Download PDF Learning OpenCV Computer Vision with the OpenCV Library Gary Bradski Adrian Kaehler Books

Product details Paperback 555 pages Publisher O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (October 4, 2008) Language English ISBN-10 0596516134

Learning OpenCV Computer Vision with the OpenCV Library Gary Bradski Adrian Kaehler Books Reviews

• This is a superb book about an important and powerful piece of public software. English is my native language, and I am certain it will not be for all readers, but for me it is hard to imagine doing a better job than this book. Most books I own are OK to pretty good ( and I own a lot! ); this book vastly outstrips that standard. It reads as if the authors have a huge amount of expertise, take the trouble to explain not only the concepts but the relative places of those concepts in the firmament of ideas, and would really like to help you personally to learn and use those ideas. I suspect it reads like that because those things are true. OpenCV is huge, therefore explaining it is a contribution all of us should salute. I think I'd summarize it with two brief phrases Wow. Thank you!
• Despite all the evolution that OpenCV has gone through these last five years, and all the available on-line documentation and newer books that have been published, this is still the most useful and helpful guide. No other book covers the breadth and depth of OpenCV like this one does.
  
  The writing style is a bit too casual sometimes. I have been a tiny bit annoyed by the authors' breezy treatment of some important details that I'm struggling with. Nevertheless, there just isn't a better alternative, or anything even close. I guess I should be grateful that the alternative isn't the case excessive, impenetrable formality!
  
  Again, this is still the best OpenCV reference available right now.
  
  About a year ago listed the second edition of this book for pre-order. Months went by, and they eventually canceled it. What's up with that?
• This book is excellent at exposing the reader to the various methods available in OpenCV and showing via code examples how to use each one. The author also gives you the website where you can look at the actual source code of each method shown. This is helpful since, for example, if you want to know exactly how the code is going about calculating the Fundamental Matrix, it is difficult to determine this by reading the book alone.
  
  This book would be most useful to someone who already has a fundamental understanding of computer vision and image processing and wants to see how OpenCV will make their programming tasks easier. It does this by coding up well known algorithms into reliable pieces of code that you can use to accomplish more complex tasks. Do not come to this book if you are seeking to learn computer vision. You will only be confused as the author does not offer enough detail to teach you the mathematical foundations. However, I don't think that was his intention at all. Instead it is part user manual, part basic computer vision tutorial and overview, and part idea book. Each chapter is supplemented with excellent and interesting programming exercises that test your knowledge of what has been presented in a practical setting.
  
  For a good basic understanding of computer vision try Computer Vision. To understand the algorithmic underpinnings of 3D computer vision try Introductory Techniques for 3-D Computer Vision. However, before you read either of these you must read Digital Image Processing (3rd Edition), since image processing concepts are fundamental to understanding computer vision tasks. In fact, the two disciplines overlap in many spots. The sad truth of the matter is that no one book will teach you what you need to know to be an effective image scientist. However, this book on OpenCV is essential reading on applying the theory via programming in an effective manner. Highly recommended.
• Great resource. Used as reference for my CS course. Still relevant even though it's based on an old release of OpenCv (explanations of most algorithms still apply, and function names are similar). Great balance between technical details and common language (this was my first CS course ever - normally I just read online and do my own programming - and it read nicely. Now that I know more terms and formalities, I can appreciate their technical details at a deeper level.