How many of you actually enjoy reading the manual for your camera? Well, I don’t. It’s usually hard to find what you’re looking for and when you finally do, the text is just small enough to make it annoying. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a camera manual that’s easy to pack, is searchable, and is also readable?

Here’s where your iPad, Kindle, or other tablet device can really come in handy. Camera manuals from most manufacturers are available in PDF format to download for free from their websites. You’ll usually find them on the camera manufacturer’s website under “Support”.

To put a PDF on your tablet, you’ll need to consult your tablet’s owner’s manual. For iOS devices (iPad) there’s a great app called GoodReader. GoodReader allows you to bookmark and highlight text. You can even add your own notes.

You can also use iBooks on the iPad to read PDFs.

Whatever apps or built in functionality your device has, chances are you can easily read PDF files. And finding the manuals to download shouldn’t be much more of a matter than a quick search or a visit to your camera manufacturer’s website.