Spring was a time of swaggering declarations.
Reaching autumn, one finds few absolutes.
Life is mystery and ambiguity,
Toward winter, that now seems agreeable and comfortable.
Deng Ming~Dao
I love this quote from my favorite little book. I am definitely approaching that autumn time in my life :-).
As you can see in the picture above, I have not quite yet finished Boing, although she is bigger now than in the picture. I am hoping to finish her up tomorrow then on the blocking wires she goes.
Thank you all SO much for all of your colorway name suggestions…they are great! So far I am leaning towards a Rhubarb theme, but I think I am going to wait to see how it blocks out first.
The show this weekend was great fun! Skyy only placed in her class on Sunday, but it was a big class with many lovely puppies, so we were pleased with her placement. She is still a baby with many shows ahead.
One of the things that made the show even more enjoyable was the company of Scottish Lamb,Jean and her family. Over the last year since they have returned from Germany, Ken and I have really enjoyed getting to know them better and this weekend was no exception!
Now….I did take my knitting and my camera. Did I knit…nope. Did I take pictures of Jean’s family….nope. You know how it goes….too much yakking and not enough pictures. The kicker is however that Jean brought her fabulous Canon SLR camera that I used all weekend taking pictures for a dog show magazine. Oy~vey, you would have thought I could have taken one picture that was not dog related…LOL.
I will tell you however, that I NEVER should have touched that camera….and you know the reason why I am sure. Yep…..you can’t want what you don’t know…but once you know, you are sunk.
As soon as I got home, the research began. A girl can get dizzy reading all of the reviews and of course choosing between a Canon and a Nikon is like choosing between a Toyota and a Honda.
I have narrowed the choices down to these 2 cameras. A Nikon D300 and a
Canon 40D. Both of these cameras are way more camera than I probably need, but I really enjoy photography and hope to take some classes. Between the dogs, fiber and family, I do take a ton of pictures and one of these cameras should get me through many many years. The hard part is going to be choosing which one.
Any preferences out there?
The Woolen Rabbit 
We bought the Nikon D40X so I can’t give you an opinion on one of those 2 but if you want to read very thorough reviews about them, we found the info on:
http://www.dcresource.com
really helpful.
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It’s so great to hear you had a wonderful time. A new camera! That must mean more pictures!
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I have the Canon Rebel Xti and I love it.
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Not a clue, but interested in hearing the opinions. I currently am taking pictures with obsolescence.
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the canon! i upgraded from a canon point and shoot to the 40D a few months back and i love it madly. i must admit i’m partial to canon and have always shot with canon but still, the 40D is a dream 🙂
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Pretty!
We have a Nikon D200 and a Nikon D300 and I love them both! We had a Canon Digital Rebel too which I also loved. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. You might want to look at the lenses available and maybe that will help with your decision.
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Drop down a model level or two, and that’s pretty much the decision I’m trying to make right now. The Nikon D40 or the Canon XT? Good luck with yours!
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I am personally a Nikon girl myself. I have not gone digital with a high end camera, but since I have a newer SLR nikon, I will have to get a the nikon in digital so I can use the lenses I already have!
My father-in-law has a high end digital nikon and loves it.
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Tattoo Boyfriend has the canon and LOVES it. I mean he may leave me for it, loves it.
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I don’t know exactly what your usage requirements are for a new camera, but both the Canons and the Nikons are excellent cameras. I’ve had Nikons since the mid 1970s. Currently have a D200 and a D70, but I also love the little Canon pocket camera I have.
For years Nikon was the leader in the SLR field and then about 10 years ago Canon started kicking its butt in sports and nature photography. Nikon finally woke up and made some changes and it’s very competitive again.
To me, there’s not a whole lot of practical difference between the D200 and the D300. There are many gently used D200s available for about $800 now that the D300s are out. It might be worth considering if you’d like to save some money. If you do, just buy from a reputable person.
Nikon also has an 18-200 mm lens that, on the D200, (not sure about the D300) is the equivalent of 24-300 mm. This is a very useful lens and it’s a VR lens.
I’ve always had good luck with the reviews at http://www.dpreview.com and http://www.steves-digicams.com/ Their reviews run anywhere from 10-30 pages and always include pros and cons and a recommendation at the end. They also show you pictures of all of the menus and other things that it’s nice to see while you’re making up your mind and they label all of the camera’s parts and tell you what they do.
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Well, my pro photographer daughter just this day sent me a photo of my new “grandkid” and it was the Nikon D300. She’s had Canons forever but went to buy the newest model and loved the menu on the Nikon better. She also said something in camera-techinese regarding the lenses but I didn’t understand it any more than she’d understand if I tried to explain the differences between a SSK and K2tog to her. 🙂 I did understand the “I loves this so much and my next wedding shoot will be soooo much easier.” So I think it came down to ease of using the menu.
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Lucky you choosing a new camera! Reading your comments has been very informative. I’ll be looking back to this post when I finally decide to take the plunge!
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I’m glad you had a fun time in New York! The Boing is really pretty, and I can’t wait to see yours blocked. The cameras are both great, as well, however, I have been told by more than one professional photographer (we used to have a bed and breakfast, and several of my guests were photographers), that the Canon is, by far, the better camera. Now, having said that, you couldn’t go wrong with either one. I would make the decision on the way the pictures look, how transportable the camera is, and the weight, how easy and quickly it is to download your pictures, where the controls are located, and for me, an important feature is that I can download pictures to an IPod–you can also click through your pictures that way. Good luck with your decision!
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Kim- First, well done Skyy.
I think both cameras have their advantages- a camera nut friend recommended the Canon because they put alot of money into technology- so I bought one and I love it.
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A new camera is going to be fun. I don’t think you can go wrong with either brand. We have a Canon.
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I can’t help you with the camera decision, but Boing looks great!
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Glad you had such a great weekend. Sometimes its more important to just be there and enjoy yourself, instead of spending all your time behind a camera (grin)
As for Canon vs Nikon, I cannot say.. I own one of each (and love them both) I have a 35mm Nikon, and a older model digital Canon. Both companies make great cameras.
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I have a Nikon, when it came down to choosing between the two, it was which felt better to hold. I would suggest going somewhere that you can see them both together to try them out, good luck.
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Wow…a discussion almost as loaded as Word vs Word Perfect, or Mac vs PC!!!
I’m a Canon girl. I just got the XSi, which they say is the “little sibling” to the 40D. Love it! Nikons are also great cameras.
Some questions to think about, what kind of photography do you like to do and which company has the best lens support for your preferences?
Canon and Nikon might handle reds differently, I would suggest taking a red knit object and some other colors, too, and shoot them with both cameras in the store and see which you prefer.
Sorry for being so long winded…I have just gone through all this research myself with the XSi and lenses, along with some post-purchase acclimatization. Good luck Kim! You can’t go wrong with either one!! I’m so giddy and excited for you!!!
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I love the colorway you are using for Boing!. And my 2 cents….go splurge on the digital slr. Really they make us amateurs look great laughing and you get some rare gems. As a mom of 3 young kids my husband splurged when we had the last – I love our digital SLR. They are fast – super fast- catching action photos -such a kick. Though I still have the purse camera – you know the one that gets dropped more than you want to admit. Oh- and I would reccomend a medium range lense (something like 75-300mm)and for awesome pictures of yarn – 50mm lense rocks. Have fun shopping – don’t forget to look at Costco.com for some great deals…or Buy.com occasional has some steals as well.
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I would go with the Canon. They have a great selection of interchangeable lenses – so you could get a “hobbyist” version now, but know you could upgrade in the future if you needed more oompf for action shots at shows. D has that setup and it worked great getting moving-horse pics a couple of weeks ago.
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Yeah Skyy! I love Boing! Such a beautiful knit and a fun thing to say! 🙂
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Can’t go wrong upgrading your camera. One day I will go for the gold, too, but for now I’m still getting a lot from the one I got last summer. As far as I am concerned – there are no reasons for NOT taking pictures – everything is fair game!
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Those are both great cameras. You won’t go wrong with either one!
I have recently gone through the same dilemma. From what I gathered on the various forums and review sites, an two important questions to consider are weight of the camera and lens support. E.g. If you do a lot of handheld photography, the lighter camera might be better so your arms don’t get tired…Also, what do you photograph alot: dog shows, landscapes, close ups, telephoto…which company offers you the best lens support for your style of photography.
I can’t wait to see which camera you decide to purchase and all the new pictures!!! Yippy skippy.
You could always purchase both!! hee-hee 🙂
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I’m posting a comment here a little late (you have probably already bought a camera) but my son has a Nikon D300 he uses for birding. He uses a digi-scope attachment and takes pictures that he sell to birding magazines, so apparently the quality of the pictures is excellent. Also, I have a Canon A570 and think it is the greatest. Hope this helps!
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Boing is gorgeous.
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The boy and I have a Canon 10D and a Canon 5D and love them both… both Canon and Nikon are great brands.. the lenses are interchangeable within the brand, so if you get more into photography you’ll stick with the same brand because lenses are the most expensive part! I would say go to the store and pick up and fondle the cameras, and see where the buttons are and choose based on heft and feel. Also ask about extra battery packs and flashes and such, those can add alot of extra weight onto your camera (and since we mostly take ours out into the woods and to the dog club, it’s a commitment to haul the camera around. We still have a point and shoot digital for bike rides and lazy yarn photos 🙂
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have to vote for the canon. their lenses are superior. but i really wanted the nikon and saved and saved, but caved and bought the canon rebel xti because i had to have a new camera now.
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Canon. Cuz that’s what HE shoots.
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Boing is beautiful! What better than a new camera to do her justice? My lab has both a Canon and a Nikon, I own a Nikon (incidentally, we bought our Nikon just after the lab bought their SLRs…there is something satisfying about the “click” that just makes it impossible to use anything else!). They’re both great cameras, and there are very few essential differences between them. We went with the Nikon because it felt better in our hands. Either one will shoot great pictures; it’s just a matter of what fits you better…you want a camera that you’ll love to carry. =)
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