, with some clearly chopped out of larger images. Some color images look like they were just printed with a computer on the wrong paper (these same contrasty images look much better on the glossy cover). Images are not spectacular, but not bad either (and nice to look at nonetheless). None of the minor quirks, however, take anything away from the overall information content.

So, is this book for you? Well, look at the owners manual for the K10D. This book doesn't really contain much more info than you'll find in that manual, but succeeds in presenting it in a much more comfortable manner. The text is much easier to read along with. Info is grouped in a more convenient fashion. And a few things are explained in much more soothing detail.

I would recommend buying this book (unless you're too poor to afford $25, which likely means the K10D is too expensive as well). Those just starting out with photography, or just starting out with Pentax digital photography, will definitely gain something. However, even more advanced photographers might find one or two worthwhile tidbits here and there as well (I did). Besides, in my own case, the book just looks good sitting on my desk (Sabrina is a real cutie who never fails to catch the eyes of visitors). And, who knows, providing a book such as this might even help increase the value of my used K10D when I decide to upgrade later on.

Well, that is my take on this book. Hope it helps someone else. By the way, if someone can recommend a more permanent place on this site to post a review such as this (instead of buried in a thread that will eventually disappear), please let me know. Regards.

stewart

[squarerigger]

Thanks Richard. I am looking forward to seeing some reviews. Sure could use some help in getting the most out of my K10d.

[SHIFT]

I really need a photography book but I can't decide between the two... One is cheaper with twice as much pages plus free shipping (going to combine with other books) and the other I feel could be better for a little bit more. I am a visual learner, so I need lots of pictures and easy explanations. So maybe the book with more pages might be more right for me.