Steve52
old hand
Reged: 08/04/2007
Posts: 789
Loc: Dawlish, Devon, UK
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I'm after any books, downloads, etc, that will help me use my A350? I got two books for my A100 and they are both available for the A350 (see here), so might buy those.
Has anyone got the Shawn Barnett book and is it any good?
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FRIPN. Nostalgia just isn't what it used to be.
www.flickr.com/photos/mrsony/
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Roger_Provins
Made-it Man
Reged: 22/10/2005
Posts: 3016
Loc: Gloucester, UK
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I have the a700 version of Gary Friedman's book and would highly recommend it.
Here is the a350 version. It's an immediate download after payment.
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Rog
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DaveG40
enthusiast
Reged: 21/07/2007
Posts: 252
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Because I'm one of these people that gets very frustrated at reading the manufacturer's manual, I like to look around for 3rd party manuals or books that "actually" helps to get the most out of a camera, when I had my A100 I bought Peter K Burian's book & was quite frankly disappointed, all it seemed to do was copy and expand on what was in the Sony Manual, and quite frankly I was none the wiser after reading it, now that I have an A200 i bought Shawn Barnett's book and have to say; that it's a much better read, with some handy hints & tips; e.g turning SSS off when taking macro shots, with 197 numbered pages it does help the new A200 user, it's a polished and professional looking publication that's easy to understand and more importantly read. IMHO it still lacks certain things: an insight to Minolta accessories etc, A200 specific tips for panning, a useful instruction card/guide (the best bit of K Burian's book)and a few other bits and niggles, like only showing manfrotto supports & everything in dollars, there is an A300/A350 edition which with the exception of live view should be pratically the same.
Gary Friedman's book does look outstanding but so does the price, especially if you want to buy the colour hardcopy, I think it's safe to assume that if it retailed in this country for £15 or less it would fly off the shelves, it really does look like a fanstastic book, shame about the price.
I have'nt looked at the other guides available but would imagine they have very similar content to Shawn Barnett & K Burians books but presented differently.
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Roger_Provins
Made-it Man
Reged: 22/10/2005
Posts: 3016
Loc: Gloucester, UK
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Quote:
e.g turning SSS off when taking macro shots, ....
What reason does he give? Frankly I find SSS extremely good with macro lenses ... maybe he's referring to macro lenses using tripod and bellows etc. 
Quote:
Gary Friedman's book does look outstanding but so does the price, especially if you want to buy the colour hardcopy, I think it's safe to assume that if it retailed in this country for £15 or less it would fly off the shelves, it really does look like a fanstastic book, shame about the price.
Get the downloadable PDF version 
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Rog
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DaveG40
enthusiast
Reged: 21/07/2007
Posts: 252
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Quote:
Get the downloadable PDF version
I looked into that and with the exchange rate it works out at a decent price, however i believe the pdf is over 300 pages and because I don't have a brilliant printer not only would it cost a fortune to print off, not to mention the time required but it would be rather big, bulky & not very polished/professional, the black and white hardcopy was also considered but rejected for various reason, mainly to do with colour rendition/tonal ranges etc (the same reason i prefer a colour Tv to a B&W one). At over £60 the colour option is within the price range of quite a few good accessories (50mm Prime, Manfrotto tri-pods etc).
Ref Macro, his quote is this: Super SteadyShot may cause blurring of images at close distances because it was not designed for use in Macro mode.
Like you I read that and was a little confused, i.e how does he know it was'nt designed for macro etc, however I have tried it and I've discovered that my macro shots are coming out better, I'd be interested to know if anyone else has noticed an improvement or not & whether others turn their SSS off for macro shots or any other type of shots, e.g panning.
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Roger_Provins
Made-it Man
Reged: 22/10/2005
Posts: 3016
Loc: Gloucester, UK
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Quote:
Like you I read that and was a little confused, i.e how does he know it was'nt designed for macro etc, however I have tried it and I've discovered that my macro shots are coming out better, I'd be interested to know if anyone else has noticed an improvement or not & whether others turn their SSS off for macro shots or any other type of shots, e.g panning.
With my a700 and a350 I find quite the reverse, easily better with SSS on.
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Rog
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