I discovered these Red-breasted Nuthatches which we don't often see this far south in Iowa City, are very tame. In spite of the below zero temps these past few days, without too much time exposing my bare hand, this little fellow hopped right on and nibbled away. We repeated this little dance over the past few days and we both seem to have enjoyed it. I used my little CANON PowerShot, so quality isn't the greatest, but considering what I was photographing, I was pleased.

Thanks. I appreciate your help!

Thanks Mark. Will look into the 18-85mm lens. This may be what I was looking for.

Vry much appreciated. Thanks!

Thx. I'll check it out.

dr

All great advice Paul. I appreciate your comments. Thanks. You've obviously been at this business much longer than I have!

You're not the first one that's suggested purchasing used lenses / bodies over new. I've been hesitant to consider that approach but maybe should not be. Any suggested sites that you're familiar and comfortable with?

Dean

Thx. CHG CANON for thoughtful advice. You're correct in catching my lens error. My current kits lens is a CANON ZOOM EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6. I have the "24-70mm" lens on my brain these days since that's what I've narrowed my search to. As I said in the first post, I'm somewhat of a newbie to photography and so had a colleague and photography professor look at some of my photos and give me some advise. She is the one who suggested the lens upgrade since there's nothing wrong with my camera. She thought a better lens would be the first place to begin hence this trail of emails.

I'm curious. Do you still shoot with your XTi and what lens do you use?

Thx Linda for quick reply.

All good questions. I was originally simply going to buy a better camera but a photography friend suggested exploring the more expensive lens route first. If the camera still seems to be the issue with a new lens, then I´d buy a new camera since I already will have the better lens, which I would have wanted to purchase anyway with a new camera.

So....Yes, I do some shooting in RAW but not a lot. While I *think* I know quite a bit about exposure, lighting, depth of field, ISO etc. I always feel there is more to learn. But I also will find no satisfaction in learning if my pictures do not meet my criteria, therefore I´m willing to spend the money for a better lens.

You are correct with your question of my camera´s age. I have had pause as well with the issue of my Rebel. There are much better cameras out there, I know. I guess in the back of my mind, I´m thinking that if the lens is fine, I´ll upgrade to a better camera in a year or so.

I´m relatively new to serious photography (about ready to retire from college teaching) and discovered within the past year or so that the kit lens, 24-70mm, that came with my Canon EOS Rebel XTi was a ´cheapie´ which explains why I was never satisfied with my picture quality. While I realize I as the photographer have a lot to do with that, I now realize a better lens has probably more to do with quality than my camera. I´m considering buying a Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 IF EX DG HSM lens. I´m also thinking of waiting for the new Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM ART lens, which is coming out soon. Any advice out there? While I´m tempted to buy a prime lens, 50mm, I´m used to the flexibility of the 24-70mm and think I continue to want that flexibility for my ´walk around´ camera lens. Thanks for any help.

Downy Woodpecker. Nice shot.

Beautiful shots!