Is that your budget with or without selling the Bigmos ?

If you think it's too much hassle (or you won't need it) in Canada then sell it , add it to the kitty, and get the *60-250.

Not the old Sigma (18-50) but the new one ; 17-50/2.8 probably edges the Tamron 17-50/2.8 but at a price premium.

Vince,

If I was going to get 2 prime lenses then it would be the 15 Ltd and 35 Ltd Macro.

If possibly 3 then 15 Ltd, Sigma 31/1.4 and 50 of your choice (lots of great ones to choose from) for when the 30 just seems too short.

n.b. I'm currently playing around comparing 4 lenses I have; Sigma 30/1.4, Pentax 43/1.9 Ltd, Voigtlander 50/1.8 and SMC Takumar 50/1.4. The bokeh of the Sigma is lovely and it's very noticeably brighter at the same aperture than any of the others.

Your 50/1.4 is more like a short tele on a crop and as others have said you definitely need wider. I have both the Tamron 17/50 /2.8 and the Sigma 30/1.4 and although the Sigma is wide enough for small groups in confined spaces I'd take the Tamron any day of the week for it's flexibility - it's a very sharp lense too.

If you are not already proficient with flash photography then note you can use your on-camera flash but make sure you diffuse it. When I have to use it I have a little cloth diffuser that slips over it and does a great job creating much softer light. You are definitely going to need flash as not only is f2.8 not enough for light challenged interiors but you want greater DoF than than for group shots so you don't end up with one or two faces in focus and the others OOF. The Pro I work with insists on f8 for group shots - and always shoot wider than is necessary to allow for cropping.

Some gorgeous shots in that series Dave, in no particular order : Roller, Zebras, both Cheetah shots & Leopard (my favourite - an iconic shot). My only C&C would be to up the contrast / saturation in a few of them - but that may be just me as I like high contrast / colourful shots.

Nice read Gwyn. Nods to Pentax ... and not a Canon in sight.

The 55-300 is not a bad birding lense at all - though a little slow in poor light and usually not great (I have seen some great shots) for BIF.

#1 & #2 the focus is spot on but in #3 it is a little behind the bird. Unfortunately the light doesn't look great for these shots but for the first two you've done a decent job. If you are patient with thrushes you might be rewarded with a shot of them pulling up worms - especially just after (or during) rain !

Beautiful shot - love it.

Some dust bunnies too

Hi Vern,

I think you've done quite a nice job with a number fo these - great 'expression' captured on #4 which had me laugh out loud and #2 is soooo close to a cracking shot - spoilt by being a little too soft, I'd hazard a guess this was shot from quite a distance and maybe the crop is a little too severe. There is no substitute in birding to 'getting close' !

I have the *300 and it is an absolutely stellar lense. Cut your throat sharp. So there should be no issue with soft shots from the lense.

Maybe it is your technique. How do you hold your camera / lense ? If I have no monopod attached (for me when birding it is a permanent fixture on the lense - far more flexible, and lighter, than a tripod and a definite improvement over hand-held) and I have to hand hold then I cradle the combination resting them on the cocked elbow of my left arm.

No problem with your shutter speeds - I shoot at 1/800 to 1/1600.
ISO good if you are using a K5.
f4 is a little softer, obviously, than when stopped down but I've found it is still very sharp on the *300 and definitely there is no reason not to use it - though I prefer f5.6 to f8 (mostly) when birding. f8 still gives you a lovely bokeh, because of the length of the lense, and can cover minor focusing errors.

I think your problem is in using Shutter Priority - maybe the lense has not finishing focusing properly when you drop the shutter. I use Focus Priority and AF-S for sitting or non active birds and AF-C for BIF and small very active birds and birds moving around a lot. I shoot almost exclusively in TAv.

Whilst I agree in principle don't forget that many insects will take flight as soon as a shadow shields them - instinctive reaction to predators no doubt.