Now I desperately want all new gear

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I used to be really happy with my Canon S5. It was a major step up from the pocket sized P&S I had before and I imagined I was taking great pictures with it. I was just looking at photos with 100% zoom in my lcd last night and realized that pretty much all of them have terrible noise.

Now I have read a few books (digital protography, understanding exposures, ...) tons of forums postings and a few web tutorials

Well I just ordered a tripod+head that is probably worth more than my current camera. As soon as I cash in my bonus i will be getting a 50d + 17-55mm and I'd like to get the 70-200mm f2.8 IS sometime after that. Until I can justify that 2k$ expense I guess the long shots will have to be done with the S5 that can reach to 400+mm

So thank you for opening my eyes to new possibilities but no thank you for that new expensive hobby.

[Grimes]

you could always try out the 55-250IS for the longer shots....with the crop factor that's some decent reach

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you could always try out the 55-250IS for the longer shots....with the crop factor that's some decent reach

I was considering buying the camera with the 18-200mm lens as a kit but then I know it will be that much harder to justify getting the 17-55 and the 70-200 later. I'd rather go without for a while and then get the best lens I can.