Black & White Photography in a Digital Age: Creative Camera, Darkroom and Printing Techniques for the Modern Photographer

July 12, 2008 | By Doug In Digital Cameras |

Black & White Photography in a Digital Age: Creative Camera, Darkroom and Printing Techniques for the Modern Photographer
Customer Review: Excellent Book
This an excellent book, well laid out and easy to follow. I looked at several books on this subject and this is the one I bought. The only problem is this was written before CS3, Lightroom or Elements 6, so the monochrome conversion part is now out of date, maybe there will be an update soon.

Customer Review: Not a lot of depth
Although this is a very attractively produced book, with good illustrative images, I was disappointed in the text, much of which seems rather vague and lacking precision. The book addresses monochrome printing from the perspective of a darkroom worker who now wants to move to digital, and learn the photoshop techniques to replicate traditional darkroom processes.

This may benefit someone just getting into digital, but for an experienced digital worker I feel this is a flawed approach which can lead to a rather narrow view of the possibilities. In addition, many of the techniques are described merely in principle with too much general language (e.g. ..using a large brush..) describing the how, and not enough discussion of why. Also the section on colour to mono conversion, which really should be the core of the book, is the least satisfying.

Customer Review: Excellent cheaper alternative to the Canon battery
I got one of these a few months back and have not been dissapointed. At 850Mahs, this battery is 100mAhs more than the proper Canon battery that comes with the camera. The battery lasts just as long as the Canon one, though i have not tested that scientifically. An absolute bargain alternative to the very expensive Canon battery. I have to say though that the ?30 i payed for this battery is still ridiculously expensive, no one should have to pay more than ?10 for such a small battery!!
Customer Review: Red Bull for your camera
I do not usually trust non-OEM batteries like this, but I can say that this one has proven me wrong. I paid double this price for an original Canon NB-2L spare for my S40 camera 2 years ago, but both have now deteriorated to a level where they only last a few shots using flash as they seem to have lost peak capacity and don’t hold charge very well any more. I’m not sure if this is down to my storage methods, usage pattern or a design “feature” but I was starting to dislike my camera due to the poor battery life. As a cheaper alternative to replacing my camera, I decided to give one of these a try. It arrived a couple of days before my annual holiday so I charged it up and thought no more about it. It was only on day 13 of the holiday that it went flat after taking about 10 minutes of video and about 100 photos (25-50% flash) that I realised it had done exceptionally well. They have a high quality feel and whilst the colours are not original this is not seen inside the camera. I have not put any science behind it, but it has outlived the original Canon performance when they were new, slaughtered the performance of my now ageing Canon batteries and cost me half the price. I’m so pleased I’m about to order a second and get rid of the old ones.
Read more..