I teach photography and tell my students that the first accessory they should get is a tripod. Especially if you plan landscape photography. I do mostly landscape, wildlife, and grandkid photography and use a tripod (or window sill of the car) for probably 75--80% or more of my images. I live in Maryland and ever year since retirement, I have gone west in the fall to photograph in the badlands, Custer State Park, Yellowstone, and Idaho. While out west, almost all of my images are taken from a tripod. Last year was the first time I saw any smoke, and that was in the south lower Montana. Last year there was also a problem with heat in Yellowstone in September but not on the way back in October.
If you don't have a tripod and plan to get one, my advice is to get one that is substantial enough to handle the largest lens you can ever imagine having. Saves buying more tripods as your lenses get heavier. This from somebody who had to replace several (many) tripods over the years. I also recommend that you get one without a center post so you can easily get it close to the ground. RRS and Gitzo are maybe the best tripods, but Induro are quite good at about half the price.
You might want to consider something longer for birds, at least in the 400mm range, maybe a 100-400 zoom. It would be hard to get frame filling images of birds with anything much shorter unless you are shooting at a close feeder.
I could drive at 14 years old if I had a person the a license in the seat beside me (my 16 year old cousin). I remember buying gas for 11 cents per gallon. I remember BB gun fights (almost lost an eye), hiking alone most of the day in the woods, walking a couple miles to go fishing with my dad, and walking home exhausted but happy. In semi-decent weather I was expected to be outside to play and only come home when it was time to eat. That gave me time to roam far from home. I remember bringing two puppies home without asking, giving one to the next door neighbor and keeping one. Theirs grew up to be a gorgeous dog, and mine grew up to be the ugliest dog I have ever seen, even to this day. But he was great fun. My dad and I raised pigeons and entered them in shows. I raised rabbits, quail, ducks, and chickens for eating. All of this while living in the middle of town. Things were definitely different then. I am 77 now.
Nice! Thanks for sharing.
If you liked your 5D, then why not go for the 5DIV (or 5DIII which cost less now).
I'm almost certain it is female. Would like a little better image of the breast, but what I see suggests female. The coloring on the breast looks like more than a male would have.
Beautiful bird! Nice capture. Thanks for sharing.
That is the only bird species I know of that the female is more colorful than the male. Wonder why??
Thanks. I guess I am shorter than you, or my car is smaller, or my seat is always at the lowest position, because the bean bag usually works for me with the window down. I do have a window mount that that I got at one of the on-line stores that gives me maybe 4 more inches of height and I can put the bean bag on that when it needs to be raised. I also know that whatever you are photographing in the national parks, wildlife disappear when you open a car door.
My son lives in Idaho and I have fished there when visiting him (I live in Maryland). Beautiful river and good fishing. Thanks for reminding me.
I use a bean bag on the window sill for shooting with a 600 f/4 lens. Not sure why bean bags are not satisfactory for you. Can you explain?
I have owned the sidekick and the full gimbal. I now use only the full gimbal, mostly with the 600mm and the 100-400 lenses. I wouldn't want to use the heavier lenses with the sidekick.
I recommend that you try to imagine the maximum size lens you might ever want, and buy a tripod to support it. I didn't do that and ended up owning 4-5 tripods that didn't properly support camera/lens combinations that I later required. Cost me a lot more that buying a larger tripod would have.
The fringing is a defect that some lenses have (for reasons mentioned above) If you process in Lightroom, it has a correction for that.