What a difference a dSLR makes !!

I recently posted a thread for 4 pics I was quite pleased with - taken with my compact camera - and have just made the mistake of comparing one of them to a new pic taken on Sunday of the same dog, this time with my Nikon D40

The compact camera pic, with a fair bit of post production done for lighting and noise reduction



The Nikon pic - and I have barely scratched the surface of the available manual settings yet



I love my new camera

While I`m at it, here are a few more from Sunday - don`t forget these are my first ever Action shot attempts with the Nikon and I`m still playing with settings so all help to get me to the right one`s faster and for improving composition as much as possible within the constraint of the setting are welcomed with open arms, [ I will be experimenting lots with more angles as well ].

I am not at all sure about `metering`, which option would be best please ?

Considering you have only had the camera a week, your timing is excellent in these photos.

Did you use the autofocus or did you pre-focus?

I think the second image of the Jack Russell in which the dog is looking into the lens, is a smashing photo.

Great pictures

Steve

What a great improvement!

Spot metering aimed right at the dogs eyes!!!

Nice to see you getting hang of the camera Patch.

Just a few quick tips, always frame for what you want - so you don't have to crop in afterwards (as you'll lose quality by cropping in too much). Make sure you camera is on it's highest quality setting.

Thank you so much, chuffed to bits
I did use autofocus but manual speed setting, [ I whacked it up to the full 4000 ], I used the S on the dial for shutter priority and let the camera decide on ISO and focus. I did it that way as I needed to move around the course layout a lot, [ cos I`m the instructor so I have to watch the dogs and handlers carefully for teaching first and foremost then try to take pics as and when possible as well ], and with the dogs at speed I would have missed a lot if trying to manually focus as well, [ plus I wanted a chance of some decent shots for my first time with this camera doing action photos ], but I will practice lots with manual focus when I get a bit more confident


Thank you
I am still getting used to looking through the little hole instead of using a back screen and did`t have a clue about metering so I tried all the options but could`nt really tell which was best as my aim is less than stellar yet with using the little square through the hole but I`ll set to Spot only for the next session and will try to get my aim better as the dogs eyes are what show when they are really enjoying and focussing on what they are doing

It is on highest quality setting as default but I have`nt tried RAW yet as I need to read up on that more to really understand it
Totally understand what you mean about avoiding cropping if possible, to be honest I had no idea how close up or not the shots would be as I`m not used to this lens type, my compact has zoom that I`m used to now but this Nikon is a different kettle of fish altogether, things look a lot closer to me than they probably are viewed through the hole so I need to adjust myself to the different perspective of it
I will use the first set of shots to help me get better distance, thank you

Excellent Patch, you are really motoring now!!! Im looking forward to some stunning portraits of your guys too. (hint hint)

You prob know this, but just in case you don't... you know that you can rotate the ring on the lens to 'zoom' in and out don't you?

Patch

Those first efforts with your new camera are very good, The difference between a compact and digital DSLR can only be appreciated when changing from the prior to the latter.
I bet you wouldn't want to go back to the compact that often now.

What I would say is don't try and rush into knowing everything about your new camera straight away, take it step by step, exploring each setting in turn and its relationship with other settings.

This basic learning curve will hold up if you progress later on to a more advanced model.

Later on you will want to obtain different lenses for different situations but that for the moment I wouldn't worry too much about.

Well done

Bazza

I do now

Thank you

How right you are My compact will now be used mainly for video as its useful for my agility handlers to be able to watch back the sequences they have been working on, and as a back up for any time I run out of battery power on the Nikon but I`ve only had to recharge it once so far despite taking way more pics than the compact could before needing recharging and I`m getting a spare battery for the Nikon

Could`nt agree more, I find it all too easy to get confuddled so I`ve been sticking to two main things so far, action shots and close up stills, trying different settings for those then I`ll explore the available options for another situation or two but will wait til I`m comfortable with various settings choices for the first two modes before moving on to the next

Unless I want a serious poke in the eye with a sharp stick from Father Xmas`s intermediary I have plenty of learning time before a more advanced model would be on the horizon

Just playing with the zoom it came with now I know how to use it is keeping me busy for now but I will definitely look into more lenses later on, not in the immediate though as you rightly say I need to get used to everything `as is` first

Thank you so much