gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

They have to learn two things. The first is not photography, it's how their computer works. This will enable them to know a bit about how their camer's computer works and how it interfaces with their computer. Then they have to learn how photography works. If they can't do this, then put the camera in Auto and be content to look at the tiny pictures on the back of the camera. 😜😜

Dannj

My wife had an uncle who everyone in the family came to rely on for appliance repairs. When you called, he'd ask a series of question: what's wrong with it? what have you tried? etc. The last question was always "what does the manual say?" If you couldn't tell him, he wouldn't come. And you couldn't lie about it because you had to produce the manual when he showed up. This was a rite-of-passage for each us in-laws and he was so adamant about this that when he died, I lobbied to have "RTM" inscribed on his tombstone.

Bill_de Loc: US

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waegwan Loc: Mae Won Li

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

A-frigging men, brother!

Learning is an ACTIVE skill. We go to school early in life. The system throws a lot of facts at us. We are conditioned to think, by this flawed process, that cramming our heads with facts we regurgitate on tests is learning. It is not! It is only part of learning how to learn for the rest of our lives! It is exposing us to possibilities.

The most gifted people I’ve known understand that it is THEIR OWN responsibility to put the facts together by asking, “Why?...”

Okay, so there’s a control on the camera for something. “So what?,” you ask. Well, are you willing to test it to learn what it does? Are you willing to control JUST ONE variable at a time, go through its range, make a test image of the same subject in exactly the same light, and examine the results? Are you willing to do that with every knob, button, dial, and menu setting on the camera?

If yes, then the manual gave you the ‘what’, and you gave yourself the ‘why’. You are on your way to be free to do anything you want with your tools!

If no, are you sure you’re serious about photography? In the end, we reap what we sow.

korat Loc: Eastern Shore Virginia

My gripe with the Fuji X-T2 manual is that there is no index, so finding what you want can be time consuming.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Wonderful words to live by. I still get great giggles reading about how camera manuals are "too complicated". If anyone really thinks the manual for a camera is complicated they should try to read the manual for a large airplane. Yeah, they really do exist. One section in the B-52 manual describes how to land with 4 engines on one wing inoperative. Cameras, complicated? Manuals don't even tell the user how to turn the camera on.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

The manual was never meant to give understanding in photography, it is only a description on how a specific camera functions, no more or less and for that they are invaluable, giving the reader everything they need to know, especially for one that is new to the "craft"!

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Really? I never did read a manual that didn't!

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

If you accessing the manual in pdf format, you don't really need an index; simply do a text search with the pdf software you are using to view the manual. Not only will it be much quicker and easier to find the desired page, but equally accurate. Using index only makes sense with hard copy, not with a digital manual.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

rcarol

The problem with most technical manuals is that the authors use terms which they assume the general public is familiar. That is, they assume the reader knows what an aperture is, what shutter speed is, what ISO means, etc. For a true beginner that just isn't so. It's no wonder that we see so many questions on UHH about topics many of us take for grant. As a community that is here to help others, we need to be tolerant of questions for which, to many of us, the answers are obvious. And statements such as,"read the manual" just isn't much help to the beginner that is swimming in the quagmire of confusing terminology and basic operation of the camera. Let's be patient and helpful.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

In the 1980s, I worked for a conglomerate. One of their divisions printed manuals for the planes made by Boeing. I can vouch that they exist! They were split into many volumes... These days, they're probably all in PDF format.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

A friend of mine married his first wife and on their wedding night insisted on reading the instruction manual to acquaint himself with all the functions that she was able to perform before anything. That's why she's his FIRST wife!!

rcarol

Very good point.