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AusGAF 6 - Ricki Lee is awful. Everything else about Australia is AMAZING [Free hugs]

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Doesn't look that bad

194809_mrp_fr_l.jpg
 
Like I said, the best thing is to go into a camera store and just hold the Nikon D3100 in your hands and see how it feels, then do the same with the Canon 550D/600D. If one feels far superior to the other, you've found your camera.

If you prefer the feel of the Nikon, the D3100 twin lens kit is $843 at JB, which I think they could drop to $800 easily.

If you prefer the feel of the Canon, the 550D twin lens kit is $780 (incl. shipping) with JB Direct Import.

Grab yourself a nice memory card for it, my pick would be the SanDisk Extreme HD Video SDHC 16GB 30MB/s (watch for old stock that says 20MB/s, you don't want that) which should cost you around $60. Don't worry about the 'HD Video' part, it's fine for both photos and video.

When you're making your purchase, don't let them sell you UV filters, they offer nothing outside of lens protection whilst making your images look worse. A good UV filter that will protect your lens whilst having a minimal impact on your image quality will cost more than those kit lenses, making it not worth it. Unless rocks and crap are flying at you, don't waste your money.

I've recommended the twin lens kits, because since you're starting out and haven't mentioned what you'll be shooting, I don't know what you'll need and perhaps you're not sure yet either. Those kit lenses will give you a great place to start and cover just about any focal length you're likely to need, they're not much more than the basic setup and won't break the bank. You may grow out of these lenses soon enough if this hobby really grabs you and that's a good thing, but at least you'll know what area your gear is holding you back in and will have a better idea of what you'll need to fix it.

Since this hobby is new to you, something I would consider a necessity is the book 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson. It'll help you undersand, well, exposure. You'll learn what ISO, aperture and shutter speed are and how they work together. You'll learn how to read a scene and how to interpret the camera's light meter so you can expose the scene correctly using those three camera settings. It'll give you a big leg-up in understanding what everything does so you can get out there and have fun and worry less about wrestling with your camera to get it to do what you want. I might even have a second copy of this book lying around if you want it.

Once you've gotten ahold of how to use your camera, have a look at buying 'The Photographer's Eye' by Michael Freeman. It's an excellent book on composition, and I think a must have in your collection, along with Understanding Exposure. It'll show you how composition works and how to make your photographs interesting. There are a number of composition rules that apply to the photography medium that have been around for decades for a very good reason and this will show you what they are. The cool thing with these 'rules' is that they're not hard and fast, they exist more as a guide, but once you know what they are and why they exist, you can break them and know why you are doing so.

I hope I haven't made anything too complicated for you or scared you off this amazing hobby. I just thought I'd throw this all out there to give you a good starting point. Without anyone to guide you or show you how and why some things are the way they are, it can be a little frustrating. I think those books will lead you out of the dark very quickly and to a place where you can just enjoy yourself and your new-found hobby and equipment.

Not at all mate, I actually used to know a bit about ISO, apeture etc but it's been lost to much less important information over time. Awesome. Cheers mate. Also cod as well.
I'll check out them out tomorrow.
 
That shirt would be perfect if you served ice cream to little children back in 1952.

Boxers to bed are the best. All you need. I used to wear t-shirts to bed also, but gave up after a few times with the sleeves snagging and wrapping around the shoulder/armpit area and cutting off circulation.
Main issue is it is INSANELY cold at night here now :(

One night I even wore a hoody to bed!
 

Danoss

Member
Main issue is it is INSANELY cold at night here now :(

One night I even wore a hoody to bed!

I've got this awesome doona, it's essentially in two parts and held together by button clips at the ends. Separate them for a nice summer doona, clip them together for ridiculous winter warmth. It can be 0 degrees and I'm still tucked under it in only boxer shorts and I don't want for any warmth. I don't remember what it's made of, but it was around $100 from Target, something like this. Best one I've ever had.

That shirt would be perfect if you served ice cream to little children back in 1952.

Ahahaha, just needs the hat to go with it.
 

Danoss

Member
Oh dear, that Mr Porter website...

7khVQ.jpg


Four ways? I can think of one. Put one leg in, then the other, pull them up and fasten. Didn't think it was an outrageous concept. Apparently Mr Porter has found another way, or has he?

Not really, that site has just found a way to show dudes who look more like women. They might as well start selling dresses soon.
 
Hate it when you end up hanging yourself on your own baton Jint, always hated those assignments that were so open that you knew the tutor that would mark it wouldn't have a fucking clue on how to mark it.

I've got this awesome doona, it's essentially in two parts and held together by button clips at the ends. Separate them for a nice summer doona, clip them together for ridiculous winter warmth. It can be 0 degrees and I'm still tucked under it in only boxer shorts and I don't want for any warmth. I don't remember what it's made of, but it was around $100 from Target, something like this. Best one I've ever had.
sold! Will grab one as soon as they go on special.

Aw Rep get fucked.
lol, it will look fine open necked, sleeves up. Kinda like a trendier version of all the farmer shirts that kids these days are wearing. Just don't tuck it in or do up the top button!
 

Salazar

Member
This essay is murder. Damn you, create your own question topics

I just finished mine. I think.

I've been told to aim for 2,000 words to take up 20 minutes - with a little room in there for breathing and jokes and water.

It seems like nothing.
 

Jintor

Member
I just finished mine. I think.

I've been told to aim for 2,000 words to take up 20 minutes - with a little room in there for breathing and jokes and water.

It seems like nothing.

you wouldn't happen to know anything about restorative justice practices and its application in juvenile justice systems would you
 
I'm sure ausgaf could help if it were Japanese...

Main issue is it is INSANELY cold at night here now :(

One night I even wore a hoody to bed!
I was wearing my fluffy dressing gown to bed until I got a quilt to go with my doona. I guess one plus for winter is that winter pajamas (the sets) look really cute.

Boyfriend?! wears jeans to bed. I think that would be my own personal hell actually: being forced to sleep in jeans. They're so restricting.
 

Jintor

Member
It's okay, i have a plethora of research, but the fact that I have to make up my own question is paralysing because I don't know what's relevant to an unknown-quality question of my own devising.
 

Deeku

Member
How can one sleep in jeans?? D:

Even though it's freakin cold now, I still just wear a loose tshirt and light fabric pants to bed because I can't sleep with thick heavy clothing on.
 

Salazar

Member
How can one sleep in jeans?? D:

There was an old Italian guy called Vince who used to play indoor football in jeans, no shirt, often no shoes. Mental.

And you had to bear in mind that if you hurt him somehow (no shoes is just completely absurd), his sons would be coming for you.
 
What's with all you crazy people wearing clothes to bed, once you're in, you're covered anyway.
True. In winter though you've gotta make sure you're covered if one of your arms slips out into the cold. Plus when you have to get out of bed in the morning it's slightly warmer.
 

senahorse

Member
Get out of bed, b line to the shower. Or if you have some kind of heating, turn the timer on to turn on half an hour before you get up so it's all nice and toasty. :D
 

Stackboy

Member
Hey Ausgaf, anyone got a link to that E3 Press Conference times image, with the time delay and everything? Much thanks.

Today I watched all 4 Alien films, in prep for Prometheus. Alien 3 is so very terrible. The dialogue feels like it's written by a 15 yo that puts in swears every time he can't grasp the right language to use.
 

r1chard

Member
My keynote speech for PyCon APAC next week just passed 5,000 words. I'm still not convinced it makes any sense though.

I think I need to start finding appropriate lolcats.
 

Jintor

Member
Boy, by the time I wake up on Tuesday there's going to be so much news. Then it's Ausgaf party night until 3AM I guess.

Who's staying up with me to ride the Nintendo hype train?
 

HolyCheck

I want a tag give me a tag
Hey Ausgaf, anyone got a link to that E3 Press Conference times image, with the time delay and everything? Much thanks.

Today I watched all 4 Alien films, in prep for Prometheus. Alien 3 is so very terrible. The dialogue feels like it's written by a 15 yo that puts in swears every time he can't grasp the right language to use.

what does promethus ave to do with alien?
 
Actually fuckit, the McRib is available here today apparently! So much for just having a healthy sushi dinner.
It was shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. :(

$6 for a tiny little thing! A tiny amount of onion and some nice tasty BBQ sauce. The 'rib' was thin and a lot blander than I was expecting.

2/5 - The BBQ sauce saved it from oblivion

Put my bacon t-shirt on for nothing :(

Will log in early on Tuesday before work to post the hilarious Kinect gifs that I have ready. Fuck watching the EA conference, they won't be announcing System Shock 3.

Who's staying up with me to ride the Nintendo hype train?
Nope, I'll log in early on Wednesday before work to post the hilarious gifs that I have ready. They won't be announcing LttP2.

Sony have some cool cloud gaming stuff to announce though so I will be watching at work for that!

what does promethus ave to do with alien?
Prequel with original director. Looks awesome.
 

Danoss

Member
Put my bacon t-shirt on for nothing :(

Sucks man.

Happy solution: buy some baby back pork ribs from the butcher and some smokey bbq sauce (I use Masterfoods) from the supermarket. Cook em up and enjoy some real ribs with delicious flavor.

If you're not sure how to cook them up so they're nice and succulent, here's a nice method I use so they don't take too long to cook, but still taste nice and juicy.

  • Marinade the ribs in the sauce for at least 30 mins, but do so overnight if possible.
  • Preheat the oven to 160°C
  • Line a flat-bottom oven pan (deep enough to hold some water and your ribs) with some aluminium foil, leaving enough overhanging all four sides so you can fold it up into a tent without it touching the ribs.
  • Pour some water in the pan/dish so there's about 1cm of water covering the bottom.
  • Lay the ribs in there and fold the foil over, making a nice tent to keep the steam in.
  • Place the pan/dish in the oven and cook for 1 hour.
  • Pull the pan/dish out and tear off the foil tent.
  • Turn the oven up to 200°C
  • Return the pan/dish to the oven and cook uncovered for a further 5-10 mins, this is to try and get a slightly crispy coat to the ribs.
  • That's it! Perhaps you want to add some more sauce on the ribs and massage it in for a little more flavour before eating. I serve mine with a nice cob of corn on the side.

There may be better ways, but I find this is a good compromise between meat tenderness and speed.
 

markot

Banned
The mcrib is crap. Ill take one of them fancy angus ones any day of the week.

Had my first one last week, what a let down!
 
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