Books about PSG

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HTKilroy

Books about PSG

Postby HTKilroy » Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:25 am

Hi!
I have just started to use PS Gold. I found a very good Manual and introduction (352 pages in PDF-format) on Photodex home page (there one can also find an PS Producer Manual of 560 pages!).

http://www.photodex.com/support/resources

However, I am keen to learn more (and I prefer written text), so my questions are:
- Which one of books "ProShow Visual QuickStart Guide" (by Jon Canfield, PeachPit Press) and "Official Photodex Guide to ProShow 4" (by James Karney, Cangage Learning) respectively will help me most to learn more?
- What is the difference between these two books?
- Is "ProShow Visual QuickStart Guide" very similar to the Photodex Manual for PSG?
- Are there even more written up-to-date material available about PSG?

It would be interesting to learn the opinion from those having any practical experience of these books and others. All comments are appreciated.

Hans

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Re: Books about PSG

Postby BarbaraC » Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:39 am

I'm not sure, but I've had the impression that Karney's book focuses mostly on Producer (and that it isn't the best of books). Someone else will have to answer for the Quick Start Guide.
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Re: Books about PSG

Postby rdurga » Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:56 am

When I got into producer six months back, I had browsed proshow guide by Mr karney for a week. I went through phtodex DVD tutorials.

I have learned whatever I know about the producer is from this forum discussions present and past. Playing around the program and look for the answers from this forum is the best way to feel comfortable with the program. Once you reached that stage, you can create any slideshow you like.

Now that the photodex has released a new manual which is completely rewritten and is very informative with wonderful instructions.

It is better to spend more time playing around with the program than reading books. Get prepared for learning curve. It all depends on how much free time you have.

That is my experience.

ram

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Re: Books about PSG

Postby ginger » Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:06 am

Hi,

I have the ProShow Visual Quick Start Guide by Jon Canfield, and it is just that, pretty much of a Quick Start manual. It lacks depth in my opinion, but I'm using Producer. It has good information, but nothing that you can't get from the Photodex manual that comes in PDF format.

My suggestion would be to save the Photodex PDF file to a flash drive, then take it to OfficeMax or similar and have them print it and put it in a protective cover with a spiral binding. I've done this before with other software and it makes it really easy to read and follow while you're working on something on the computer. It will probably cost you about the same as one of the books mentioned (approx. $25), but the new Photodex manual has more information (at least I found this to be the case with Producer), and will be easier to follow along with while working in the program.

Now, as I'm writing this I just checked out Amazon.com to see their prices on the books mentioned, and I see that there's a new book about to be released on March 23, 2010 called "Secrets of Proshow Experts: The Official Guide to Creating Your Best Slide Shows with ProShow Gold and Producer by Paul Schmidt (Paperback - Mar. 23, 2010)". Paul Schmidt is founder and president of Photodex. You might want to check it out as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Proshow-E ... 654&sr=1-2

Then just play, practice and read as much on this forum as you can.

ginger

HTKilroy

Re: Books about PSG

Postby HTKilroy » Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:12 pm

Hi again! And many thanks for your replies!

I agree that playing around the program is a good starting point, but then suddenly you need “somebody to ask”. This forum is great, but a comprehensive book might be even better and sometimes more directly to the point..

I had the feeling that the ProShow Visual QuickStart Guide is very much the same as the excellent PSG Manual (which I already have printed and put in a binder). So I put the QuickStart aside.

The new “Secrets of ProShow Experts: The Official Guide to Creating Best Slide Shows …” by Paul Schmidt was unknown to me and looks definitely interesting. Perhaps I find the additional reference material, I’m looking for, in this book.

So, I await further news about the new book; it’s publishing date is – for once - not far away …

Meanwhile, I play, practice and read on this forum and elsewhere. Thanks!

Hans

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Re: Books about PSG

Postby BarbaraC » Sat Mar 20, 2010 4:24 pm

Hans, you're like I am: I love a book sitting open beside me while trying the things it describes. I hope you're like me in another way too, and it's that you're willing to jump in there break things. I've learned more from failed attempts than from successful ones. You get a gold star if make the program crash! :D

Barbara
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Re: Books about PSG

Postby trulytango » Sun Mar 21, 2010 2:09 am

Hi

That's good advice from ginger! Get the manual printed. The latest Photodex manual is such a vast improvement on the previous offerings - it covers an awful lot, and it's more than enough to get anyone started/up and running.

With regards to the 'Official' and 'Quick Start' Guides... both books promoted accompanying websites/communities/content... but at the time of writing I can't find a trace of either? Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places... does anyone else have a working link to ProShow Expert (James Karney's forum) or the site that was intended to go with the Quick Start Guide? Anyway, if I remember rightly, the online additional content/support (or lack of it) was a source of frustration for some of the people who bought the books.

TTFN
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Re: Books about PSG

Postby ginger » Mon Mar 22, 2010 11:17 am

HTKilroy wrote:I agree that playing around the program is a good starting point, but then suddenly you need “somebody to ask”. This forum is great, but a comprehensive book might be even better and sometimes more directly to the point. I had the feeling that the ProShow Visual QuickStart Guide is very much the same as the excellent PSG Manual (which I already have printed and put in a binder). So I put the QuickStart aside.


I don't think either of the books that are currently available (excluding the new one that's to be released tomorrow which I know nothing about yet) are as comprehensive as the new Photodex Manual. When I purchased John Canfield's book, the new Photodex Manual was not available at that time. It was revised a few months ago and is quite good now. At the time I purchased the Canfield book, I compared reviews on Amazon, and John Canfield's book actually had better reviews than the James Carney book. That's why I bought that one.

You're not going to find everything in a book, I can guarantee that, but it does go a long way to filling in a lot of the blanks. You'll learn as much or more from reading these forums, and from a whole lot of experimenting.

ginger

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