silentchild

This is adorable, such a good idea. :)

omg I don't even want to count. I have one dog and she has......7 beds! I'm seriously an addict. To be fair, one is in her crate and another two are in the car. The rest are scattered around the house. And the cat shares them. (Although the cat has an additional 3 kitty beds for herself....) I'm not sure how it all fits in my house. Also have about 4 blankies so not too bad on that front, about 5 towels, 2 mats and one large piece of vet bed.

Thanks Spoony! That's a gorgeous photo! And I really appreciate your advice on the lens. I'll keep my eye out for secondhand Tamrons. Yes I have been thinking the 70-200 will be quite a large lens for me to lug around! I have been considering what would be the best lens to take hiking and on bushwalks and the beach, as I suspect those type of excursions will be when I will want to take the most photos. The 70-200 might be a bit too big for that, but I'm not sure a prime lens would be ok for those type of situations too when I'd probably need some level of zoom whilst still maintaining a nice blurry background for portraits. Decisions, decisions...

From memory it was about aperture 4 to 4.5. Thank you for the tip, I notice too that backgrounds look more blur if I am up real close! My dog is not too impressed by this, LOL. I will have to practise more and find good places to shoot! With ISO, is it generally that the lower the ISO, the better, as higher ISOs are more grainy??

Oh dear, I have no idea if my body has auto focus or not... haha... Testing out some shots, got a teeny tiny hint of bokeh with the lemon shot LOL Gonna have lots of fun with this baby once I get a few different lenses. I do wish it had a dedicated ISO button instead of having to go into the menu every time. Also having trouble capturing the colour of the sky.

I don't even know the difference between D and G and would have just bought the cheapest one (which is D) without even knowing. And I thought the 50mm we have been talking about all along is the D. Have been reading and watching all the information for the past two nights and feeling a bit overwhelmed!! Took a couple of shots today and whilst the camera is great but very similiar to what I've shot in the past, so I am feeling a bit unsatisfied and really want to get some good glass soon.

Ah, thank you. I read this article that says entry level DSLRs should skip the 50mm 1.8 so I was a bit worried! http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2011/04/round-which-nikon-50mm-lens-should-i-buy

Thank you for the advice, it all is very sound and I will definitely take it on board. I plan to learn and mess around with the kit lens first for a few months until I get a feel of the camera, and then I will go to a camera shop like you suggested and try out the different lens. :) To clarify, are we talking about the 50mm 1.2,1.4 or 1.8? From what I've read there's vast differences between them?

Oh, that makes a lot of sense, thank you so much for the explanation. I have been reading up about the 50mm vs the 85mm and a lot of websites seems to say the 50mm is built terribly?? But is better for close up shots whereas the 85mm is better for outdoors? Oh dear, I'm super torn now. I found this website that rents lenses out so you can test them and see what you like, has anyone ever had any experience with them before? https://rentalens.com.au/

Ah I see. I wonder how she'd be able to nail an action shot from a prime lens. For example this was shot with a 135mm 2.0. I am enthralled that it manages to get the bokeh background on an action shot. Between the 85mm 1.8 and the 50mm 1.8, which one would you recommend more? Would the camera body make a difference or is it mostly the lens that's used? I am guessing that even with the best lens in the world I won't be able to achieve the same effect with my D3300 body? If a canon lens can't be used on a Nikon body, does that mean I can't use a nikkor or tamron lens either? (not unless I have an adapter?)

Snook, how do you feel about the Canon 85mm 1.8 lens? It's used by one of my favourite pet photographers and the results are always stunning. She also uses the 11-24mm 4L and 135mm 2.0 for action shots. I am guessing they are probably super expensive lens? Are Canon lenses compatible with Nikon cameras?

OMG thank you so much Snook!!! You are amazing!! Looks like I have A LOT of studying to do! Thank you for the explanation about the f numbers... that makes sense. Stupid question.... how do the XXmm - XXmm then come into play? So say 70-200mm f4, so that means f4 is a lowish number, and does the 70mm - 200mm mean how far it can zoom? So a 70mm zooms more than a 50mm? OMG I feel stupid just reading that... sorry I'm such a noob. :o

Sorry I shoud have clarified too. I understood what you said but having no experience with Lightroom it all seems overwhelming! We shoot JPEG at work so it was just editing straight into Photoshop, no Bridge or ACR. Occasionally Fireworks but just for batch resizing, etc. I use Photoshop more for graphic and web design work. Thanks for the link to Sail Away's thread, I've read through it all. I didn't originally mean to buy the D3300 but there was a clearance sale going on at Officeworks and they were so heavily discounted I just couldn't resist! So from what I understand as it goes, I should be looking at buying both the prime 50mm lens and the 70-200 f4 lens... I don't really understand what the f numbers mean... I would love RAW tips, thank you so much. But no rush please - I still need to take my first shots LOL. I am going through that udemy course at the moment. So much to learn!!!

Oh it all sounds so technical and confusing. I guess before I start worrying about it I should experiment with shooting a bit in RAW then messing with Camera Raw to see how it works. Need to buy a SD card first before I can experiment.... my photos will just be for casual use, to post on facebook and maybe print out a couple that I like, so I guess I shouldn't worry about it too much? It's not like I will be selling shots I guess. But would be interesting to push the limits and see what sort of photos I can get. I will have to be content with the kit lens until I save up enough for a better lens. The 70-200 f4 sounds like a go. I don't think I'll be shooting agility much, but more action shots of my own dog, or the occasional trial/show. Are there any brands for the lens you'd recommend? I've heard good things about tamron?

Are you for real???? Breeders breed to improve the breed, to preserve bloodlines, because they love their breeds and want to contribute to the breed. I'm sure they couldn't care less how much you earn. Go troll somewhere else.

Wow thanks so much for the information everyone! I will check out that class you linked, Snook. :) As for editing I'm not fazed as I use Photoshop professionally, but I was under the impression that RAW files need to be edited in Lightroom? Is this not the case? I've never used Lightroom before so there's where I worry. Also the thought of having to painfully edit every single photo I take, which often goes into hundreds per shoot LOL. Is there such thing as a lens that combines the nice portrait abilities of the 50mm with the fast speed shooting for action shots of the 70-200mm? Wishful thinking hahaha I hoped I could get away with splurging on just one lens! :laugh:

I just bought myself a Nikon D3300 today and am very excited! I'd like to get a better lens for it as it came with just a 18-55mm kit lens. I've heard good things about the nikkor 50mm f/1.8G lens for beautiful portraits with bokeh, is this a good one to get? I mostly want to take nice portrait-like shots of my pets, but also a decent amount of action shots with fast running, agility etc. What lens should I be looking at for that? I am very inexperienced - previously with work I have shot using a D60 and D3000 - I preferred the D60 by far, but I only used kit lenses with both and have very minimal knowledge about the settings. Basically just messed around with the aperture and shutter speed as I shot, without going much into anything technical at all. I'd really like to understand my new camera and how to use it to the best of its ability properly, but all the technical jargon has me very lost!! Can anyone suggest some good settings that I should use on my D3300? Also, should I be shooting in JPEG or RAW? I've always heard RAW is better but unless I want print quality should I just stick to jpeg to save on space? Thank you so much - I can't wait to start shooting!

This is me also. :D I got my dog outright after she had retired from breeding but if she had to ever go back for another litter (impossible now she's desexed) you bet I will be there, tent, sleeping bag, elbow deep in blood, poo, placentas and all. So much to learn and wisdom to gain!!!

LOL those pics I was one who was excited to hear Bunnings allowed dogs. My girl is very well behaved in public, she occasionally goes with me into shops that do allow dogs, she is also very good in busy, stressful situations, and yes I agree if your dog cannot cope with busy situations perhaps they should not go to Bunnings with you. However I do feel children need to be educated more!!! So many times we have been rushed by out of control children, for example one time we were making our way through crowds and a child ran about 200 meters away from his parents, up behind us and smacked my girl hard as you like on her bum! She jumped about a mile into the air and I got a good scare too, no warning as we did not see him sprinting up behind us through the throngs of people. Kid sped away laughing and all his dad said was "Oi!" Have had incidents like this with children (and even adults!) on multiple occasions and I am very lucky my girl is very steady and will not bite but frankly I could hardly blame her, or any other dog, if they did bite! Kids need to learn that dogs are not their toys, and just because a seemingly well-behaved dog is at a place where one would assume they are friendly (be it Bunnings, pet expos, or parks) does not mean you can just run up and pat them. Don't touch things that don't belong to you, period! I have not yet taken my girl to Bunnings, I rarely go and usually only to pick up something quick like weedkiller, but if she did have to come with me she will be wearing her training harness that clearly says 'Do not pet', and I would avoid taking her if I had a choice even though I know she is bombproof. I no longer trust the general public and especially not their children.

I am with the Aussie Shepherd Club of Vic. I enjoy being part of the club and joining in the events and activities when they are held.

Oh the darling old soul, that is amazing!

*flutters into thread spreading fairy dust* Here, with a wave of my wand and with the power of Utube, you can! The Sighthounds run first, followed by CAT dogs. There are some crackers in both categories! If any one has questions about the dogs, they each have their entry number on the bottom right of the video. Any wear marks at 9:46 are from me watching Dodger LOL I think the course length was about 550m - and some of the little dogs just eat that! It's educational to watch the varying breed running styles. At the point Whippets are at full pace (quite quickly),the big guys are still gathering it. Of course this is a short course for a Saluki - they don't really hit it until about 800m I'm told. The Beagle is just awesome! HW this is just incredible to watch... thank you for sharing!!!

I would love to see an afghan or saluki at full stretch in their element. Are there any set ups that are suited for the larger sighthounds to excel in?

Those of us that have dogs with no tail are very familiar with the wiggle bum dance. :D When mine does it she is very happy, excited, playful, etc - must express joy with my whole body!

Daylesford?! I was just there with my dog a few months ago. Nooo do not want. I take my girl to the great ocean road every year and have never encountered ticks there, touch wood.