kja

RAW is kinda scary. When I first got a camera with it, I ignored those who told me to just do it and shot jpeg for months. Worst thing I ever did. Some of those photos, with a little love, if shot in RAW could have been nice - but in jpeg the camera had simply thrown out so much data it wasn't happening. And that's what shooting in jpeg does - it throws away any data that camera doesn't want to keep. RAW throws nothing away and everything you do in Lightroom to the RAW file is reversible and changeable without damaging the original file. Sweet! Now I really try to push people to use RAW - it's just that much better. You do need the software to work with it, though. BUT most cameras that shoot RAW come with something - it might not be great, but it will work. And at a minimum, you can always shoot RAW convert it with the software to jpeg and just go on as before...then later, when you want to work with the image more or when you add better software (did I mention how much I adore lighroom? lol) you can GO BACK to the original, undamaged image and play to your heart's content! And yes, RAW files are MUCH larger (coz they don't throw away data that you might actually want) so a bigger card might be in order...but with the prices dropping like crazy, it's too easy to get a 2GB or bigger! Get 'em sent from the US - it's fast and way cheaper! Anyway, I'm blathering. I don't profess to know everything about post-processing as I still really only do minimal and way easy stuff, but I'm more than happy to help however I can!

jag - not PS, I use Lightroom (Adobe). Download the free trial version if you don't have it. It's fabulous and some of the best money I've ever spent on photography. I believe the new PSCS3 ACR allows very similar control to Lightroom, but I have to admit I haven't even installed it yet as so far I haven't had the need to use anything other than Lightroom. I treated this like a RAW image and In lightroom I tweaked to taste: brightness dark tone light tone vibrance fill light exposure temperature/white balance green & blue channels Seems like a lot when you list it, but it takes no time at all and most tweaks are small movements of the individual sliders. Almost all of those things are done in camera when you shoot jpegs (with any kind of camera). Lightroom now allows you to tweak the jpeg image quite like you'd tweak a RAW - yes, you lose a bit of quality, but it's often better than not being able to salvage something! If your camera shoots RAW - move over to it. It's not that big of a learning curve - your shooting stays the same (actually it will likely improve) - and if you don't want to process, you don't have to (just like jpeg) but if you do want to do anything you have such a much higher quality image to work with and your end result will be much better! If I had to shoot that scene over, and I had no extra lighting (coz who's gonna drag that around the zoo?), I'd expose it for the highlights more (make the image brighter). There's more information on the bright side of an image than on the dark side, so making the image darker to give it the zing to taste in post will result in a better image than making a darker image brighter (rule of thumb, assumes nothing is blown). With a little more exposure you would get more detail on the giraffe's face. HTH

So what camera did you end up with??

One of the great myths of modern digital photography is that if an image doesn't come out of the camera exactly the way you want it, then it's "cheating" to work with it in post. This is absurd for many reasons. 1) When we shot film, we chose the film, the paper, the way it was developed, how we wanted it cropped, mock up prints were heavily marked for reprint with dodging, burning etc, filters were chosen - the list goes on and on. While not exactly the same, many of these things for digital are simply chosen at a later time in the creative process. Beyond that: 2) if you are shooting a compact camera, that camera is making a whole host of decisions for you and applying all sorts of neat "post processing" to the image before you get to see it. 3) if you are shooing a dslr and/or a compact that allows RAW, then YOU get to make the decisions, not the camera. And you do this after you've shot the image. It's one of the enormous benefits of shooting RAW - you don't have to rely on what some geeky kid in a basement thought as he was developing the software your camera uses LOL 4) who cares? It's your image and you can employ as many tools to get your vision across as you are happy with. Adding elements (like cloning in extra birds) is often the big monster that everyone has a problem with - I think it has to do with the feeling of being misled that this is a simple photograph. Does this mean you don't have to take any care to get it right and the image can look like crud and still be good later - mostly no. I think the image should come out of the camera as close as possible to what you want to achieve, most of the time. Then use post processing to complete the vision. It's simply another tool, just like your camera or the lens. And who wants to mess with that many photos for that long on the computer?? I would probably not take the branch out. I'm a lazy post-processor and do very little to most images. I would get in and play with the tone curves, contrast, exposure (just a touch), vibrance etc to make the image pop. The exposure isn't bad at all and you can see his face was in shadow, but you have detail. So a very nice image already. Here's literally a one minute fix on the small file - I'll take it down if you want: I would definitely play with the second one if I wanted to keep it. First I'd tweak the contrast, brightness, vibrance, white balance etc. Then I'd probably turn it to black and white as I'm not sure that sky would ever have quite enough WOW for me personally. I'd also go back and reshoot coz I think the elements are great - I'd want separation between the man made tower and the tree for two points of interest. If you want to do editing, have a look at Lightroom - it's awesome and easy to figure out the basics. I almost never open Photoshop for editing any more!

I agree...take her to the vet. Our Dora girl was doing this last year and it turned out to be blocked anal glands. They needed squeezing and it took two trips to get rid of the problem.

ruth - looking good! Nothing wrong with auto modes ;) I've just been playing with the Pet mode on my little Canon 570IS...so far it's doing a good job! Rottn... I think you'll do just fine with this camera. Those who have it that I've talked with like it just fine! SLRs have their place, but I wouldn't give up my compacts - too easy, too small, too ready to roll, too good for any conditions (don't really care if it gets knocked into the drink or down the sand dune, but I sometimes don't drag my bigger, more expensive rig around on those types of days!!) AND the dogs seem to not care as much when I have my little one - when I have the bigger rig, they sometimes wander off or stop playing coz they KNOW I want good shots LOL Look forward to seeing lots of pics!

Wow! Hadn't seen this thread til now - what a gorgeous boy

Sorry, Rottn...what exactly are you asking about the Oly? Do you have one already and aren't getting the results you want out of it or are you looking to buy one? Zooms are great, but there are sacrifices in big range zooms - the same is true in compacts and dslr lenses! I've only heard good things about this camera overall. If you have it and are having troubles, more information and a shot or two will really help to trouble shoot.

goldie - yeah, maybe...I'm just SO paranoid with this one for some reason! I'm going to ring the "local" vet again to see what, if anything, has been happening with parvo and other nasties in this area recently. The vet isn't in town bar one day a week most weeks and the office is closed for the holiday - there is meant to be someone there Thursday, but they tend to be a bit...fluid, with their sense of time! I know we took our Dora girl to the beach right away at 8 weeks with no problems, but BOY would I hate to have something happen that could be tracked back there. I'd be devastated. I'm glad I asked here for sure...there's far more information coming out in this (and other) threads than I could have hoped for, so I hope it doesn't end!

Sorry, I didn't mean to be confusing and really wanted to keep this as specific as possible. My only question on this thread is swimming in the ocean before all of the shots. We have no puppy preschool where I live and there are no other people in the area that my breeder could recommend. We are remote. We do have friends with dogs, who are all vax'd, and we are socializing her. We have a big backyard and we are playing a lot! We are also taking her with us to work, the shops, in the car etc. Those areas are covered in my mind already. Being remote we have the luxury of having very few dogs on the main beach ever. But I know that some aren't vax'd at all. I also have the luxury of a beach a few kms out of town that I think I've seen other people on only a handful of times in the past two years. We also have our own new property out of town (we haven't built yet) and that has its own beachfront that isn't particularly accessible from either end (and there are no neighbors for several kms and no real way to traipse down there for the average person). I was just thinking that these factors might have made swimming a bit early more viable since there's no real way to stop coming into contact with stuff anyway...but I do want to keep the risks as minimal as I can! Thanks so much for the ideas and extra bits so far...very interesting and great to see so much information, even if it isn't clear to me what I should do yet LOL Keep it coming!

MatildaLily had her first C3 on the 26th and we will schedule her next shot for 12 weeks (born 08 Nov) as soon as the vet reopens. I've talked to a nurse at emergency at Murdoch Vet, another vet, two breeders, many friends and a partridge in a pear tree and I'm not getting the same info! My first question is: is it "safe" to take her to the beach for a swim if we do not let her out onto the sand at all. Just carry her from car to water and back. Murdoch woman said a resounding no; the vet said yes as long as we waited a few days after the C3... She's such an enormous bundle of energy - far more active than either of our other two ever were - that we thought swimming would be a good way to drain some of that and be very easy on her joints & growing body. With all of the recent parvo news we are far more paranoid than we have been in the past and want to make the best decisions possible. If she can't go just yet, what course of events would you suggest before she can hit the water (shots, age, etc)? Really appreciate it again!

Can't help with resale value. I don't think you can go wrong with any of Canon's offerings - those 400Ds are really nice. I'd be tempted to head that way instead of the 20D simply for the beautiful screen - it really does make life easier. All models suggested will allow you to grow and grow and grow photographically, so that's not a big issue. They are all extremely capable of coping with pretty much anything you can throw at them! Lenses are always a thing. There's always one more to buy and there are so many opinions on what's "best" for a particular thing! I adore the Canon 10-22 (Sigma makes a 10-20 that is also very very good). Great for landscapes and other wide shots. What do you have now? What do you like/dislike about them?

OK, in a nutshell, you're paying for the newer technology. The 40D is sweet - that screen alone makes the jump worthwhile and the high ISO is great. That said, virtually all of the people I know who have added a 40D are not getting rid of their 20Ds as backups and second cameras (most of my camera friends shoot weddings, portraits, etc professionally, so this sample is likely skewed) - they are even hunting down second-hand 20Ds and gobbling them up. The 20D is a workhorse with very good high ISO capabilities. I'm not getting rid of mine anytime soon, I can tell you. On yesterday's shoot, I used both my 40D and the 20D. Don't overlook the 400D (XTi, I think) - it's a fabulous unit, lighter and smaller. Very very capable. What kind of things do you like to shoot? That will determine the focal length range you should start looking at. Sigma makes a great piece of glass that is a fabulous all-rounder...the 18-200. I have the old non-OS version and it's light, tiny and wonderful. I just lent it to a friend to use and she immediately went and bought one; she bought the newer version that has OS. It is also fabulous but it is heavier and bigger. A lens that stayed on my camera was the Sigma 17-70. This thing is awesome and will stay with me for day to day stuff. I've added Canon's 17-55 IS 2,8 version for indoor work, but the Sigma won't ever be far away. Like macro stuff? Canon's 60mm macro can't be beat. The 100mm is a gem, too, but more specialized and less versatile. That might help you get started...once I see more of what you like to do, I might be able to add more stuff!

I assume she's registering the pups as we were talking about names and she was counting letters as she said there are only 26 (?) allowed in the registration? We think we're going with Lalapanzi Roca MatildaLily ... the prefix is set, the suffix isn't final yet (as of last week anyway). I know the breeder's usually choose the whole name, but she liked our idea on a name, too! Yup on the vax - that's why I'm asking questions and doing a lot of reading. I want to do it the best way to protect the pup and to make sure we can get her out and about as soon as is safe!

Good timing...I'm talking to her today and I'm going to WRITE DOWN the answers. We have talked about almost all of the things on your list (not micro-chipping yet) but with the excitement of a new puppy and all the things that are simply going on from day to day a lot of the particulars have wandered out of my mind! For the health checks on the parents, is there a list somewhere? I know about the elbows and hips.

I'm sorry for your loss. Our best wishes and most positive thoughts are coming your way. I'm so happy for you that you are able to see the privilege you had and the sheer joy she brought into your life even though you are mourning.

Thanks! I am calling her today and asking for the C3. This is the only thing that has raised flags and I've spent more than ten hours with her on the phone and in her home. She has four dogs at the house - plus the puppies - and they are all lovely in temperment and look beautiful. I've even met with another lady who has one of her puppies/dogs so I'm sure everything else is fine. I just need to deal with this one issue - I know it's because she's trying to do things in a more "natural" way.

Hehehee - sorry I'm strawberry blonde, myself, and shouldn't be so hard on that part of me!

Ah, there it is!! Blonde moment, sorry! Thanks for that

We always thought potatoes were bad for dogs, but as I've been scouring the net the past few days I thought I came across a reference that said mashed potatoes were NOT bad for dogs. Now I can't find it! Does anyone know? Not that we have a lot of leftover mashed potatoes very often, but it's more for my own curiosity than anything!

Sharing is a great thing. I have two good friends in town here and we do this a lot - of course, we all usually end up with our own copies eventually, but it's a fab way to save up! Right on! Only a poor craftsman blames the tools.

I should have been more clear - sorry, I'm too used to talking to camera junkies! Yes, second hand 20Ds are going for around $500US and you have to be quick as they are HOT at the moment. 30Ds can be had new from the US for under a grand (and second hand for less if you can find one)...shipping from the US isn't expensive and the cameras are cheaper. As long as your total is under 1G, you're good to go with customs, GST and the like, I believe. And I've not had anything take longer than a week to arrive here in remote WA - about 90% of the time things ordered the same day will arrive from the US well before things ordered from the East Coast of Australia, which is pathetic. B&H Photo, buydig.com, sigma4less.com, newegg.com, beachcamera.com and canogacamera.com have all been good to me in the recent past. www.pricegrabber.com and other sites are very useful in finding a good deal. Also check out the Canon Forum for more info than you can imagine - but hit the Marketplace for great deals!

Canon with one lens, no contest. And don't scoff at the 20D or 30D either - they are still around and still going strong - if the 40D is too rich. I'd take either of those over the pentax in a heartbeat. That is not to say the pentax isn't good, because it is and you will have fun with it, too. Don't go for cheap (not necessarily price - Canon's kit 18-55 is really nice for the low price!) glass either - glass is an enormous part of the equation and it's better to have one really good piece than a whole slew of average or soft pieces, imho.

I'm late to this but I adore my Sigma 17-70! I've had mine for ages and it has been my go-to lens for everything I do including low light conditions where it shouldn't work as well as it does. You're going to love this lens...let me know if you have any questions at all! The 10-20 Sigma is also a nice lens - I just encouraged a friend to get one as the Canon 10-22 was out of her budget. I don'tk now what you are shooting, but the 10-20 is more of a "special" lens. Mine doesn't get enough use...that 17-70 is just right for so many things! The 10-20 is a great lens for wide scapes - you might want to check around local camera shops to see if you can rent one, sometimes it's very reasonable. I just put a shot with my Canon 10-22 at 10mm up here...I used to have the Sigma 10-20 but flooded it. The insurance pay out on it bought me the Canon as the price on it had dropped, otherwise I'd have another Sigma in a heartbeat. Also, check out ordering lenses from the US...if it's under a grand there's no futzing around with customs etc. I order a great deal of stuff from the US and the shipping time is usually less from there to me than from the East Coast to me, I kid you not. And even with the higher shipping charge, I come out way ahead. B&H, buydig.com, newegg.com (only when they have specials on), sigma4less.com and beachphoto.com are all suppliers I've used with great results. Have fun with the new glass and let's see some shots!

This is so true! I find that with my manuals (some of which I still have not read all the way through even once) and books - repeated readings are really helpful as you learn more and more. I never used to use an external flash for images and it is one manual I kinda skim, coz I am with you on the gibberish. Happily I have found some resources that are more clear for me and I also love to just get out and play to see what will happen! Play and practice and have fun!!