Do I need to update?

[Tonym]

I have a Canon EOS 350D and a cheaper non IS Canon 70-300 lens and wish to take pictures of mainly wildlife usually a couple of hundered meters away so I thought the best thing was probably get a new compact digital like the SX20IS which is 10 megapixel and 20time optical zoom. Do you think this is the way to go or should I look at a better lens for my 350D? Which tele zoom would be the best? Should I get a better SLR? There are some good deals around on the newer Canon 550D with the Canon 18-200 IS lens, would this be better than the Canon SX20IS for wildlife pics out in a field or paddock? I dont have a big budget but would like to get some reasonable quality gear and I seem to be drawn to Canon.

[Kym]

This is an interesting read http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...ad.php?t=20625

That said 8mp is quite ok, and if the choice is a new body or good glass, glass wins every time.

[hus]

I agree with Kym, keep the body and get a decent lens.
Compact digital like the SX20IS is totally the wrong path to take in my opinion.

Good luck

[Tonym]

Well, I have been doing a lot of post searching and reading and thought I would pick between a 550D and a 7D then I went to a couple of department/camera stores and found the 50D. My problem is that I am new to digital photography so I am not that familiar with how to compare a lot of the specs of different cameras, for instance the 550D has a 18mp sensor and the 50D has a 15mp sensor but from what I can work out the 50D is a higher end camera aimed at a more experienced operator. Physically the 50D is much bigger than the 550D and I think it feels a more robust body but which would be better for wildlife,sports photos? Does the 15mp compared to the 18mp matter? I use a 300mm tele lens a fair bit to get animals or birds from a distance so I tend to need to crop pics a fair bit.

[Kym]

MP do matter ... less is more (kind of).
Pixel density is the question see: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tut...hotography.htm

Your lens has much more to do with IQ then the sensor.

[Tonym]

Well I have updated, I got a 50D and am very happy so far. Now I just have to learn how to get the best out of it.