Aubrey

Hi westiemum and Melbomb The place on Port Rd that sells the Barf Patties is a Pet food shop - it's called: Pet Food Hindmarsh 326 Port Road Hindmarsh SA 5007 Ph (08) 8241 5758 http://www.barfsa.com.au/stockists.htm

Hi Mini Schnauzer - we'd love to see you in the Schnauzer forum and see some pics of your pup!

I often go to central markets to pick up stuff as I am walking distance at work too There is a great shop on Port Road in Hindmarsh that does barf and raw food... beef, chicken, roo etc. I often go to a butchers further down Port Road in the shopping centre at Welland... butcher there has cheap off cuts and chicken carcasses. Woolies in town also do raw food with offcuts, hearts, chicken necks etc.

All my photos come off my camera in RAW format - which for Nikon is as a NEF. It goes through Photoshop or ACDSee first and is saved straight to TIFF format. These are much bigger files, but are in a lossless format and do not do any compression. Much better than JPEG and means I can blow them up using the whole 10 megapixels of my camera. At 1.2MB you are not going to get more than a 7x5 photo.

Yes, we found this also! It occured if a poo was left for just a few days....

For my 2c I would also up the apeture to f8 or f11, even higher to f16 at a 280mm length. My 55-200 is a little weak at 200 so stop it at 180 because it softens, but for the long distance shots I tend to put the apeture up high so that there is more detail in case I crop it. If there is enough light, and slow movement, a 1/200 sec and higher apeture to get the meter reading right would have got a great picture. Check out focal lengths at certain apetures and distances as this will explain. There are all kinds of matrixes explaining that your focal distance may only be a few centimeters at distances at the lower focus. You are on the right track though, so keep asking questions, people will try and help. Andrew

Stick with RAW. If your photos isn't quite right, Photoshop will deal with a RAW picture better.... much more info and you can then adjust exposure, f/stop etc. JPEG is just for ease of use!

Good explanation on the VR. However, if you have a really good day out, and you are doing long distance shots, you may want to increase your f/stop to get a good depth of field, which means you might be shooting at f9 or f11.... so a f2.8 isn't going to make too much difference. I am saving up for an f2.8 so I can get good portraits at the f2.8 to get good blur behind, but at the same time put a 1.4 or 1.6x teleconverter on the end of it. I'll then be able to get a good 300mm or 400mm off my 200mm lens and only lose 1 or 2 f/stops. I like the shots I get out of my 70-200mm 4-5.6 VR lens with the right lens, and most of those are at the higher f/stop, so a f2.8 will only allow me to increase the speed of the shutter, and thus give me a higher f/stop.... and this is the reason why those lenses are great. I'm looking at getting a 2nd hand one though, no real need to get a brand new one if a good 2nd hand one is avialable. $1350 for a lens is quite a lot of money.... http://www.d-d-photographics.com/nikonslracc.htm#80-200 Don't forget to remember the ratio on your sensor too, it will change a 200mm lens into a 300mm lens in standard film format

Nope. http://www.shopbot.com.au/p-32489.html the 50mm 1.8 is $124 at camerasdirect (and I highly recommend them). I'm on the Nikon so a 50mm 1.8 is $150 at best, or $174 from local shop http://www.shopbot.com.au/p-31595.html

Don't worry, you are not the first, and won't be the last to be baffled by all this talk. I've just finished a photography course and have a much better understanding of it all now, so will explain a little and you can PM me if you have more specifics. The 18-55 and 55-200 is the zoom lens. Generally it is done using old speak photography where the 35mm was the norm for photographs. However, with the zoom lenses rather than saying 2x, 3x etc, you can zoom to specific intervals. This also depends on your camera. Most are a 1.5x which means at 18mm you are actually at 27mm and at 200mm you are at 300mm zoom. Either way, the larger the number, the closer you get to the subject you are photographing, but then the less of the surrounds you get. On top of this you need to think about your f/stop which is basically the amount of light that is getting into you camera and to the sensor at the back. The sensor is a computerized version of film, which transfers the data into a digital image. The more light, the brighter the picture... too much light = overexposed.... too little = under exposed. During normal conditions (good light) you can use the metering in the camera to get the best out of it. The more zoom you get, on the standard lenses, the higher the f/stop, so the less light that gets in, which means you either need really sunny days, or to open up the sensor more, which means slower shutter speeds in order to capture that perfect shot with the right light settings. Which brings us nicely on to the 50mm lenses... of which I am trying to convince the OH to get me one for XMAS (If she reads this post!). The 1.2 lets more light in than the 1.4 which lets more light in than the 1.8 and so on down the scale. These values can go up to 32 and beyond, depending on the zoom and the lens, and of course the camera. The better the f/stop the better you can get the shutter speed, and therefore the crisper the image. For example in an average cloudy day, if you were trying to photograph your dog going on its zoomies you might get a blur if the meter has your shutter speed at 1/4 second because your kit lens is on an f/stop of 4. However, with the 50mm lens offering you a 1.8, you effectively gain 2 f/stops (4 to 2.8 to 1.8) which can also improve your shutter speed by 2... which may mean getting that shot at 1/20th or 1/15th of a second... much quicker and sharper. If you had the 1.4 then you could get away with the next shutter speed down, which is around 1/25th or 1/50th second, depending on your camera. Most people rate these lenses at the lower light levels during the day, you get what you pay for with the well built lenses and the lower f/stop. A 50mm 1.8 is currently around $200 (damn US $) and the 1.4 is around $400. The lens also plays an important part in the best shutter speed to use, and IS / VR gives you 2 shutter speeds to assist. Rule of thumb I've been taught is that the slowest shutter speed is 1/ the longest zoom of the lens (so 1/50th and 1/200th second for your two lenses). Any slower than that and you'll get blur caused by camera shake (average user without the shakes due to a hangover here!). So you have done what I did which was get 2 lenses to cover the range that 1 lens can do, and that will probably give you better photos at the closer ranges. Hope this helps, the more I try and explain it to others the better it seems to get in my head! Andrew

Our pup also doesn't seem too keen on BARF patties...she has eaten them a few times and other times, like this morning she just gives it a sniff and turns away...I've tried adding a sprinkle of cheese and this seemed to do the trick but only a few times - this morn the cheese was added and she didn't want it, I even tried heating it up a little in the microwave and still she did not want it....

Indeed, get down to the DOL on 7th December.... See the other post, I'll have my D80 there and will be trying new things and trying to get better photos than the last time!

Just to add to this that I don't use a UV filter. My course instructor has said that the good ones ($100+) are worth it, but otherwise it will ruin your photos. As I am using a lens that costs $250, then doesn't bother me too much... however, if I get permission for the $2000 70-200mm f/2.8, then a $150 UV filter will definitely go on!

I am on the SLR Camera Course... A friend of mine has done both and he said the SLR one was the better one. You'll learn everything about the camera and taking shots, without spending time on Post Processing (Photoshop etc.).

Take lots of shots on different settings..... I used flowers outside as it does good lighting and shadows. Waterfalls (plenty of those along the Torrents) are pretty good for shutter speed. Link to WEA is here http://www.wea-sa.com.au I use ACDSee Photo Manager 10 for the simpler things in life... it does a lot of what PS does but is simpler to use ;) I think the 2009 version is about $60 from here http://store.acdsee.com/store/acd/en_US/Di...uctID.106893200 It will happily open the NEF files and allows you to crop, lighten, unsharpen mask and change to jpeg for you to email around.... however stick to RAW files for your camera, then open them in this and save to TIFF (Loss-less format). Let me know if you need any other assistance Andrew

We're also in Adelaide... I bought I D80 with those 2 lenses back in May and still learning. I'm on the WEA Digital Photography Course with Tim Newbury and it is fantastic... 8 weeks with a field trip to keep you going. It is called "Using an SLR Camera" and starts mid-Feb and costs $119 - well worth every cent in my book! We're half way through and already my photos are improving (and my composition). As for faster lenses, the f/stop value (the number range) makes it faster. You have 3.5 to 6(Ish) lens at the moment, and you can get a 55-200 f/2.8 which is the best for long distance, but it will cost around $2,350. I'm looking at getting a 50mm f/1.4 or 1.8 for fixed focal and speed. Fixed range means faster and sharper images as less glass to move around. I'm also looking at the sigma 70-300 APO Macro lens for slightly longer range but primarly for the MACRO mode. Auto mode is good, but Manual is better.... take a look in the book about metering and then depending on the shot adjust the shutter speed or the f/stop to get the meter in the middle. Remember, don't go slower than 1/50 (for the 18-55) or 1/200 (for the 55-200) otherwise you'll get camera shake (unless you are on a tripod). These are just a few of the things I've learnt on the course ;)

Tamron are OK, but I'd stay away from Harveys! Shop around and use the Internet to find the best price.... even better, get a 2nd hand one, but check for scratches, fungus and of course signs of wear. Get the Canon if you can as they are often better built, but Nikkor are pretty good too.... you get what you pay for though. Sigma are also OK if you are looking at the consumer end of the market (like me!) IS is good, (I have VR on my Nikon) but effectively gives you 2 shutter speeds for hand held photos, and doesnt matter if you are on a good tripod. So with the 70-200 lens, if you get the IS version, the best you can do is a 1/100 sec shutter speed (if that is 2 steps on your shutter adjustments)... without the IS then best would be a 1/200sec shutter speed. Anything slower and you'll get some blurring just from camera shake

Play with the camera and its settings, but take an evening class.. it's helped me lots!

There is all the detail you need. The last values are your lowest f/stop values at the different ranges So at 18mm it is 3.5 and 55mm it is 5.6 At 75mm it is 4 and 300mm it is 5.6 as well. Both are miniumum values, with the max usually around f/22 but I wouldn't go above f/16 unless you have fantastic lighting or slow shutter speed. I'm on a course at the moment through WEA in Adelaide - we did f/stop and shutter speed last week and depth of field this week... there are some good tables out there which show you the depth depending on your focal length, distance from target and of course f/stop. It takes a while, hang on in there

:p Righty Rugerfly, which Nikon should I looksy at, got a budget of only around $1000. ;) efs D80 all the way! http://www.quikshop.com.au/nikon-digital-c-58_274_293.html - Body only but lenses start from around $100 depending on what you want..... However, this is a pretty good deal for the D60 http://www.d-d-photographics.com.au/nikond60.htm $1055 including 2 great VR lenses (I have them both for my D80). Careful with some of the kits though as they give the non-VR lenses for the same price as the camera and a VR lens at other shops... I ended up ordering body from one and lenses from d-d-photographics! Don't let the shops intimidate you about warranties either... at the end of the day all repairs go to Nikon Sydney or the Nikon factory if they can't fix it! Good luck Andrew

I too have the D80 and love it... with the 18-55 and 55-200 VR lenses. Just started a photography course and learning all there is to improve on the photos of Aubrey and the rest of my world.... its a great camera!

We use Canine Interaction for our pup.... very social and very well structured training of dogs all ages. Speak to Megan there, the classes are Thursday nights, but I think they do other ones too. http://www.canineinteraction.com.au Good luck

Sarah your pup is sooooo gorgeous - what a sweetie!! What dry food are you feeding him? Our MS (6 months old now) started on Science Diet and used to hoover it up but then stopped. I was worried as she suddenly wasn't eating much. I think she got bored of it as she would still hoover down meats and other little bits that were given to her. We switched to Eagle Pack and she got back to her normal eating again. She has also tried Royal Canine and seems to enjoy that brand too. Maybe try a different dry food if you pup is not really interested in the current one - Petstock has free samples of most of the top premium ranges. Good luck

I'm suffering badly and the moment with allergies too Puggy My eyes are really irritated and I have a streaming nose - not pretty lol Ohh I didn't know that dogs could have antihistamine tabs - do you think they would be okay for a 6 month old Miniature Schnauzer? After a play outside this morning she was also chewing at her feet, I think this is a sign of allergies too?

Hi Guys Sorry for the dealyed response I didn't have access to a computer for the rest of the weekend. I ended up ringing the vet and asking for some advice - I was told if the sneezing continued throughout the day then to bring her in in the afternoon. Well she stopped sneezing about half-way through the morning and went out with me to tennis in the afternoon - he mood picked up dramatically and she had a great time. She was really tired when we got home and slept for most of the evening. There were a few small sneezes but nothing more. Yesterday I only noticed 2 sneezes and I was with her all day - it happened after she had been out playing in the grass so I think she may have a slight allergy. She is still being quiter than usual but I think it is due to my OH being away at the moment...I think she is a little depressed as I have caught her looking for him. This is the first time she has been without him....I wish I could tell her that he'll be back soon! P.S Puggy_Puggy there was no snot detected - just the sneezing. I'll keep a close eye on her over the next few days and if the sneezing continues we'll be off to the vet.