The Camera (Ansel Adams Photography, Book 1)

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This is a book which is filled with both photographs and descriptions of the technique to create photographs. I took a hard-cover copy on a week long trip to photograph parts of Ireland, and was very glad to carry the book with me and read it. Ansel did use a view camera for many of his most famous photos; I use medium and small format, myself. Even though Ansel used a view camera, with its associated movements, the book makes an effort to describe technique as it applies to small and medium format cameras. This effort reached its goal for me. I got a lot of enjoyment out of reading this book, and practical information, too. The basic, straight-forward clarity of the writing in this book would make it a good read for anyone with an interest in photographic technique, from rank beginner to seasoned pro.

One technique I enhanced from this book was the use of a high camera position. Ansel took many of his photos from a tripod which was mounted on the roof of his station wagon. One of the benefits of such a location is the "semi-helicopter" look to the photos. The foliage is more interesting from this height, and the viewer can see more than he would be able to from ground level.

Einstein wrote a book for lay people to explain the theory of relativity. I've read it twice, and I still don't know what Albert's talking about. Ansel Adams wrote three books on photography, The Camera, The Negative, and The Print, for lay people to explain how to take good photographs. I've read 'em all, and at least I know what Ansel's talking about, even if I can't take photographs like his yet (gimme fifty years of practice). Whether you like Adams' style or not, in technique, he is to photography what Einstein is to physics: a single authoritative master who's work can be relied upon. Of the three books, _The Negative_ is the most important; but if you are just getting started, the Camera is where to begin.

The Camera, book 1 of 3 in the Ansel Adams Photography Series, is well written with many illustrations of the subjects in each chapter. It also includes many of Ansel's own photo's as examples. The chapters are written for the the novice as well as for the journeyman who want to refresh one's memory on the basics. The latter chapters get more involved with technical information. Book 2 and 3, "The Negative" and " The Print" are eqully well written with an introduction to Ansel's own Zone system. A must read for serious photographers or the novice interested in advanced techniques and/ or terminology. Ansel will go down in history not only as a great photographer but teacher and writer as well. I highly recommend this series to anyone interested in taking better pictures.

I thought that this book was very thorough. I learned many useful things, and I also learned many things that don't really apply to me but I found interesting none-the-less. Ansel Adams writes very precisely, and the book is packed with lots of very useful figures/photographs that help in understanding the text that is being read.

The book might be a little boring for a casual picture taker. Also, I imagine that the book might be too basic for a professional who has been doing photography for a great number of years. But for a serious photographer getting started, it is an excellent book. And who better to read than the master Ansel Adams.

Having bought, read, and studied Adam's original series, the revised edition is a dumbed-down version for the modern audience. Though the newer books are good for beginners, they lack depth, detail and insights into serious B/W photography. Okay for the beginner, but find copies of the old editions if you are serious about your photography.

Recently bought a DSLR, and really needed something to help me improve my knowledge on photography. Since lots of pros online recommend it, I got this book.

This book helped me understand the most important fundamentals of the camera. After reading other photography books, I learned a few things like smaller aperture causes a greater depth of field. All I got to do was set the aperture to the largest or smallest possible in my point-and-shoot aperture priority mode. It is because other books never taught me why apertures can affect the depth of field, and the explanations are largely insufficient for the reader to understand how to use the intermediate aperture settings (which ranges will become out of focus, for instance). It is not until this book that I got the "that's why it is like that" enlightenment.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand photography. Some people may find the book too academic, and the pictures here are black and white. But I learned more from this book compared to those that have very nice colorful photos. Some don't even have captions with the aperture, shutter, ISO, etc. used. But even if they do, without adequate explanation on why they chose those particular settings (never mind understanding them), it is really difficult for novices like me to improve our photography skills. This book solves that problem for me.

This is an excellent book for any person interested in photography, any level. Here you'll find advice from how to place a tripod to how to get aesthetical results with stereographic pictures of the moon.

Merits and demerits and other features of equipment (cameras, lenses, filters, ...) and techniques (focusing, shuttering, panning, ...) are also pointed out.

I've just finished reading the whole book, but take for sure I'll read it many times from now as a pretty helpful manual.

Good overview of how a camera and lens systems works. The book discusses all formats of cameras and various lenses and filters in good detail. Very good explainations of exposure depth of field focus and all other general topics are discussed. This is a great reference for anyone who wants to know the workings of a camera. The book also convers what each format of camera can do. It outlines techniques for achieving effects based on focal length, apeture and film speed. There is also a section of filters and what you can do for you. The book has a heavy bias towards black and white but most techniques are transferable to color. There is not alot about exposure control that is in the next book the The Negative. This book will help with camera care maintaince and help you decide what kind of equipmnet you will need as you advance as a photographer. The descriptions are never brand names but types of cameras and lenes. This book is very fundimental and therefore timeless.

This is a book well suited for people who are looking to become very serious in the photography field. There's chapters on subjects from visualization to camera adjustments. It discusses the good and the bad that come along with many different types of cameras like small, medium, and large format cameras. It shares advice and techniques on how to create the best images with the camera you are using.
The information is very accurate and detailed. Every subject is discussed with great depth. I think that the diagrams and pictures that are provided also aid in a full and complete understanding of the different subjects discussed. Also, the book should probably be read along with the 2 other books that follow it in the series, allowing you to get the complete view into photography. Although I personally have never really been very into photography this book actually inspired me to maybe someday really getting into it.

I've taken pictures for years - many of them very good. But after reading this book and understanding what happens after you click the shutter - the quality of my photographs has improved dramatically. Now I spend a little more time thinking about what I'm doing and knowing what I'm going to get before I click. An absolute must read for anyone that wants to move beyond recording life's moments to creating life's memories.

Just like his photos, this book is a classic. It explains the fundamentals quite clearly, with intuitive diagram and real pictures. Its coverage on view camera is extremely valuable. Although not many people use view camera these days, that chapter is an eye-openner for appreciating some of the best pictures ever taken by Ansel and other classic photographers. Its coverage on the basic principles are very thourough too. A must read for every serious photographer.

This book, the first of a three book series, introduces the reader to the various camera systems and accessories required for successful B&W photography. The book progresses into explanations on aperature and shutter speed selection, lens choices, lighting and image management. No detail is neglected. Best read in conjunction with books two and three.

I got into photography about 3 years ago (digital) and read through about 2 dozen glossy "authoritative" books. None of which could explain the basics to relate ISO/fStop/Speed in a way that didn't assume you already knew what they were.

Most of the book relates to Large Format which may at first seem a bit off-putting to a novice, but after a few pages you'll see how it doesn't matter whether you're using an 8x10 antique or a digital point and shoot. The way they work is the same.

Ansel does an EXCELLENT job explaining the mechanics of light and photography while assuming the reader has some intelligence, makes it very accessible to everyone.

Get this book. Recommend it to all your photography friends. Get the next book "The Negative". You won't need to buy any other books. period.

This book provides invaluable insights into the world of photography as seen by Ansel Adams. It has also been updated to address the digital world as well. Definitely a must for beginners and those interested in educating themselves in the area of photography.

Ansel Adams is indeed one of the most highly regarded photographers ever, and in this first of three instructional books, he reveals much of the foundational wisdom that he gathered over a lifetime taking pictures. The focus of this book is the camera and deals with all types and formats of film cameras and techniques for using them to take wonderful photos.

This book is one of the most common and cherished textbooks used in beginning photography but is indispensable for any interested in better understanding camera arts.

waist of money... a very old looking and not updated book with b/w bad quality photo examples and charts... better buy Hedgecoe's books...

This whole series (The Camera, The Negative, & The Print) are highly recommended for anyone seriously interested in learning more about photography and improving their skills. If you're not interested in that, then the books are probably still worth adding to your collection just to see all of Adams's stunning images.

This is the first book in Ansel Adams photography series. I really cant stress enough the importance of reading all 3 of these books and reading them in their proper order. Ansel talks about a lot of techniques and many of these techniques build upon previous knowledge and previous techniques. If your serious enough about photography to have an interest in these books then you should want to do it right and doing it right is buying all 3 books and reading them in order.

I have been seeing a lot of reviews lately for these books that talk about going elsewhere if your a digital photographer and I couldn't disagree more. These books are the best books on the market in regards to teaching you photographic theory and putting that theory into usable form. Do these books focus on film, yes but the skils and theories that these books teach are easily transferred over to digital. IMO the photographers coming up today in the digital will not be nearly as skilled as the photographers who came up using film.

I have also come across a lot of reviews that talk about how the final image or print is the only thing that matters. In other words how you get there doesn't matter. I honestly feel sorry for these people. The process for me is 75% of what I love about photography. You take away those processes and photography becomes an empty shell. This is like telling model builders that the final model is all that matters. They will of course disagree as well as building the model is what makes the hobby so rewarding. Not just staring at the finished model. How you get to that final print in photography is just as important if not more important in my book. I am a large format photographer and to me the process of setting up my camera, selecting the right lens, metering for the proper exposure, going under the dark cloth and composing the picture, shooting the film, going back to the darkroom and developing the negatives and finally printing the negatives....this is what I love about photography. Shooting with a digital camera, using photoshop and printing on a digital printer doesn't even begin to compare. Yes you can still make great pictures with digital but the process itself is empty. There is just no comparing the 2 and because of this fact there will always be purists out there who shoot film and who understand the real magic of photography. For those out there that want to take this path, these are the books for you.

The bottom line is you will be a completely different photographer after you finish this series. It will take you awhile to finsih them and there are parts that you will re-read multiple times but when you are done, you will be far more skilled than you are now.

The first book, The camera obviously starts from the beginning and teaches you the basics of shooting with cameras. I wont even bother going into everything else as these books are so deep that even trying to sum them up in a review is pointless. The titles of the books are self explanatory. The first book deals with the camera, the 2nd book deals with the negative and the 3rd book deals with the print. Its divided up exactly as it should be as these really are the 3 vital components to photography.

If you are only interested in digital and all you care about is the final image then these books are not for you. Go buy a digital camera book, a photoshop book and a digital printing book. If however you are interested in photography as a whole and want to learn the skills that will make you a master, regardless of whether you shoot strictly film or digital, then look no further as these are hands down the best books on the market.

Go up to anyone who is serious about any particular hobby, regardless of what hobby it is, and ask them if the final product is the most important aspect to the hobby and you will get a resounding NO the vast majority of the time. Its the processes that get you to the final product that make a hobby so rewarding. You take away those processes and it just becomes empty.

The processes of film based photography are truly magical and when you make an amazing print from those processes, its far more rewarding than shooting a great digital picture. With the price of film based equipment crashing like the 1940's stock market, now is a perfect time to find out just how rewarding film can be. These books are the perfect place to start.

I bought this book after taking a photo class at a local community college and was attempting to start on the trail of becoming a serious amateur photographer. This book was _exactly_ what I needed.

It explains all the details of all the modern cameras you are likely to find. Small, Medium and Large format cameras. Think a pinhole camera is the best? It isn't, and the plusses and minuses of pinhole cameras are discussed in this book. He covers all forms of shutters. Range finders. Dual-lens cameras. Everything. If you are looking for an understanding of different cameras and their pros & cons, this is the book to get.

This is a great book for anyone interested in enhancing their knowledge about film photography. I'd recommend it for anyone interested in purchasing and using a film camera. Just as the title suggests, this book is about the camera itself. There's a useful chapter on lenses that will help you decide which type of lens to buy for your shooting needs. Plus there's a good chapter on image management: how to compose shots to create visually interesting photographs.

I've read all three books in this series, and while they do lean on the technical side I still consider them essential references for film camera enthusiasts.

This is the book to get if you're interested in understanding camera equipment (besides digital). Rangefinders, twin lens, large format, lenses, mechanics, etc., this book covers it. I'm still trying to get through the other two books in this series, "The negative", and "the print". They are far beyond my needs at the moment, but still interesting.

The Master giving us his own perspective and insight, in his own words. Get it and enjoy. :)

Adams' collection is a necessity for anyone who loves photography, either amateur or professional. We must understand the process of black and white photography in this intimate sense first and foremost.

A must have for all those wanting to expand their understanding of cameras in the process of making beautiful fine prints

This book covers the basics of camera functioning and photographic principles. No matter how long you have been taking pictures for or how many photography books you have read, I'm positive you will find this book useful and inspiring.

"The Camera" is absolutely a classic of photography books by a true master. It is loaded with helpful information that any photographer from beginner to professional can benefit from. If I could recommend only one book on basic photography, this would be it. You can easily translate Adams' teachings into digital photography or use it to learn the traditional film camera. Read the whole series of Ansel Adams books and you'll see a vast improvement in your skills!

The basic premise of photography is clearly illustrated in this book, the first of a series of three.
It is also a great intro to using a Field Camera. (Which is why I bought it...)

This is the best book i have read. It has given me more information then i could have hoped for. A must read for any film photographer who want to know more about cameras.

While the writer is no longer with us, the book on cameras is a great find for anyone interested in 35mm photography.

...and even with a DSLR, you can learn a lot from Adams. One can only wonder how much fun he'd have using a nice DSLR and Photoshop! I read this book in Photography class 12 years ago and I'm happy I bought it again. A must for all serious, student, amateur, professional, hobbyist photographers!

Ansel Adams was one of the best photographers, and reading this book has been an honor and has really advanced my knowledge of how to use the camera.