Michael Freeman - The DSLR Field Guide: The essential guide to getting the most from your camera

In their infancy, digital SLRs were the preserve of a select group of professional photographers, or exceptionally wealthy enthusiasts. While 35mm SLRs had reached a point in their development where there was something for everyone, regardless of their skill level or budget, the transition to sensor-based digital capture came with a price-tag that made it prohibitively expensive for the photo enthusiast. To enjoy the benefits of photography with an interchangeable lens digital camera meant investing heavily in a technology that was evolving at a phenomenal rate, with manufacturers turning out significantly superior cameras on an alarmingly regular and brief timescale; a doubling of camera resolution in as little as 12 months was common.

Today, however, the frenetic pace of DSLR development and the leaps in technological breakthroughs have slowed, although that isnt to say they have ceased altogether. Sensor resolutions continue to creep upward, albeit in smaller increments, and new technologies continue to be squeezed into the camera body to enhance the photographers experience; built-in anti-shake systems to combat camera shake, in-camera dust-removal, live LCD screens, and video recording are all increasingly common, for example. But it is not the maturing technology that has expanded the DSLR market to the point that 35mm SLRs are now near-obsolete, it is a far more material aspect: price. While hefty prices excluded most non-professional photographers (and many pros) from going digital a decade ago, the low-cost of modern DSLRs is no longer a barrier.

Yet while buying a DSLR no longer requires the same financial sacrifice, it still demands an investment in time if you want to make the most of it. Fundamental photographic concepts such as aperture, shutter speed, and ISO may not have changed since the day photography was born as a medium, but their implementation in the digital age, to a certain extent, has. In addition, there are all of the necessary digital technologies that need to be mastered or, at the very least, understood. While some photographers may be happy setting their camera to automatic and allowing it to determine the many and varied picture-taking parameters, to use a DSLR to its fullest potential there is a great deal to learn. That is precisely why you have bought this book. What I aim to do here is to reveal how you can get the very best from your camera, and show how digital capture can, and should, change the way you think about shooting, regardless of whether this is your first DSLR or not.