Seems no full printed manuals anymore.......

[KCBrecks]

I was sorting out the mess on a friends laptop last week and had a look at some of her last holiday's photos and noticed that she had a -1/3 exposure compensation set and flash on all the time (Nikon Coolpix V200). When I mentioned it, as she is off this week on holiday, she sent me the camera for me to sort it, complete with the manual. The manual was still in the original box for the camera; she admits never to have read it. This woman is a so called 'Technical Expert' for a very large bank and her job is writing Manuals. What hope is there for the world?

[FrankMi]

Yes, of course - it's just that when I'm "out in the field" I always seem to have other things to concentrate on - like taking the picture...

OK, here is an example Ian. I normally don't use the Canon for close-ups, preferring the manual focusing of the DSLR over the digital focusing of the Canon. However, I saw a photo opportunity that would require focusing closer than the normal settings on the Canon allow and I didn't have the Nikon with me. Try as I might, I couldn't get the right combination of settings that would put the camera in Macro mode with the features I wanted turned on. I walked back to the car where the manual was and looked it up. Went back and got my shot. It is usually little used or combinations of settings that mess me up as I can do the non-Auto basic ones from memory.

[darkslide]

Don't get me wrong - I'm sure there are loads of interesting things in the manuals, it's just that I tend to limit myself to pretty basic settings - and then just leave it at that. This way I can instantly tell if the problem comes from my interpretation of a scene, or if it's a rogue 'setting' - I don't even bother wondering anymore - I'm at fault 99% of the time!

[Black Pearl]

This crops up in the shop on a weekly basis.....for different reasons.

Some people genuinely want a printed instruction manual, they will read them and won't use a camera without first reading it cover to cover. They need a manual to get the most from their camera.

Others like the idea of a 'proper' manual but will look at it once or twice them its put away and forgotten.

Increasingly there are customers who don't care, preferring to just get out and shoot. If they have a question they will look it up in some electronic way - me included - so a massive, often badly written, list of what's and not why's is a waste of paper.

That's the problem with all instruction manuals. They are a list of what a product can do and not an explanation or reason why you would want to use a feature. I know from looking at my D300s book that I can alter the weighting of the Centre Weighted Metering - why? Under what circumstances would 11% be better than 13%? Reading the instruction manual doesn't tell you the why.

[Mike Buckley]

Printed manuals have no search function. Yet their Tables of Contents and indexes don't take that into account. Case in point: The Nikon D7000 manual does not include the term, "shutter speed," in the Table of Contents or the index other than referring to "flash shutter speed."

[dasmith232]

...Canon ... paper manuals and PDF

I've accepted that manuals are going toward softcopy. I see many reasons for doing so and welcome it. However...

Prior to purchasing my latest Canon, I went to their website and downloaded the PDF manuals for the three cameras I was considering. I wanted to read all about the camera before purchasing it. I loaded them onto my computer and Kindle and read all about the features for all three cameras. After deciding, I deleted the manuals except for the one I was going to buy (the T3i). Then, I went to the camera store and purchased the 60D. (I changed my mind once I held the camera in my hands and did some test shooting for about an hour outside near the store.

Here's the annoying part...

The manual on the CD was DRM locked such that I could read it on my computer but not download it to my Kindle. I went to the website to re-download the manual and that version was also now DRM locked. I carry my Kindle but not my computer when I go hiking/camping for a photography weekend. However, I cannot reference the manual anymore.

Fortunately, I found that someone had an OLD copy of the manual on the web. (Unofficial of course, and thanks to that unnamed person.)

We need to contact our equipment manufacturers and describe how the manuals get used and request access as we see appropriate.

[GrahamH]

Originally Posted by Glenn NK
I always have my manuals packed in my bag. And I quite often refer to them.
Glenn

May I ask why?

Usually because I am focussed on other things - like taking a picture (to quote Ian again, from a previous post).

A camera has so many tools, you could spend some time learning each and everyone of them.
OR I could learn the type of tools that the camera has rather than each and everyone. Once I know roughly what the tools are, I can learn to use the ones that I frequent most often and not waste time or brainpower in learning functions that I am likely to us very infrequently (if at all). If I want to use a less used, unfamiliar tool, I can refer to the manual.
I thing of it rather as learning the index so I know where the information is rather than trying to learn everything just in case.

I remember a story about a high ranking professor making testimony to a committee. The opposing counsel tried to undermine his credibility by asking him seemingly trivial questions. The counsel made a statement claiming that the professor didn't even know the basic facts about such and such. The professor replied along the lines of 'I know where I can find the information and I know how to use it which is far more important that merely knowin the facts'.

I'm going with this method. I like manuals - and I read them (and promptly forget much of the information, but remember where the information is, so I can refer to it in details later).

Graham

[darkslide]

And there I was feeling more and more isolated on this - thanks Graham - you've really brightened up my day!

I AM NOT AIMING THIS AT ANYONE IN PARTICULAR...but I do feel we get easily led astray with all this technology - I'm the worst, I love it to bits, but I sometimes have to pause (for breath) and think why I'm doing something (because it's a 'function' on my camera) or is it really helping what I'm trying to achieve? (rarely...)

This doesn't mean I know everything - far from the truth (despite what I tell people ) - but I feel I know enough for the job, and if I need more, I know exactly where to look...

[DollyP]

I think that getting manuals on CD rather than in printed form is the way things are now. Indeed I can see the likelihood in the future that even CDs will not be included and we'll just get a weblink. Making manuals DRM protected as stated in an earlier post is just plain counterproductive.

What really gripes me, however, is that the e-Manual is still usually just a copy of what they would have printed - tightly compressed print, as short of info as they can make it, in black and white with plain line drawings, sometimes even 2-column to make it harder to read on screen. Just plain dumb!

David