I was in SC for a few days, and just got in. We identified about 30 species of birds, but saw no other wildlife. The unfortunate thing is that it's impossible to get long glass for the system I use, so it's time to take the plunge and go to Canon.

The birds, all in one area: Osprey, GB heron, Great heron, snowy egret, cattle egret, brown pelican, commorant, anhinga, summer tanager, tri-colored heron, white ibis, little blue heron, least bittern, wood ducks, moorehens, coots, and more I can no longer remember. The egrets/herons were still on nests with hatchlings, but 400mm was not enough :(.

Anyway, here's some. We ended up just grabbing some beer and going fishing. I caught a shark! :eek: A friend had to take it off though, I wasn't about to touch it.

and even more...

Awesome series Payn, Love them all :) The Dragon looks real mean hehe :)

I like the tri-colored (especially since I've never seen one yet :p ). And the ibis with the multi-colored weedbed - very nice.

So you finally going Canon, eh? Are you going to keep your existing for at least the macro stuff? You've been getting great images of close-ups. What lens are you looking at for the Canon for the >400mm? Just curious - I'm looking at longer lenses too.

Thanks guys.

Loupey, yeah I am saving my pennies now with the plan to move to camp Canon. I'm looking at a 30D and 70-200 L IS (for concert), 100-400 L IS, and possibly a Tamron 200-500 or Sigma 300 2.8 + tc. A long combination will be the first priority though. I've gotten to realize that although IS is helpful, people did well without it before. Just get a good pod/head combo, that's probably better than trying to handhold 500mm anyway. Then try to save for the 600 or 500 F/4 L, Arthur Morris uses the 500 with 2x TC with wonderful results, so perhaps the 2x (or 1x) on the 100-400 for a while.

So, as you can see I am kinda unsure exactly where I'll start. I've decided to start getting serious though, so it's time to start getting some real gear.

As for the macro thing. I am fairly happy with what the Sony has been giving in that area. Instead of trying to finance a whole new system at once, I will continue using the Sony for closeup and wide shots. That will most likely continue until the long end is complete, by then Canon may have an IS macro.

Sorry for the rambling.

Sounds like you have a good idea as to what you're looking for. If you're not in a hurry to switch camps, I would give some serious thought to waiting for a 30D replacement or take a good look at teh XTi. That's what I'm doing. I have compared images from the 30D and the XTi, and the XTi wins, hands down. Don't get me wrong, I think the 30D is a great camera, and I know many people are very happy with it. But at this point in time, I don't think it's the best choice, at least not for me. You may have seen other threads in the Canon forum, and it seems like most people agree, that the XTi is a better camera than the 30D. Better image quality, at half the price, plus the dust reduction system. I did pick up both the XTi and the 30D yesterday to see how they feel. The 30D felt much better to me, but if I had to choose today, I would still go with the XTi simply because of image quality and price. Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there for you.

Have you looked at the Sigma 500mm f/4.5? I was looking at long lenses online this weekend after discovering a problem with my 170-500mm lens. It looks like a pretty decent lens, for a couple grand less than the Canon 500mm f/4. I have been drooling over the 600mm f/4 for a long time, but it's pretty hard to swallow that price tag!

Thanks for the advice. I looked at the Xti with the thought of getting it first then get the new xxD model later and putting the Xti into backup duty. The main things that bothered me was the lack of spot metering
and fps rate. However, as slow as the Sony/KM cameras focus and both being 3fps, it may be alright. I've gotten some OK shots with those systems. The metering issue can be overcome with a gray card anyway.

As for the Sigma, yes I have been looking at 3rd party for the long end. There's certain lenses I will need (70-200 L IS) for concert and such, mostly for the IS and the 100-400 L for shooting day games at the ball field. ANyway, the longer lenses will probably be 3rd party and I'll just get a good tripod with the money I save.

Beautiful shots Payne. That one of the duck and commorant? on the dock is great, they look like 2 old men passing the day gossiping.

I agree with the 3fps rate of the XTi. I'm still shooting with the original DRebel, and there are many times that I wished it was faster. That is one of the big reasons I'm holding out for the 30D replacement. The 70-200mm L IS is tops on my list too!

Well folks, I did it. I'm a Canon man now. My budget was somewhat restrictive, and camera shops are few here. So, I got a Reb with grip and Sigma 70-300 DL APO macro thingy. It does 1:2 macro, and since distance is somewhat important this may be ok until I can get better. Starting all over kind of sucks, but I can just feel that 600 f/4 L slung across my back right now.