One more thing... John - you said I have two lenses right now, the 35-80 that came with my Rebel G, and the 70-300 (mentioned above, made by Quantaray) that an ex bought for me. Both seem to work really well. However, I'm thinking that with the 10D, the quality of those less expensive lenses will be more apparent. What do you suggest I look for in a lens that will be good replacements for the ones I currently own that will work well with the Al Servo? Should I stick with Canon lenses or will the other brands lenses work as well.


John pretty much summed up what I was trying to say. Just to add a little though, when you use ai-servo with the Drebel in sports mode the camera is still in "auto" mode. Thus it chooses the shutter speed and aperture for you. Whereas, with the 10d on up, you can shoot in any manual mode with ai-servo. This allows you to have complete control doing things like freezing/blurring the action, blurring the background etc.

Personally, if you're shooting a lot of action, I would consider only USM(or other brands eq. like sigma's hsm) and FAST f/2.8 lenses. USM focuses fast and smoothely. A fast lens will also improve AF. Especially in low light. I shoot often in three gyms locally and can defianatelly tell the difference in keepers I get based on lighting conditions. Your eyes are amazing, but the camera doesn't lie! There is a 2 stop difference between the 3 gyms.

Ultimately, if action/sports was my primary intererest I would consider a 1d. It's definately desinged bottom up for action. It does cost plenty more, but worth it if it meets your needs.

Mike