Syl Arena's Speedliter's Handbook

OK... The more I delay this review the more it's gonna look dated.  I'm already seeing many reviews of this excellent book pop up, including Neil van Niekerk's take on it ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/032171105X?ie=UTF8&tag=planeneilphot-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=032171105X ). 

It's easy enough for me to give a strong recommendation for this book as other reviewers have.  To add value though, I'm going to do my best to come up with legitimate criticisms. Note: this review is based on the Kindle version.

First, the praise:

• Uses both manual flash and TTL flash.
• Photos are doable/realistic, and don't appear to have been subjected to extensive postprocessing.
• Systematic approach in examples.  Well explained.
• Good solutions to lighting problems.
• Good variety of examples showing different techniques.
• Some interesting techniques.  Stroboscopic flash, "gang lighting" (what I would call a light array).
• Very comprehensive discussion of lighting equipment.  Realistic recommendations that don't assume we all have pro-level budgets (for novice, get this; for seasoned amateur get this; for pro, get this).
• Clearly written, not boring or puffy/professorial.
• Well organized.

Now for the harder part - [constructive] criticisms:

• Critical distinction between ambient exposure and flash exposure not well explained.
• Advises that shutter controls ambient, while aperture controls flash exposure, which advice can be misunderstood.  See last week's post (on this blog) on that issue.
• Advises high speed sync to dim sunlight.  Actually, HSS aggravates the issue.  If your goal is to overpower the sun, you're better off with a neutral density filter in terms of efficiency.
• Only a short discussion of bouncing flash.  Neil's book is way ahead on that technique.
• Fill flash technique (different types of fill) not covered.
• Photos are not cutting edge (but like I said above - they're practical examples).
• Kindle version: some of the photos appear on separate pages from the captions.  The resolution of the photos in the Kindle version is not very high.

My take?  A must-have for Canon family photographers who would like to know more about using their flash properly.  It explains Canon's lighting system thoroughly.  For other shooters, I still think Neil's On-Camera Flash book is the best book (to date) on flash techniques that are most relevant to family photographers.  Nonetheless, this is an excellent resource with a lot of details that I have not seen elsewhere, and with a good variety of lighting scenarios that provide useful case studies.