My tamron 200-500mm lens has a very large hood but also has an attachment which allow you to rotate the Polarizer after the hood is attached. YOu just have to be carful the diameter of the polarizer so the hood will fit over it.

I just recently purchased a Calumet tripod on amazon. It is rate at 24.8lbs is constructed of 8x carbon fiber and has a height of 58" without the center column and 70" with the center column. It is not a light travel version but a three section unit which weights about 3.5lbs. Because it was only three sections it only folds down to about 25" With all that said I teamed it up with a Manfrotto 488RC2 ball head and I am amazed how sturdy it is. I used it with my canon 80-200L lens and my 6d and it was rock solid. It should more than handle your setup. The great news was because Calument Us has declared bankruptcy the unit which usually sells for about $330, was on sale for $149.99 on Amazon. With that cost you should be able to pick up a very good head and still be under your $400.00 target.

I also have the tamron sp 70-300 vc lens and find it to be a great lens to use handheld, the vc works great and I find the image quality to also be great.

You may want to start with renting the Tamron 150-600 just to see if the 600mm end gets you as close as you want. It also gives you the option of checking out the range of lengths up to the 600mm. I was surprised when I purchased my tamron which only goes to 500mm, it still requires that you get fairly close to get really tight shots.

OPtech, they have a very flexible system with a lot of options which work with their system. I use their basic system, I also have extra straps that attach to my vest, which I can use quickly remove the strap from my regular strap and connect to my vest, I also like the fact the the two end of the quick connect snap together if you don't want the strap on the camera, The Base strap is about $22 and most of their accessories are about $7-9

I had the same thought, but I don't regret jumping in. I have my brothers wedding coming up and I think the low light capability makes it well worth jumping in for me.

I'm sure the price will keep coming down some, but I don't think it's going to go down near as much in the future as it has come down to date.

Only you can answer the question if waiting another month or so is worth another $100 or so drop in price.

In reviewing the link you provide for the supplier you were looking at, I find it interesting that their first kit was the 6d and the canon 18-55 lens. This is interesting the 18-55 is an "s" lens which cannot even be used with the 6d. That my give you a general idea abut the supplier.

I purchased it on ebay through "6ave", I was wrong about the price, it was $1399 not $1395. I love the camera, some of the features I like are the in camera HDR, even though it is only JPEG not raw like the 5diii I still find it gives very nice results. I also did not think I would use the wifi or gps, I find the remote shooting with the Iphone to be a very nice option, I find I don't need to bring my cable release with me.

The image quality is the best I have every gotten, Although I still like the images I get from my original 5d, the pictures seem to have a quality that even the 6d does not top for certain subjects, but having almost twice the mps is nice when I want to enlarge my pictures.

The other reason I purchased it was the low light capabilities, I have not done those type of pictures yet but am planning to try those in the next few weeks.

I have no regrets with my purchase.

I also looked into a grey market 6d, and found one at about the same price, When I inquired further, it did not have wifi or gps, did not come with any of the accessories, including battery, all the documents were not in English. I ended up buying a grey market unit will all accessories, wifi and gps, with the documentation in English for $1395.00 about 6 weeks ago. The unit I bought was part of a kit but the 24-105 was removed. I also came with a 1 year non manufactures warrantee, but I was ok with that.

I have a number of camera bodies, including the 60d and 6d, a point which has not been brought up is the weight of the body compared to the weight of the lens. I find both of these bodies are more comfortable for me then my 5d and 1d bodies when using heavy lenses. I like having the weight in the lens when resting in my left hand. This is especially true with my longer 80-200mm lens, mine is the older style with all metal body and is quite heavy, but balances very well on the light bodies. I love the 6d.

I think you are just getting started, once I get a new camera or lens, I never let them go.

I am an new photographer, and I have been following your site for a month or so, and find it very helpful.

I hope to be an asset to the site.