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OK, you just bought this fancy new Canon EOS Digital Rebel. You look at the manual and it seems so thin for all of the buttons and dials that are on this camera. There is a reason that you bought the camera; to take better quality pictures, but there has to be another way to learn how to use the Rebel without slogging through the manual. This is where Rick Sammon's Canon EOS Digital Rebel Personal Training DVD comes in.
Rick Sammon's Canon EOS Digital Rebel Personal Training DVD is a 1 ½ hour training video that will play on either your DVD player or on your computer. It provides a hands-on learning experience for all the basic steps of making great images. It provides a lot of knowledge; even for those who own other Digital SLR's.
The workshop is divided out into seven functional areas. The first "Introduction," introduces you to Rick Sammon, and the production team that created the DVD. Sammon then explains what you can expect to learn from this training program.
"Get Started" begins by going over some of the basic functions of the Digital Rebel. It explains features like setting the exposure meter, using memory cards, the LCD monitor, how to hold the camera, and the basics of digital workflow.
"Exposure" gives you an introduction to the basic types of picture modes that are available. These include fully automatic, portrait, landscape, close-up, sports, and night portrait. You will also learn about the creative modes such as manual, Aperture Priority, automatic depth of field, as well learning about auto focus.
"Lenses" is brief exploration of the use of zoom lenses for enhanced creativity. "Getting a Great Shot" breaks down the fundamentals of the different types of photography and what it takes to make the best shot. It also goes over the use of reflectors, diffusers, and image stabilization.
"Flash Photography" explains how to add on a flash accessory, how to add daylight a fill flash, and how to reduce the reflections that can sometimes occur due to the use of flash. It also goes over the use of the built-in flash that comes with the Digital Rebel.
"Rick Sammon's Photographic Tips and Tricks" finishes off the DVD by exploring various techniques for getting the great shot. Discussed are things like "The name of the game is to fill the frame," the use of pre-visualization to get your best end result, and telling the whole story and how to "See the Light."
There are a lot of things to like about Rick Sammon's Canon EOS Digital Rebel Personal Training DVD such as he makes a great instructor, he has an entertaining way of bringing his point across with clear, and easy understanding. The one thing that I had a problem with was from a production aspect of this video. There are a lot of very short segments that end with music and a power-point style of re-emphasizing of each point in the segment. While that in and of it self is not bad, the fact that the video stops, and you have to press next to get to the next segment was, at least to me, annoying.
I do however think that the material that is presented in this video is very good, and for the patient user, will provide a quality learning experience. The material presented is, for the user that is new to dSLR's, and especially to those who own a Canon EOS Digital Rebel. The video takes the user to picturesque locations such as Universal Studios in Orlando, The Bronx Zoo, as well as other locations. There is even a Sample Video that you can watch online.
