osmondrs

Good idea to wait for a sale. I got the one I mentioned earlier for $629 (body & 18-55 USM IS) in November. My daughter & I had been tracking canon prices all summer long & I thought this was the time to go for it - and I now see it was. On the topic of lenses, she ended up getting a 60mm macro that she really wanted a month later - the price tag: $649! The next lens on the list is a 70-300 f4 USM IS with a current price tag of $700+. Needless to say, that will have to wait for some time. No wonder I wasn't even thinking canon when I went out to replace my good ol' EOS-1 film camera with a digital (I've been a lifelong canon user, starting with a QL-17 over a quarter cenury ago). I now treat my Fuji Finepix as my 'poor man's dslr'... lol Just thought the info on prices will be of some help to you.

Excellent input from Sheldon. In light of that, I have another suggestion for you. If you decide to make your life easier and not get into a long & complicated learning & training phase (not to mention that you will probably end up extending your budget by at least $500), you could consider the option I went with, after a lot of serious thought & search. For myself, I went with a Fuji Finepix S2000HD. It's one of the smallest cameras on the market, has an extended zoom of 15x (translates to about 400mm), 10.0MP resolution, an out-of-this-world macro, IS, and many other perks. What really attracted me to this one is that it gives you the option of full manual control, a feature that no other point & shoot camera gives you - not in this price range, at least. The price has been fluctuating between $250 - 300. I just saw that Vistek has jacked it up to $329.99 but Future Shop or Best Buy may be offering lower prices. I've been using it for almost 5 months now & love it... You might find it worth the trouble to look into it. Have fun researching your next camera! Os

I guess when we've gored the poor fish with a sharp hook through its mouth & dragged it kicking & fighting for its life out of the water, any method would do. If I was out to be humane, I'd net the fish (as opposed to hooking), pull it gently to the surface, take a picture & gently let it back in the water... Os

Hey Leechman: Interesting experience... I had a similar experience on Jan 30. Caught a few perch at Simcoe and brought them home to Toronto. They were iced between 2 - 3:30 pm and we got home about 8:30 pm. Just like you, I dumped them in the sink and went for a shower. I come back in the kitchen to find out that the wife had seen two of them moving & put them back in the bucket & filled it up with water. In 3-4 minutes both were alive & even looked well. Didin't have the heart to kill them, so we decided to let them be for the night & cleaned up the rest. We woke up to find both of them belly-up in the morning. I couldn't figure out why they had survived a good 6 hours out of water & died in the bucket. Chlorine, maybe?? I wonder. Os

Good idea to go DSLR. I recently got a Canon XSi for my daughter, who's really into photography. It's a good buy under any circumstances, for any kind of photography. I would advise going for a package deal with an xsi body & 18-55 ISM lens (deals nowadays range between $650 - $800). This combination will give you excellent leverage while taking photos of kids & normal landscape photography. For going into woldlife work, etc., a 75-300 lens will set you back another 150 bucks or so. You could check out package deals that offer both lenses at Future Shop or Vistek (checkout their website at www.vistek.ca). It's a guarantee that you will not be disappointed with this purchase. Good luck!

Financial Administrator with the Research Services Department, University of Toronto. Previously worked in H.R. Management and tourism. The best pary of my working life was when I ran a tour operating business specializing in handling high-altitude climbing expeditions. Got to see some of the highest (not to mention spectacular!) mountain territory in the world. Unfortunately, there's no mountains in Ontario but plenty of opportunity for paddling & fishing in some of the prettiest terrain on the planet, so here I am. Have a lot to learn about fishing, though.

While looking for ice fishing equipment recently, I came across the 'Wonder Strike' brand. This brand is being manufactured locally in Toronto. Has anyone used these, or have feedback from someone who has?

Awesome shots of the birds, Brandon - all 5 of them are top notch. A pleasure to look at!

Excellent work, Brandon. I like your choice of playing with colour vs b/w objects. The first four pics are excellent examples of original colour shots and what can be achieved with your 'creative cap' on. P.S. I envy your ability to move between Ontario & the west coast every so often!

Good one, Dave... Nice to see you got your first muskie. Congrats!

Great pics, Brandon. Also, a tip of my hat to you for trading your shotgun for a camera. To me, it's a much greater sense of accomplishment when you see & share pics of nature at its best. Thanks for sharing the above shots. Os