~*Shell*~

That's a great in-store price! You'll love the 550D - my 450D has been great to learn on! Now i can't wait for the next camera I get!

The 1.4 is a very very nice lens The 1.8 is great but I really love the 1.4. The fact it's a lot more hardy than the 1.8 is the main draw card for me though!

It's definitely worth the extra money - but while you're learning I wouldn't bother. You'll get good shots with the kit lenses. The more expensive lenses have better glass, they tend to be of a better build quality and they do take better photos. They're generally "faster" too meaning they have a higher maximum aperture (the lower the number after the focal length, the wider the aperture size - the wider the aperture is, the more light you can let into the camera). While you're learning how the camera works, I would stick with the kit lenses and maybe the 50mm 1.8 (because it does take beautiful photos!). There are actually three 50mm lenses - the 1.8, the 1.4 and the 1.2. I don't think I know anyone with the 1.2 because it's a couple of grand worth of lens. The 1.8 will set you back about $120 if you buy online, the 1.4 is about $600. The 1.8 (or the "nifty fifty") is wonderful and it's so cheap!! If you're open to the idea of buying online, you can get some good deals but watch who you're buying from. I love d-d photographics and they have some great prices. With the 18-55 and the 55-250mm twin lens kit, you can get them at these prices through DD: 500D- $1265 550D- $1399

Good choices! I have the 450D, i've had it for quite a while now and i'm about to upgrade because I've finally got to the stage where I can look at a photo and tell you that my camera can't handle it. I'm also finding that my camera body isn't fast enough for the lenses I've been putting on it lately. My advice would be to buy the best that you can afford. If you're looking at the 450D and the 550D, have a look at the 500D too. They're all the same "level" of camera (the 450D being the oldest of the three) but the 500 and 550d have video capabilities.

She's just gorgeous Ruth - such a fan of Trixie.

It sounds exactly like Zero's lump. It might be a lipoma (don't worry, they're harmless) - Zero's came up over night and I freaked out. If the lump is a bit squishy and you can move it around a little, don't worry too much. If it was something more sinister, it would grow more slowly compared to a lipoma. The vet will do a fine needle aspirate of the lump and will be able to tell you right away if it is. A lipoma is just a fat deposit beneath the skin and it's completely harmless, just not the best to look at cosmetically. ETA: I should add that Zero's is painless to the touch (in fact, because his is on his stomach, he likes me to play with it, which i do often!), it's about 3-4 cms across and feels like a gel sack under the skin. Hope this helps!

These things have been possible for a really long time - photo doctoring is nothing new. I was able to change those things several years ago if I tried, not that I ever used it on an animal that was to be used for breeding, just on photographs of my own pets. Perhaps people will be pushed to do more than look at a photo to judge an animals movement and conformation. Get some video - it's a lot harder to manipulate if you're not a professional. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to sit through editing a video frame by frame and having to deal with the continuity. Quite simply, people demand quality and when that level becomes the norm, you have to go better or you sit dead in the water. Everyone wants to be able to do what a professional editor does. You see it in every kind of digital media editing software - I see it all the time in the software I use for work.

Do you have CS4 or CS4 extended? To upgrade to CS5, it's US$199 or US$349 for extended.

Now I'm really jealous Ravyk!! IWANTZ!!!

You're definitely not just being sensitive. It's wrong on so many levels.

There doesn't seem to be a Bichon thread that I can see. I don't know if a lot of DOLers own them. If you PM troy he should be able to make one for you.

I'm not sure the rspca would allow that to happen - don't the people at the top support BSL? Besides, it's a bit of a catch 22 since pitbulls have to be muzzled in public. It'd more likely work against them to bring one out for people to look at. Those muzzles make the dog look dangerous, even though most of them would lick you to death Maybe a different event like bark in the park? It would be great to see some amstaffs there!

This is gorgeous Bec! Your two are just devine and you're gorgeous!

They're fantastic! I would love to be able to get some photos like that!

Zero and I will be here with our candles.

Some people really deserve a swift kick up the bum. If he's in the pound, is microchipped and isn't claimed for 2 weeks then he can be sold by the pound as far as I know (that's how it happens at the pound I got Zero from). She won't ever get to see the money if they sell him. If she's going to bail him out and pay the fines then she can sell him on but there are so many mals in rescue that it would be easy for her to get "stuck" with him for a long time before someone wants to buy him from her. If she really cared for him, she would find him a great home, regardless of if she got any money for him or not!

Thanks guys - I can't wait to see how Trinity turns out! She's destined for the obedience and agility rings and you can tell that she'll make it already!

Cute sibes! I love red and white sibes with eyes that are nearly the same colour as their coat!

When Zero is getting on in life and can't go for his normal walks, this is what I'll be doing with him! Bugger what the neighbours think - if your dog enjoys it and it's not hurting anyone then let them think what they want!

1) Siberian Husky - I'm determined to one day own a black and white sibe with blue eyes and an agouti sibe that I will own from the time they're a puppy, the rest will be rescues. 2) Finnish Lapphund 3) French Bulldog 4) Aussie Shepherd (blue merle!) 5) Chinese Crested 6) Samoyed 7) Greyhound 8) Belgian Shepherd Dog - Groenendael 9) Canadian Eskimo Dog 10) Keeshond

Do you mean a dog who is naturally curious? If i was to put something in the middle of the yard when Zero wasn't there, he would go and explore it the second he saw it. He's not one to hang back if there's something new going on. Is that what you mean?

Zero growls when I play with him - especially when we're playing tug. He occasionally growls when he's playing with other dogs too. There is a big difference between a play growl and a "back off or I'll bite you" growl.

My biggest tip for photographing animals indoors is to buy a speedlite! Not very helpful I know but I wouldn't be without one now!

I have just bought a brand new x-trail - I looooooove the boot space because I'll finally be able to carry Zero and his crate in the car at the same time without having to have his crate wedged in behind the front seats which cuts me off from Zero when he's sitting in the backseat. Essentially this is why I bought it. I tried a few other cars and this one came out on top. I'm very excited - it arrives next weekend!! Before the big change, I had a corolla hatchback - it was a great little car but didn't fit Zero's crate in it very well and I could forget having anyone else with me in the car. It did have a big boot but not big enough. I think we were able to get Terranik's crates into the boot of it without a problem so if i had a smaller dog it would have been great but considering Zero's crate is the biggest I've seen on the market, I didn't have a hope in hell. I did make do with it for a few years though. It was such a reliable car. That being said, i did have to carry Zero's metal crate in it a couple of times. Folding the back seats down let me fit the crate in but Zero had to sit in the front, which I didn't like - it just didn't feel safe to me, even though he was in his normal harness. At the moment i'm driving a borrowed mazda3 sedan - very nice car to drive but again, too small for my needs. To me, it's essentially the same size at the corolla I had, though it is a whole lot prettier on both the outside and inside!

This is in a separate thread but here's one from today taken with the 1.4. I'm finding that my camera body at the moment it really letting me down - the lens is fast enough, the card is fast enough but the camera body doesn't seem to be. I'm annoyed that I missed a couple of really good shots today. Oh well, time for a new camera body anyway!