Birds in flight, wolves, wildlife, all that stuff...

[TimberWolf]

Hey people Im new to photography and was hoping to throw some serious bucks down into a capturing my passion of wildlife with photographs.
I need your help into deciding what gear to get. I currently have the nikon d40x, i got a good understanding on how to use it but fact is
with an 18-55mm lense you can only get so close to anything before it flees. I wasnt gonna bother buying a new lense for a nikon camera
seeing how im going to transfer over to canon, yeah! I like animals and capturing their actions and what not, but i also like landscapes alot,
i hear the eos 5dmarkii is good for that but expensive
Im deciding between
body: canon eos 7d/ eos 60d/ 5d mark ii (is it worth it?)
lens: canon ef 400mm f/5.6, canon ef 100-400mm or the sigma 150-500mm for telephoto
ps: canon 10-22mm for landscapes?
Anyone got any good suggestions for tripods and heads?
btw is ebay a good place to get these from?
thanks folks

 

[jjb4]

Take a look at Keh.com

 

[Tony S]

Buy a good archery hunting book and learn to get closer.

 

[Overread36]

Out of interest what is pushing you toward canon specifically?

From what you say I'd recommend a 7D plus a 400mm f5.6 if you want a prime lens or the 100-400mm if you want a little more versatility with a zoom. You can also consider the 300mm f4 IS L +1.4teleconverter for another good quality option (of the three there is no "winner" as such - each has its own bonuses and disadvantages.

400mm f5.6 L - the sharpest of the set, but lacks IS for handheld support and also is a prime lens (ie no zooming)
300mm f4 IS + 1.4TC L - next level down in sharpness (with the TC) but gives you the IS support whilst on a long lens
100-400mm IS L - The weakest image quality (but still talking L grade so still a very usable quality) but the most versatile with regard to it covering a wide range of focal lengths.

Of the camera bodies the 7D has the best auto focus of new cameras thus far released, excluding the 1D series bodies. If you are looking at second hand some might also recommend that you consider some older 1D bodies (reconditioned or second hand) but I don't know their specs specifically well enough to say which ones will stand up well.

Buy a good archery hunting book and learn to get closer.

Getting close is of course the biggest part; all the glass in the world won't make up for not being able to get into position to get the shot .