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Photoshop CS2 Raw: Using Adobe Camera Raw, Bridge, and Photoshop to Get the Most Out of Your Digital Camera Review by Charles I. Maas
Too much graphic art - too little substance
In the field of digital photography, capturing and developing "RAW" files is a hot topic, largely because this is usually the route to the highest image quality attainable. The subject can be a bit opaque because each manufacturer mechanizes in-camera RAW files differently. Also, there are many different RAW converters (software packages for developing the RAW files into optimized images) from both the camera manufacturers and third parties. One of the most popular RAW converters is Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), originally released by Adobe as a plug-in for Photoshop 7 and Photoshop Elements, and now integrated into both products.
Adobe Photoshop is the undisputed king-of-the-hill in digital image editing software and has spawned an entire industry of "how-to" books. The subject is so vast and so technical it's nearly impossible to put it all in one book that is actually readable, though many have tried.
In this case I believe the author tried to accomplish too much in too little space. To thoroughly cover the topic of digital RAW would require many more pages, and would be better served, in my view, by taking a more narrowly focused, more studious approach to presenting the information. The target audience is questionable too: too much complexity for beginners; too little real meat for advanced users.
I also found the layout of the book disconcerting. It's bright and colorful with lots of white space, and is visually attractive from a graphic artist's perspective, but primary topics are presented as snippets of information followed by a host of screen shots and illustrations and sidebars with explanations. This disrupted the continuity of the ideas and I had to keep backtracking to pick up the main thread.
There's no doubt that the author knows his stuff, but the book left me unsatisfied. If you're really looking to understand and use Adobe Camera Raw to its fullest capability, there are better texts available.