Catherine, I started with that lens and still got some good pictures with it - even with the lens that I have (which is a 400mm lens) I have to get pretty close to the birds to get good detail. Have it ready at all times, you just never know when a bird is going to land right in front of you! And you have more pixels so affectively a longer lens than me as the images are larger. The zoombrowser is just for zooming in the picture. You will need software to crop the picture. I use Printshop but there are other software packages, such as Picture Manager that comes with Microsoft's office tools suite. The zoombrowser has some editing but I've not used it - when you are viewing the picture, go to the edit menu and use the trim function. You draw a box with the cursor by starting in the top left corner and dragging the mouse until you have the size you want and then click on trim. Unfortunately it doesn't have the capability to resize the photo which is nice to do if the photo is greater than 800 pixels. However I believe that photobucket will resize it for you. I also compress the size of the file (not the size of the picture) to make it load faster. There is some post processing that is expected with the digital SLR's - mainly sharpening the image. Most point-n-shoots do in-camera sharpening but the typical setup of the SLR's is to do some sharpening but the rest is done with software (the software typically does a better job). But you can change the setting in the camera to do more sharpening so you don't have to do it with software. Also, the contrast and hue saturation of the Rebels can be a bit off so sometimes it requires adjusting those too. But don't panic, start slow and learn one adjustment at a time. It sounds like alot of work but once you get the hang of it, it literally takes seconds to post process. I'm sure the pros take much longer than that tweaking details but not something I do. Let me know if you want more help - I didn't want to overwhelm you! And let me know if you have any software, there are a variety of software packages available that are reasonably priced or free.

Well,I was a block away about to see a Doctor about some ache and pain..so,walking the distance was passed over! But,even a block away that big cactus was impressive.

cheryldee - we had thought about this for our kitchen, so I did a lot of reading about it. In regard to etching, it seems like it varies from slab to slab - some have an etching issue and some don't. And the degrees of etching seem to vary as well. It seems like you almost HAVE to get a piece from your exact slab to test it (or at the very least in your same lot) because it sounds as if the calcium content varies quite a bit. Definitely do a search for Bee's new kitchen (beekeeperswife) - she has some gorgeous Super White. And. Has. Etching. Even though the piece she was given (from a different lot than hers, as I understand) to test didn't etch. :( Best bet is to proceed very cautiously if you want this and aren't okay with etching. So many get this as an alternative to marble because they don't want the etching issues...but it's not a given that it won't etch. So, if you are okay with etching, you may do just as well going with a marble.

My general impression is that most of the good sharp bird pictures you see require a fairly strong zoom lens. When you use those you have to usually use a tripod for steadiness. But, as to close ups in general, you can get some pretty decent zooms with your camera if you find a way to hold the camera steady when taking the shot. The more you zoom, the steadier you need to be. And, light becomes an issue too. Steady with adequate light. You need more of each as you zoom more. Otherwise you have to move the camera closer to the subject (usually difficult with birds). Although, my BIL has a new camera with a remote activation button and he set up his camera close to a bird feeder and took a "close up" without a zoom lens by using his remote clicker.