2 more pics and a question...

[burdock87]

I'm sure I've asked this before, but I'm looking into buying a DSLR once I have the money for one. (Sadly, I'm hoping my student loan will come soon so I can get a camera with what isn't used for books and fixing my car...you know - camera > car ... lol) I'm torn between the Nikon D3100 and the Canon EOS Rebel. Is either one better for sports and fast-moving critters? A friend mentioned that the Nikon lenses don't autofocus unless you buy one that specifically will...is this true? Is either one better for a first DSLR?

And now for my most recent pictures...

I thought this was a cute shot...the calf was peeking around his mama's rear end to see what the strange creature in his pasture was. It's interesting how curious they are, yet they refuse to get close. I missed the shot where his nose was JUST peeking around mama.

While I don't have any idea what kind of bird this is (I'm terrible with birds, and don't know where my bird book is), I thought it was an ok shot. He was nestled in my horse's hay bale (and scared the crap out of me when I went to reach for some hay!) So I shot a couple pics with my phone before he fluttered onto the ground. He was kind enough to let me run into the house to grab my camera and drop down to his level where I snapped off a couple pictures in an army-crawl before he took off.

I don't like the stick in the foreground; I think it's a bit distracting, but I wasn't able to move it without scaring this little guy away. I'm pretty sure I shot this one in "close up" mode on my camera, and I really like the way the background blurred, focusing ONLY on the bird. I wish all my pictures would do that when I want them to... :/

But overall...what can I do to improve?

 

[jmtonkin]

Does your camera have a manual mode? If you shoot with a larger aperature (smaller f/stop #) you'll get that blurred background that you desire.

For the first one, maybe crop a little off the left? There seems to be a lot of extra space. Also, if you were to shoot at the smaller f/stop, that would help to give you a more blurry, undistracting background. Also, not digging the pile of manure (?) under mom...

I don't find the stick very distracting in the second one. Maybe work on the composition? The bird is very centered...

 

[KmH]

A friend mentioned that the Nikon lenses don't autofocus unless you buy one that specifically will...is this true?

The low end entry-level Nikon cameras do not have a focus motor in them. None of Canon's camera's have an auto focus motor in them.

Most of the Nikon lenses you would want will have a focus motor in the lens. Nikon labels those lenses as AF-S, or an older design, AF-I. The Nikon lenses that don't have a focus motor in them are designated AF.

Here is a 164 lens list that will all auto focus on a Nikon camera that doesn't have a focus motor in it: List of Nikon F-mount lenses with integrated autofocus motors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia