Kirislin

I try to keep them clean in the first place but if they need it, just a lens cloth and a blower, so far I've avoided dog nose dobs on them. :laugh:

Yep, I do like a clean lens! :D 5F6A0425dpp by kirislin, on Flickr

Grey market is when you buy from an online seller like DWI who warehouse their cameras OS (I think) Although they offer a warranty it's not the Canon warranty. If something went wrong you might have to post the camera back to them at your own cost, to Hong Kong or where ever and it might not be repaired by Canon. I used to think the savings were worth the risk but I dont anymore because customs have cracked down on imports and anything over $1000 attracts a 10% import duty which then makes their prices not much better than buying from an Australian retailer, assuming you've tracked down a good price, and with the Aussie retailer you get the Canon warranty.

WOW!! that's amazing, and good news too!

Just to confuse you even more, have you considered the 60D? I have a friend who recently bought it and she uses it to photograph football matches, so some fast action there, although cant compare to whippets, but she gets some amazing shots. She upgraded from a 400D and is thrilled with its performance. Camera pro has if for $825 currently.

I dont think I'd currently buy a camera body from the grey market sellers. Once upon a time I was all for them but currently if you get slugged import duty of an extra 10% they aren't really any cheaper. Check online for the lowest price you can find, it might be with Camera Pro and then approach your local camera store to see if they'll price match. Also check with a company called Kogan, they seem to have cheap prices on some lenses and bodies but I'm not sure if they grey. I saw the little nifty fifty there for $99. You might still find it worthwhile to buy the lenses grey but the camera body from a retailer. Good luck with what ever you choose to get.

One thing I do want to point out is the extraordinary difference between kit lenses and the more expensive lenses. It's not just image quality that is superior but how fast the lens is with focusing and then shooting. Even on my 1000D, the most basic of the basic, the difference between my kit lens and the Canon 70-200mm I borrowed from a friend was amazing. The faster lens would have been worth it on that basis alone. I was absolutely floored by the number of action shots I took that I completely nailed compared to how many I was nailing with the kit lens and I could actually hear and feel how much faster it was while I was shooting. In my opinion, there is little point in getting a camera like the 7D that is designed for awesome auto-focus and fast shutter speeds if you're going to put a slow kit lens on it. It really seems to defeat the purpose. Just my opinion of course and feel free to ignore me. I just thought I'd share because if I hadn't tried a fast lens on my old camera I never would have realised how much difference that alone would make, let alone the difference with that and a body upgrade. you worded it so much better than I did, but this is what I was trying to say.

If you get the 7D buy good lenses to go with it, not the kit lenses like the 55-250 I dont think it does the camera justice. The lenses I use most are the 70-200 I love that combo. I also use the 2 primes, the 50mm and the 100mm macro. As a sports camera I think it's brilliant. I love it. I dont do portraits or low light though. I dont know what it would be like for that. every one who has the Nikon seems to rave about its low light capabilities maybe that's what you want.

Chihuahua/Rottweiler.

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Lovely pets but one's got me a bit confused. Meowington doesn't look like a bengal to me. I thought they were short haired spotted or striped cats a browny yellow colour. like the cats here http://www.google.com.au/search?q=bengal+cat&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=lRw&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=gPjST5LdBYuziQff8KyKAw&ved=0CGsQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=610

He basically has a bulgy perineum.

I have 2 blue whippets and they are smaller and finer in bone than most whippets I see. From what I've read about both black and blue whipets they are often either finer or coarser in bone than other whippets. Their coats are quite different to each other, Kibah the mother has a thicker coat than her daughter Feather who in places is bald, but it is NOT alopecia. She just has a very fine coat. They are both very healthy whippets and I often think the modern whippet is getting too big, so their fineness suits my taste. They are more like the whippet of old. Neither have skin problems apart from some years they've had grass irritations, but then so have some of my other whippets who are brindles and parti colours.

I dont think it's because he's not hairy, I've seen his bottom and I think there's a bulge there, it's more between his anus and (now empty) scrotum. I wonder if it's the prostate gland bulging, do they bulge? I dont know but I have seen that bulge before on a whippet. Post a photo of it.

Yep, that's the name, he was also quite good looking from what I remember. Mantra Lad was a rich fawn with a slightly darker muzzle, (although looking at photos of him it doesn't look like it, that's how I remember him) you probably know that, and looks to be good natured and has alot of presence, just like a good horse when they catch your eye and just make you stop and look at them. I used to occasionally take a whippet with me on trial days and one day I had little Feather, my 9 kilo blue girl and he was looking amorously at her, I think both our hearts were thumping fast that day. :laugh:

I have Picasa and I did one on there, but every time I turn it on it has to chug through and load up every single photo I've taken since I last used it. It's a slow process, I wish I could just transfer the photo I want to edit on there

I want to start watermarking my photos but I dont know how. at present I have to individually type the copyright notice on every single photo, it gets rather tedious

Oh Annie! I'm so sorry, I've loved seeing photos of him over the years here. You have my sympathy.

I'm very sorry you have reached this point but it seems you are doing the right thing. Try to be brave for her and do your best to hide your distress tomorrow. Spoil her tonight.

OT When I was a lure driver Mantra Lad would sometimes come and trial. I remember the first time he came. I'd never heard of him because I dont actually follow the greyhounds, I thought at the time this dog's not even trying, and yet he ran a really good time. I dont usually speak to the trainers but he was such an impressive looking dog I couldn't help commenting on how easily he ran. The trainer, (I forget his name) just smiled and said yeah he was having a look around. I had a huge crush on that dog.

a turkey leg is a meal for one of my nearly 40 kilo greyhounds, way too much for a whippet. Oh really? try telling that to my whippets :laugh: Yes, he ate it all! by kirislin, on Flickr Tag and the Turkey leg by kirislin, on Flickr Just kidding, they're very big whippets, almost 20kgs and not fat and this was a once off, they haven't had turkey since. Glad Missy is OK sometimes they just chuck up for no reason we can fathom.

I've got the 7D and I bought it specifically to capture whippets in full flight coming at me almost straight on. There's alot of variables in getting the shot, and alot of different settings you can have the camera on, I still dont really know if I've got it right, so I have to expect alot of misses, and I have them, but when all the planets are in alignment and it gets the shot, it does so with spectacular results, well, I think so anyway, it makes me happy. :D I'm sure the Nikon equivalent would do just as well, who knows, maybe even better. The 7D is also very good for landscape and portraiture but it's the autofocus I wanted it for. Here's a thread mainly about photos it takes http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1154313

sometimes dogs just throw up their dinner for no particular reason, well, none that I can work out. Mine do it occasionally, and usually gobble it back up again. Is Missy OK today?

I interpreted the question more as long term missing, like if we died and they had to be rehomed, or just a temporary rehoming if we went on holidays and left them with someone to look after. Mine are always happy when I return from somewhere I've been for the day, but I never encourage it, I try to play down their excitement. To be honest, I'd rather they didn't miss me, it would be easier for them to adapt to a new house if they had to.

I think they miss us but they cope, they might fret for a while and then they just get on with things and try to adapt and learn the new house rules.