Photographer's Guide to the Sony DSC-RX100

Nice companion to the Sony RX100 - it covers a lot of information but it's really very, very long for a user guide - 370-odd pages. That's because it's so, so, so verbose, it's like ploughing through a Russian novel. Did I mention it's verbose? Just opening the book to a random section offers gems that can be used in a "How Not to Write a User Guide" textbook.Here's an example from the self-timer section, "The self-timer is useful for occasions when you need to be the photographer and also appear in a group photograph, because you can set the RX100 on a tripod, set the timer for 10 seconds, and then move around to place yourself in the group before the shutter clicks. The self-timer also is helpful in other situations, though, such as whenever you are taking a picture under conditions in which you don’t want to cause blur by jiggling the camera as you press the shutter button. For example, when you’re taking a macro shot very close to the subject, the focusing can be very critical, and any bump to the camera could throw off the focus. Using the self-timer means the camera has a chance to settle down after the shutter button is pressed, before the image is actually recorded. Once you select the self-timer option, you are presented with two choices: ten seconds and two seconds. When the self-timer option is highlighted, just press the left or right direction button on the control wheel to choose between these options. Once you have made this selection, the self-timer icon will appear in the upper left corner of the display, with the chosen number of seconds (10 or 2) displayed next to the icon, as shown in Figure 4-15."I mean, come on! The whole book is like that, I found myself constantly skipping paragraphs to get to the parts that matter. Would have been a great guide if it was pared down to 60 - 70 pages, which can easily be done. 4 stars for effort and thoroughness though, it actually covers a lot of material and contains a lot of information. (It has too many notes, just take out a few and it'll be perfect!)

Sony's doc and the many online vids are good at listing all the RX-100 features, but the book explains when and how to best use them. And also which ones can just be forgotten about, based on the writer's experience.Would have given it only 4 stars as there are still a few cases where it seems there are several ways to achieve the same results but not always clear explanations on what might differentiate the methods.But giving it 5 stars as it is far superior to any other reference material I could find on the RX-100.Some complain it is verbose, yes it is at times, but still very easy to skim through and jump over whatever section the reader might already be familiar with. Best is to highlight the sections on features that might be a good fit for your usage as you read, as the verbosity makes it a bit difficult to quickly find the reference again.

Sony should include this book with every RX100! I would have been lost without it - or at the least very limited in the things I've tried. I learn of a different setting and then run out to try it. My wonderful wife thinks I'm quite mad and who's to blame her? On the other hand she's been impressed with the results - which is why I bought the camera and book to begin with.I gave it only four stars as a matter of principle - nothing is perfect and ratings shouldn't suggest otherwise - and I have a couple nits to pick. This book, by design I think, is not to be read cover to cover but rather to help you find sections covering photographic situations - a reference manual rather than a "how to" book. To do that you first have to learn all the ways in which settings are set/changed, and that's where I flounder. Blame me and not the book but when I find a solution I have to plow back to learn what I'm doing in the first place. If there were only some device/chart/schematic/what-have-you to tell you what everything should be set at I would do much better. Again, blame me and not the book, but this is a rating of how the book works FOR ME.If you buy the camera - a nifty if sometimes awkward device - you will need this book.post script - After having the book around for a while (it's 4/28/'13 today) I find I'm using it more than I expected and it has answered questions I hadn't even thought of yet. I'll give the book four and three quarter's stars.

This book explained a lot and I would have given it 5 stars except that the author should have spent more time on the white balance. especially how to access it. I use the “custom white balance set” a lot, sometimes as much as 20 times in an hour, mainly as a scuba diver but also for tricky lighting in meeting halls, conventions and museums. When you put the white balance on the screen with the FN button the "custom set" does not come up. You have to go into the menu to find it, which takes quite a bit of time to scroll through everything The white balance is so important to me that I almost returned the camera. Before I resorted to that I discovered that you can use one of the dedicated buttons on the function wheel and all the white balance settings come up including the custom set. I used the left button and put the left button functions on the FN button. This made this camera so much better than anything I ever had before this. I found this book helpful and spent a lot of time playing with some of the setting that I might never had thought of using.Laurel

Just what I needed. I wasn't looking for a book telling me how to take photos, I needed something to tell me how to use this particular camera, seeing as the Sony manual is useless. This provided all the information I needed and was comprehensive enough, and clearly explained, without being either too dumbed down or overly complex.The only criticism I might have is that I did find the order in which the various controls were tackled less than ideal. I found myself having to skip forward to get all the information on a particular feature before returning to continue where I had left off. It seemed a bit odd to deal with all the shooting modes - often requiring menu choices - and then deal in more detail with menu choices further on in the book. However, with the Kindle edition the hyperlinking allowed you to jump forward easily.All in all, for the Kindle price this was a bargain and several hours later I feel I fully understand my new camera. I will undoubtedly use this book again and again for reference. Recommended.

Since the instruction booklet that accompanies this superb compact camera is woefully inadequate, although there is an inbuilt guide on the camera itself (not that easy to negotiate), a purpose-written guidebook was long overdue. This is it! If you have the Sony DSC-RX 100 then do buy this, it will save hours of frustration! It is also aimed as much at the ordinary 'snapper' as at the photographic enthusiast, so everything is explained in layman's terms, with accompanying diagrams and photographs wherever relevant.

I must confess I needed this book to guide me through the hurdles to understanding the many permutations of adjustments within the deceptively innocuous looking RX100. My error, though, was to cheap-out (I never learn..) by purchasing the Kindle version for the mac, for I can not yet fathom-out what the attraction is about e-books other than the abilty to have their contents stored to about the size of a particle within the confines of an atom. However, despite my luddite's inability to embrace Kindle's navigation this Photographer's Guide got me most of the way to understanding Sony's little marvel.

I bought the Kindle edition of this book as soon as I had my RX100. I use the Kindle app on my iPad to read it in full colour and it is absolutely essential reading for getting the most out of the little powerhouse if you are a point and shoot novice like myself. I had a similar book for my Canon s95 that was also essential reading.Books like this are great because not only do they help you master certain features and techniques, they do it using the kit you have in your hand so it is all very relevant. Ultimately it helps you get the most out of your camera whilst teaching you transferable knowledge.

Book arrived 2 days ago so I've only just started reading the first couple of chapters. It seems obvious to me the writer is very thorough and methodical making it easy for me to skip through to the more relevant sections on how to get the most out of this little gem of a camera. It's a shame that manufacturers these days tend to stop short of providing little if any operating instructions or manual but fortunately this book should sell well as the original RX100 is very popular. I believe it is a godsend and must have.