Right- happens a lot

Listen Up- there is NO Shame in upgrading your camera equipment even if only for GAS! If you want it and you can afford it then go for it. You don't need anyone's permission here to do that. You don't need anyone here setting limits on what you buy or how often you buy or if you should buy. If you have a closet full of unused equipment that is your business.

Will it make you a better photographer? Maybe or maybe not. But it will be fun to find out. New equipment will often push you forward to becoming better by the technical advances. It may help you see improvement which may be the catalyst for more improvement.

Why is it there is honor in using outdated equipment? It is often said here that my (really old) equipment works just fine. Well that's fine for you but don't use it as a measure of why someone else should not buy new.

It use to be fun here seeing members say "The Brown Truck is coming and then it fell out of favor followed by other members denigrating the purchase of new equipment. (yes- I have been on this forum for a long time) Why- why taint new equipment purchase with underlying negative judgement? There are real advances in new cameras now that can achieve results that older cameras can't- ISO improvement, focus, reduced size and weight, focus stacking, interval and video results and many other advances.

So let's not treat our members as children but as thinking adults. We should be responding to the implied question of what did you gain by updating not should I update. And GAS is ok.

The upgrade changes are significant although it sounds like the financials for you are more significant. It's difficult to sell older used equipment for anywhere near replacement costs of new. I had the Canon 90D and it was the worst camera I have ever had for moving/tracking subjects and the noise was significant above ISO 1600 and even worse on cropped, edited images. The move to the R6 resolved those issues. After a year I am still very happy with the R6. So there is a reason to upgrade other than Gas but in my opinion Gas is ok too. And you don't have to justify upgrading your equipment to anyone but yourself. There are no guarantees that your skills will improve with new equipment but then again your skills may be just fine either way. So don't let that line of thinking hinder your decision making. New equipment- new technical advances. Otherwise everyone would be staying with their initial digital cameras or film equipment. Good luck!

You will not be sorry if you can financially afford to change over and it sounds like you can. The eye and face tracking works very well. The R5/6 camera is lighter in weight and size than what you now own. The equipment you now have is excellent but the R5/6 is a game changer especially if you do birds or other active critters or sports. There is an adapter available to use your current lenses if that is what you want to do. The cost of the adapter will add about 100.00. I used the adapter for several months before acquiring R lenses. There was no loss of image quality. The R5 will require significant computer power to run the editing software that you will want if you don't already have it because of the large files that it generates. The R6 less so. So factor that in plus the camera/lens costs.

I personally don't think you need to justify upgrading your equipment to anyone except your spouse :) Will it make you a better photographer? Who knows- you won't know unless you upgrade and and try it for yourself. It certainly won't make you a worse one. The changes are significant.

Anyone looking and thinking about this lens please private message me with any offers. Thanks.

Not without a some type of adapter. Not sure if they make Pentax (k mount) to Sony adapters. I already sold the camera so not replacing the lens.

I have an excellent copy of the above lens. I always have loved this lens but I recently sold the Pentax camera and now would like to sell this. Has nice color and contrast and produces lovely, sharp images. Cosmetically and functionally excellent. Is reasonably compact and lightweight. Comes with hood, front and back lens caps, paperwork and box. Personal checks or Paypal- no money orders or certified checks. Fees and postage included. 425.00

Bubba- you nailed theses- they are not repetitive but engaging and well done!

So graceful and creative.

Is Old Hippy still with us?

Me too but the poster was referring to poorly executed images not meeting minimal standards not whether it's of personal interest. Moving on is fine but praising the aforementioned posted images doesn't do anyone any kindness

I use a pistol grip on my long lens. Helps to balance the weight via the lens collar. If the lens you are using doesn't have a lens collar then the pistol grip will be sitting too far back to help. The other thing that helps is using an adjustable harness type camera strap. Adjusted correctly it adds a counter tension which helps stabilize the camera. I use Optech brand. I have not found monopods to be helpful as they tend to sway. And I end up lifting the monopod off the ground to try to follow the bird which is very unhelpful! Carrying a very light weight stool allows you to sit which usually increases stability. There is one that folds up to the size of a small umbrella so we aren't talking about much extra weight or bulk. I have one bought at Ace Hardware that weights about 1 1/2 pounds - is a little bulky but worth the effort. There are better ones on the market. And the last thing to consider is doing some upper body weight training at home with light weights. Bicep, tricep and shoulder exercises are quick and easy to do. Results will vary depending on the amount of muscle mass you still have. Strengthening those muscles may help the tremors or not but they certainly won't hurt anything ! Let us know if you stumble upon something that makes a difference. Keep shooting!

[quote=Dalbon]There are typically 60 shots you should take but I've taken as many as 500 or more. It's a list of things that start before the wedding with the bride maybe trying on a wedding dress, her mother helping her get to ready on the wedding day and her father helping her out of the car at the wedding. You should also get them placing the rings on each other fingers and of course the kiss and throwing the flowers. Then the reception is also a good place to get all the guest and the first dance, the cutting of the cake, the introduction of the new Mr and Mrs, the toast and whatever you think they might want. Usually they will love any picture you take. Hope this has been of some help and if not the let me know and maybe I can come up with something else. By the way I have been to Costa Rica 10 times but it was for a project and I was sn't able to get out as if I were on vacation. I went to San Jose during Christmas and New Years.
Enjoy your trip, David[/t quote]

Oh no I'm not the photographer for the wedding! Just one of the guests. The groom is my nephew. But thanks for the tips :)

Lots of great replies! Thank you! We will be in Costa Rica for 6 days including arrival day and departure day. We originally were going to be there for 7 days but waited too long to book so only availability where we wanted to stay was for 6 days instead. The rehearsal will take part to all of two days. That leave us to full days to do excursions. If not for the wedding we probably would have never gone to Costa Rica.

If you need really light you might consider the Fuji X-T4 with the 70-300 mm lens and add the T/C. (It's my backup to the Canon R5 + 100-500 mm lens and T/C.) It about 3 # total.

I don't know of another system that you can add a T/C with the 70-300 mm lens. I use it for long hikes, when I will be fairly close in, when I want to do video or when space is limited. IQ is good, auto focus is good, decent battery life, easy to hold and handle. Cost is under what you want to spend.

I had the Canon 800 mm f11 lens. It had good IQ but was very long and unwieldy (although not heavy) especially in any wind and then you are limited to f11 and 800 mm or greater with T/C. It was not a good fit for me.

You might consider the Canon 600 f 11 and add a T/C later on. Lighter, shorter and cheaper than the 800 f ll lens. Still has the aperture limitation. You could pair it with the Canon R and be at budget.