A few questions, renting and upgrade

Before I ask my questions, a little history.
I currently shoot with a T2i, Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 SP Di VC USD XLD. I purchased this as my first DSLR a year ago.
I know I am going to want to upgrade in another year.

My favorite subjects are birds. Song birds, waterfowl, hawks and falcons and birds in flight. Second would be other wildlife.
I visit Yellowstone National Park a couple times a year and shoot various wildlife there and a fair share of landscape.
I rarely take pictures of people.
I also take a lot of photos of my 3 cats.

Before I get to asking about an upgrade, I would like your opinions on the following.
I plan on taking a birding trip this spring and I am thinking about renting a piece of equipment.
Two scenarios: (I have a budget I have to stick to)
1. Use my T2i and rent a Canon 300mm f/4L IS to use on it(may be the best option as I am already familiar with my T2i)
2. Rent a camera body (5D2, 6D or 7D) and use my Tamron lens.
Of those two scenarios, which would I see the best results for taking bird shots? Which would produce sharper images?

Now, for the upgrade question. I would more than likely buy a used body. Budget would be no more than $1,500.
Options may be a 5D2 or a 6D or 7D.
I would have to use my current Tamron lens for a while until I saved enough for a better lens.

One of the things I struggle with, are shots of waterfowl on the water. A lot of my shots seem to be out of focus.
Don’t know if that’s me, or the camera struggling with focusing on an object sitting on the water and the poor lighting.
I don’t have that problem with birds in trees or on the ground.
Also I need something that does a better job at low light. Prime birding and a lot of wildlife photography is early morning in low light.

Of the listed body’s above, which would be a better choice for my style of shooting?

Thanks for any advice you can share.
Also, if anyone is interested, here is a link to an album I have a few bird photos in.
https://plus.google.co​m …lbums/583090873​6678893409

For your bird trip, I would suggest renting the 300 f/2.8, it's a much faster lens and will help with your focusing issue.

As for upgrade, you can't go wrong with picking up either one of the three cameras you listed. Though you mention that you plan on doing some wildlife photography that will involved low light situations, in this case a full frame camera like the 5D2 and 6D will come in handy. With the large sensor, you'll be able to shoot in higher ISO and still produce great image quality.

The focus system of the 7d trumps the 5d2 and 6d imho, so if you're mainly birding you might want to consider that as your upgrade. Also, going to a full-frame camera will obviously make your field of view wider with the same lens - so if you like how tight you can get with a crop-sensor camera, then full-frame will require a longer lens to get the same field of view.

I haven't used the Tamron 70-300, so I can't really comment on which lens may or may not be better for you, however, if you're considering the upgrade to something like the 7d / 5d2 etc. then maybe rent one of those too to see how you get on with it? Something to note though is the 300 f4 L is 1.2kg whereas the 300 f2.8 L is 2.5kg... if you're not using a tripod then I'd start pumping some iron for a full day of shooting

With a no more than $1500 budget, that essentially removes the 6d from the equation.

The 7d has a superb AF and will give you the same FL you see now.
The 5d2 will give you better higher ISO but you will lose some reach using 300mm on a FF body so a 300mm lens on the 5ds will not get you as "close" as 300mm on a crop body. And the AF isn't the greatest. Not saying you can't work with it, but the 7d is much better.

ID rocks wrote in post #15630112
Before I ask my questions, a little history.
I currently shoot with a T2i, Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 SP Di VC USD XLD. I purchased this as my first DSLR a year ago.
I know I am going to want to upgrade in another year.

My favorite subjects are birds. Song birds, waterfowl, hawks and falcons and birds in flight. Second would be other wildlife.
I visit Yellowstone National Park a couple times a year and shoot various wildlife there and a fair share of landscape.
I rarely take pictures of people.
I also take a lot of photos of my 3 cats.

Before I get to asking about an upgrade, I would like your opinions on the following.
I plan on taking a birding trip this spring and I am thinking about renting a piece of equipment.
Two scenarios: (I have a budget I have to stick to)
1. Use my T2i and rent a Canon 300mm f/4L IS to use on it(may be the best option as I am already familiar with my T2i)
2. Rent a camera body (5D2, 6D or 7D) and use my Tamron lens.
Of those two scenarios, which would I see the best results for taking bird shots? Which would produce sharper images?

I would like to suggest option 1B.: Rent the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L lens to go with your T2i. This is an excellent lens. Sharp, fast focusing and produces great images. I think that you may be making this more difficult by sticking to 300mm FL. In my experience, when shooting photos of birds you always need more FL. I have the EF 100-400L zoom and when I'm shooting birds, it stays on 400mm.

ID rocks wrote in post #15630112
Now, for the upgrade question. I would more than likely buy a used body. Budget would be no more than $1,500.
Options may be a 5D2 or a 6D or 7D.
I would have to use my current Tamron lens for a while until I saved enough for a better lens.

Without a doubt, go for the 7D. It has the same 1.6 crop that you are accustomed to and a MUCH superior AF system. Get the 7D. You won't regret it!

ID rocks wrote in post #15630112
One of the things I struggle with, are shots of waterfowl on the water. A lot of my shots seem to be out of focus.
Don’t know if that’s me, or the camera struggling with focusing on an object sitting on the water and the poor lighting.
I don’t have that problem with birds in trees or on the ground.
Also I need something that does a better job at low light. Prime birding and a lot of wildlife photography is early morning in low light.

Of the listed body’s above, which would be a better choice for my style of shooting?

Thanks for any advice you can share.
Also, if anyone is interested, here is a link to an album I have a few bird photos in.
https://plus.google.co​m …lbums/583090873​6678893409

You have some beautiful shots in your gallery, Dan! Nice work!

Thanks everyone for the response. That really helps a lot. I think a 7d is the way to go.

Yogi Bear, I will take your advice and rent the 400mm, and thanks for the kind words on my gallery. I may have to start posting photos here on potn. I have always been a little intimidated and reluctant to post them.

Thanks again everyone.

Dan

ID rocks wrote in post #15633673
Thanks everyone for the response. That really helps a lot. I think a 7d is the way to go.

Yogi Bear, I will take your advice and rent the 400mm, and thanks for the kind words on my gallery. I may have to start posting photos here on potn. I have always been a little intimidated and reluctant to post them.

Thanks again everyone.

Dan

You're quite welcome, Dan!

Don't be shy! You've got some wonderful images in your gallery! Go ahead and share!

Yogi