You don’t want good pictures from your new Canon EOS 7D—you demand outstanding photos. After all, the 7D is the most advanced mid-level camera that Canon has ever introduced. It boasts an astounding 18 megapixels of resolution, blazing fast automatic focus, and cool features like the real-time preview system called Live View, full high-definition movie shooting, and an amazing new wireless flash capability. But your gateway to pixel proficiency is dragged down by the slim little book included in the box as a manual. You know everything you need to know is in there, somewhere, but you don’t know where to start. In addition, the camera manual doesn’t offer much information on photography or digital photography. Nor are you interested in spending hours or days studying a comprehensive book on digital SLR photography that doesn’t necessarily apply directly to your 7D.

What you need is a guide that explains the purpose and function of the 7D’s basic controls, how you should use them, and why. Ideally, there should be information about file formats, resolution, aperture/priority exposure, and special autofocus modes available, but you’d prefer to read about those topics only after you’ve had the chance to go  out and take a few hundred great pictures with your new camera. Why isn’t there a bookthat summarizes the most important information in its first two or three chapters, with lots of illustrations showing what your results will look like when you use this setting or that?

Now there is such a book. If you want a quick introduction to the 7D’s focus controls, wireless flash synchronization options, how to choose lenses, or which exposure modes are best, this book is for you. If you can’t decide on what basic settings to use with your camera because you can’t figure out how changing ISO or white balance or focus defaults will affect your pictures, you need this guide.