Digital SLR Guide is a wonderful, wonderful website for beginners just delving in to the world of digital SLR photography! Chris Roberts - the owner of the site manages to explain the sometimes.. Scratch that, the often complicated terms in photography that often intimidates someone who has just started testing the waters.

Truth be told, I took classes one summer because I was bored, and my cousin was looking for someone to accompany her. Don't get me wrong.. I love love love photography, but the idea of classes - Meh. In the end I enjoyed meeting new people, and managed to retain some knowledge on how to operate my camera at an acceptable level - but often the explanations given by the instructors just got me crossing my eyes and groaning in semi-pain. And since I tend to be very shy/stupid (depending on your points of view) when it comes to questions in classes, I generally kept my mouth shut.

I've searched the internet, high and low, and usually forums are filled with already knowledgeable senior photographers, who aren't very good at explaining things. Sure they're helpful, and I usually come away learning something.. But there are always question marks over the simplest, basic things I feel I really should know about by now. (I've only started using DSLR since 2007, nonetheless - 2 years is a long time to familiarize oneself with one's camera. But this might be because I'm by nature someone who jumps in first, and end up trying to think much, much later on).

Searching for a glossary of terms was my first instinct at trying to understand, but that's like reading a dictionary to learn a language! And I could have of course read the manuals - but alas, I always fell asleep five minutes into it. Chris Robert's site is very, very helpful. And as he puts it - he tells stories. Well, not really stories, but semi stories.. *shrugs* take a look and you'll see what I mean.

His guide for searching for your "perfect" lens (aka the lens you want/need/crave) is helpful and friendly, and I devoured every word. I also like his reviews on DSLR cameras, some sites are biased towards one type of camera - often dissing other cameras, just because. So I really enjoyed his detailed reviews of pros and cons, from the way the camera performs, to the lenses available with the kit. I might have ended up wishing I bought other types/makes/etc.. But he made me feel good about my choice in the end.

All in all I would really recommend anyone who wants to get started with DSLR photography to have a look at his site, hey take a look even if you've waded up to your knees but still find certain terms difficult to understand.