bj_donnelly

Thank you everyone for helping me sort out what I should do. Due to all of the different opions, I'm still not sure which one to get! But I expected that. So thanks, and thanks to Photo.net for this great forum.

BJ

I have recently purchased a barely used (perfect condition) Canon 70-

200mm f/2.8L USM lens off of eBay. I am VERY happy with the

purchase. It is my first good lens I've ever bought and I am very

excited about it. It takes great pictures, is incredibly fast and

sharp, and very well made.

I live in Florida and there is unfortunately not much wildlife to

shoot here except for a wide variety of birds. Now I love birds as

much as the next nature photographers but my passion is filming

larger animals in the west such as bear, elk, etc... Since I am in

Florida 98% of the time, I would like to be able to shoot birds with

my new lens. Some birds in more habituated environments (such as

parks) allow me to get relatively close and they fill the frame

nicely. Others however are just too small or too skeeterish for this

lens length.

I cannot afford to buy a big prime lens (especially after paying for

this one) and am looking at getting either a 1.4x or a 2x TC to use

with this lens. I hear a lot of mixed reviews about these little

guys. Many say not to bother with a 2x because of the lack in

sharpness. I would like to blow these pictures up real big (up to 20-

30) if possible so sharpness is a factor. However, I don�t think

that a 1.4x is going to be long enough. Does anyone have any

experience with this combo or in this environment? I know the Canon

TCs are designed for this lens. I would not consider buying a 3rd

party. Also, I have a Gitzo 1349 tripod and Studioball Head so

camera shake shouldn�t be a problem either. Thank you so much for

your responses.