Books & Magazines. Which one's to go for?

[Dno]

Which photography magazines do you guys reccommend?

As with everything else, there seems to be a few to chose from.. I guess I'm after a good base of reviews and tips & techniques..

Also books.. Is there a good all round book for newcomers? Something that explains (with examples) all features of cameras, and how to use them in different circumstances..

Cheers,
Dean.

[John C]

For magazines, I reckon Practical Photography is the best all rounder - Digital Photo is pretty good on post-processing.

[sideshowbob]

Well the one magazine that seems to be more content than advert / piffle-driven seems to be Digital Photographer (www.dphotographer.co.uk). You can get six months subscription for £18, which is about 1/2 price.

I'd be interested to find out if anyone's a subscriber to The British Journal of Photography (http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=18032) or Contact Sheet (http://www.lightwork.org/publications/). I strongly suspect the former is a bit too jacket and tie for me ... what with the banner ads for the Leaf Aptus on their site. The latter appeals as it looks like a purer photography magazine, focussed on people's work.

[Wishy]

Do you know any that DON'T do kit reviews? Interested in technique, other peoples work, etc. Really couldn't care less if lens x is sharper than y and body a has 10.1 mpixels and b has 10.2. Covering film might be nice too.

[Taq]

Practical Photography here. They have a good range of advice starting at things like "subject too far away? Try a zoom!" to things like composition, critique and photoshop. They also do gear reviews / comparisons and 'get the most out of your xyz' features. I wouldn't say I read it avidly cover to cover every month but it's good to dip in and out of occasionally.

They also do good subscription offers with stuff you might actually want for a change!