Photo/Camera Question - what to buy

[Marko]

This might be the simplest answer on the planet but i actually have a bit of experience taking picture of shelter animals.

and the short answer is get a second person to help hold the dog or a cat and maybe bribe it with some treats while you shoot. Get anyone in the shelter to help hold the pets if possible. Someone there should be able to help.

In terms of a good first starter DSLR - we have a thread on this exact topic here: Good starter Digital SLR?


Hope it helps

Marko

[Shooter]

Thanks for the tips! I am not sure about treats. Since it's a shelter and I know they've had problems with keeping the animals healthy, I am not sure if it would be allowed. It's worth asking, though. Once the cats are in the observation room (a very small closet-sized room) for a moment or two, all of their exploration is done and they are pressed up against the glass watching whatever is happening outside the room. I've used my keys before to distract them and lure them away from the glass. But, that usually only works with kittens. I hadn't thought of bringing some treats. I will ask and see if that will be possible.

Can you please explain what SLR means? Sorry, I am just very new to all of this.

[tegan]

SLR means that the viewfinder is really looking through the lens to take the shot. Lens can be changed and changing the lenses changes what you see in the viewfinder and changes the resulting shot.

Tegan

[Marko]

Here's a visual as well just in case.
http://www.photography.ca/phototips/trinity.html

an SLR is the camera on the bottom (and a DSLR is a digital version of the same thing). On an SLR, you can change lenses, manually focus the lens, have full control over aperture, shutter speed and film speed.

Hope that helps,

Marko

[kiley9806]

SLR stands for 'single lens reflex', and DSLR just means its digital.

heres a good info link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-lens_reflex_camera