Put a motor drive and battery pack with 10 aa batteries on a Nikon F2 and tell me about camera size. That said never hesitate to try older lenses and then trust what you see. New experiences do not have to come from cutting edge technology.

Congratulations, nature photography can be a great motivator to get out of the recliner. That's why I came back after being away for 15 years. The very first thing you need to investigate is any camera stores left in your area. Not big box or discount stores but stores filled with people interested in photography. If you find one that you feel you can trust then consider their advice carefully. If they carry used equipment consider it. New models come out every 12 to 18 months and have features you didn't even know you needed. Something a year or two old will be much cheaper and be capable of exceeding your expectations. You have healthy budget but don't spend it all at first. Wait until you have a need you can't accomplish with what you have. Don't be seduced into becoming a camera equipment collector instead of an image maker.

Congrats on the new lens. Botanical Gardens were made for macro primes. I soot Nikon ao I am not familiar with the other two. If they are small and light I might take all 3. If not take the wide zoom. Too much hardware can be a burden. Keep a diary and you will know better next time. Don't let anything interfere with the experience with th e prime macro.

I used to work part time for a small shop. Every month there was a check to Snap On. The truck would come by and show them specialty tools that had very limited use, but were very helpful if you needed them. If you had a damaged tool you gave it to him and if he had one on the truck he gave you a new one. If he didn't have it he took the bad tool and you received a new one by Fedex. No paperwork involved. When my Uncle's went back to work as carpenters after WWII they bought tools at Sears for the same reason. They knew if they moved there would still be a Sear's store nearby.

I definitely miss the wonderful clunk of the Nikon F and the song the F2 sings with the motor drive on continuous.

I have used nothing but canon inks in a Pro-100 and 2600. I have never had ink clogs or any other problem caused by the in activity of the printer. I had continual problems with such things with Epson where they told me to run a test sheet weekly. Right now then I buy from canon I get 50 sheets of 13x19 paper free which helps defray the cost.

I have had such great results with Walgreens that I have not got around to trying the other places in town that charge twice as much.