I have also been a serious amateur / semi-pro photographer since the early 1960's and like you, when I retired I decided to take up Wildlife & Nature photography as my retirement hobby primarily to gie myself an excuse to get out of the house regularly, but even more specifically because I suffer from C.O.P.D. and I find taking long nature hikes carrying a 30lb backpack of photo equipment very theraputic, as an example, one year ago I couldn't walk to the mailbox without carrying a portable oxygen tank but today I think nothing of 5 or 10 mile hikes and I have not even had the O2 equipemtn for the last 6 months. According to my book, Birds of Ohio, there are 413 species of birds native to the state of Ohio. To date I have photo documented 119 species either in my yard or within walking distance of my house. Bird photography presents a number of unique challenges and with experience you will find that your technique is every bit as important as your equipment. Most birds fly between 20 and 30mph while some of the hawks and raptors are capable of speeds in excess of 70mph. This means that while in flight most birds are moving 30 to 45ft/sec which makes it nearly impossible to focus on birds while in flight, therefore if we have any aspriaton of getting flight action shots we have to anticipate where the bird will be, then set our equipment up in advance and await an opportunity to take the shot. Obviously shooting birds when they are still is much easier, but keep in mind that birds are very elusive so we must provide some means to attract the bird to our viewing area. IN winter this is very easy, we simply put up bird feeders, then sit back and wait for the birds to come to us, but what do we do in summer? Birds are opporunists and for basically the same reason that people frequent fast food restaraunts, birds can easily be attracted by bird feeders, bird baths, small decorative ponds in your landscaping and selected flowers and shrubs that attract birds. If your into capturing images of birds in their wild habitat you could do as I do, don full camoflage and stake out a spot where you have full view of wild fruits, berries, corn fields etc. Oh yes, I realize that this may seem gross to some, but don't overlook the photo opporunity of staking out a vantage point where you can watch some road kill. You will be amazed how many birds are scaavengers. Although much more difficult to get a good viewing angle, you can get some very unique photos ir you can find a nesting site, but be careful here. If you repeatedly get too close to a nesting site the parents may abandon the young. Under no circumstances should you ever touch a nest becuse that would leave your scent and the parents will nearly always leave. Now to answer your original question, what lenses do you need? Let me begin by clarifying a point for you. Rgardless of what kind of camera we use, a normal lens has a focal length equal to the diagonal measurement of the negative format or the electronidc sensor. By example, a 35mm film camera produces a negative that is 24x36mm therefore the diagonal measurement is 43.2mm. (due to the physical space reqquirements of the multiple elements, aperture and focusing linkages the industry has accepted 43 to 55mm as the normal lens). Any lens which has a focal length longer than the Normal lens is said to be a Telephoto lens. Generally lenses up to 3x the normal focal length are defined as telephotos while lenses longer than 3x the normal focal length are defined as super telephotos. Lenses with a focal length that is shorter than the normal focal length are called "Wide Angle" lenses. Lenses with a fixed focal length are defined as "Prime lenses" while lenses with a variable focal lenght are said to be a "Zoom Lens" meaning that is can be zoomed from its minimum to its maximum focal lenght, thus you could have a zoom wide angle or a zoom telephoto. On cameras that have a fixed lens they often define the focal ength by a number, by example, they may say the camera has a 10x zoom. In this case the numbrer is multiplying the focal length of the normal lens for that format, thus while the normal format for a 35mm film camera is 43mm, a 10x zoom would equal a 430mm lens. For 35mm film cameras or DSLR's a 300mm lens is considered the longest lens that can consistantly be hand held and they should only be used in hand held mode when the shutter speed is 1/125 or greater. Lenses longer than 300mm or in situations where the shutter speed will be less than 1/125 it will require a monopod, tripod or other suitable means of support. The actual diameter of the lens aperture can be mathematically computed by dividing the lens focal length by the index number, by example, if you have a 50mm lens set at f-2 the actual diameter of the aperture opening is 50/2= 25mm while a 300mm @ f-2 would have an aperture opening of 300/2= 150mm however due to the difference in angle of view both lenses would produce the same light level at the film plane. If we then examine the complete f-stop scale we would find that the the indexes are such that increasing the index one stop will reduce the cross sectional area of the aperture to 1/2 the cross sectional are of the previous aperture opening. If you then examine the shutter speed scale you will note that each increment is approximately double the time of the next higher shutter speed. Exposure is a combinastion of time and light intensity, thus if we change the f-stop one stop we either double or halve the amount of light striking the film or sensor, and if we change the shutter speed on index figure we also either double or halve the light to the film. In this manner we can change the overall exposure one f-stop by either changing the aperture setting or the shutter speed one index. You could use a 200mm lense with a doubler as was siggested before, but when we attach a doubler the actaul apertue size remains constant while we double focal length so we instantly loose one f-stop. In addition, we generally loose another f-stop to the light loss through the glass lens in the doubler. As a result the actual insertion loss of a doubler is typically 2 f-stops and some cheaper after market doublers have an insertion loss of 3 f-stops. When i first begani my interset in photography a built in light meter was still a new feature and in those days we had to learn how to eyeball an exposure. (When using my old manual focus pre-set lenses I still put my camera in manual mode and eyeball the exposure for practice) ISO is the actual shutter speed required to produce a proper exposure at f-16 in mean daylight at noon at the equator. As you move north of shuth of the equator the angle of incidence of sunlight changes and we must compensate the exposure, thue in the USA in bright sunlight at noon in mid summer the proper expose shutter speed would be equal to the ISO number with the lens set at f-16 and we loose one f-stop for each two hours before or after noon. Keep in mind that birds are most active in early morning or late afternoon. Using the aabove formula, if we are shooting a picture at 4pm on a bright summer day in mid summer our we could set the shutter speed to the ISO speed and set the lens to f 5.6. Keeping in mind that we want a shutter speed of at least 250 to stop action we must then use ISO 400 and if its a cloudy day or in shade the exposure would be f-4 but our lens will only open to f 5.6 so we must then increase the ISO to 800. If we were to attach a doubler we would need to push the ISO two more stops to 3200 and risk a lot of image loss to noise. In my humble opinion the best economical lens for what you want to do would be a 70-300mm f 4-5.6 I would also strongly encourage you to get a good heavy duty tripod and a remote shutter release. Your Canon Rebel uses the Canon EF mount and although I am not familiar with your camera it may also use the Canon EFs mount. Out of curiosity I did a quick scan on Ebay and found 11 Canon 70-300mm f4-5.6 EF lenses listed with a "Buy Now" price ranging from $119 to $189 ( avg was $139). I also found a couple Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 with canon EF mounts for $129 and if you are willing to go through the bidding procedures I saw a couple that went as cheap as $65+S&H. I am attaching some photos that i took with my Pentax ist DL (6.2mp) DSLR with a Sigma 70=300mm f 4-5.6 manual focus lens.

I realize that my comments may be falling a bit late to be of any value to okwriter, but I am sure this thread is of interest to others, and to be honest, this question has been rolling around in my head for a week, so I feel I need to interject my 2 cents worth here. While it might be possible to find a DSLR body that would accept that Konica 80-200mm in my humble opinion based upon the information in the original post it would be a fools errand to do so. Okwriter emphasized two key points, (1) he/she needs a "good zoom" and (2) he/she is not into photography and seldom tinkers with the settings. Lets begin with the topic "Good zoom". on a 35mm film camera a 200mm zoom is a 4X zoom, Handy, easy to handle and perhaps good in the context of shooting family snapshots in the back yard, but by no means a Good Zoom in the context of bird watching or wildlife photography, and for sports it is merely marginal. Understanding that Digital sensors are slightly smaller than the film format of a 35mm negative when we use 35mm film camera lenses on digital cameras there is an expansion factor which is typically about 1.5. That means that if the 200mm film camera lens is used on a digital camera it would yield an equivalent to a 300mm on a film camera. 300mm is generally considered the longest lens that we can effectively use in hand held mode, it would then be a good all around choice, as opposed to using a tripod for all the shots, however: Okwriter also noted that the Konica & 80-200mm is 20 years old and has spent most of that time just sitting in the closet, no doubt because, as Mongoct has pointed out, it is no doubt a manual focus lens and to use that camera you simply must tinker with the controls so to speak. Let us be brutally honest here, not everyone is into photography, and regardless of how great the camera is, if it is beyond the scope of the operator sadly it will be relegated to little more than an expensive ornament adorning a closet shelf. This does not even take into account the many advanced features of the modern state of the art digital cameras, which simply would not be usable with that lens on a modern DSLR body. I was professionally trained as a Still Photographic Specialist in the U.S.A.F. back in 1966 and in those days manual cameras with match needle metering was the best we had so I am very comfortable with fully manual cameras, but I am afraid even I might find it difficult to use that lens on a modern body. I certainly would not wish that on a beginner. On the other hand, out of curiosity I went to the WalMart website and did a quick review of some of the cameras they have to offer and I was really impressed. First off, I would like to express a minor pet peeve. In recent years the industry seems to have adopted the notion that the term DSLR identifies cameras with interchangeable lenses, which is not true. The term "SLR" means "single lens reflex" which means that when you look through the viewfinder by means of an internal mirror you are looking through the primary lens and you are seeing exactly what the camera is seeing, as opposed to box cameras or rangefinder cameras that had a separate optical system for the view finder. The term DSLR simply means a "Digital SLR", or more precisely, a digital camera in which the image in the viewfinder is exactly the same as the image that will be projected to the digital sensor. Back in the days of film cameras it was exceedingly rare to see an SLR with a fixed lens, but today it is common to see advanced compact cameras that have a fixed lens, yet they have the same mirror system as an SLR and the image in the viewfinder is the same as the image being projected to the sensor and although they do have a fixed lens, none the less they are in every sense of the word a true entry level DSLR although some of their features are not as sophisticated as the top end DSLR's with interchangeable lenses and accessories. Although I would not want to go on record as endorsing any camera dealer, out of curiosity I did a quick search of cameras on the Walmart website, and I must say, I was very impressed with what I found. For my search I set the same basic parameters as what okwriter was looking for. 1. easy to operate 2. good zoom 3. easy on the budget and this is just a sample of what I found: Canon Powershot 12.1mp 12X optical zoom $199.00 Nikon Coolpix L110 12mp 15x Optical zoom $249.00 Fugifilm Fine Pix 12mp 15x zoom $169.00 Kodak Easyshare 14mp 26x optical zoom $199.00 All of these cameras can be operated in a simple point & shoot mode, yet they all have the advanced user overide features found on more expensive DSLRS. While these cameras still do not have the total versatility that I have with my Pentax DSLRS, never the less, I think people such as okwriter who need a good camera, but don't want to get seriously involved in the technical aspects of photography would be well served with a camera of this type.

Rather than give you a specific make & model recommendation I would rather give you some general information that will help you make the descision as to which camera is best for you. On first inspection all digital cameras, whether they are simple point & shoot or high end professional DSLR's are a bit intimidating because they have all sorts of buttons and drop down menus. DO NOT LET THAT SCARE YOU. All digital cameras, regardless of how big or small have a fully automated mode where you can use it as a point & shoot camera and get perfect results from your first shot and you may be happy using it in that mode for the rest of your life, but I must warn you ahead of time, digital photography is addictive. Once you start getting great point & shoot type pics you will no doubt get curious about what else you can do, from extreme closeups in your flower garden to shooting a bird a 100ft away. And what parent or grandparent doesn't want a few action photos of their little darlings participating in organized sports and such? The point is, you want a camera that won't break the bank to purchase and is ready to go right out of the box, but one that can grow with you as your skills and knowledge improves. Back in the days of film you had two choices, you could get a point & shoot and live with its limitations or you could buy an SLR and had to enter a formal study group to learn how to use it, but such is not the case today. They do still make Point & shoot cameras which typically sell in the $60 to $150 price range, but I would not recommend those. Most of the new point and shoot cameras do not have an optical viewfinder (an eyepiece you look through). Instead, they use what is called "Live view" where the picture is displayed on the lcd screen on the back of the camera. In some circumstances Live view is highly desirable, but live view requires a lot of energy, which dramatically shortens your battery life, and it can be very difficult to see when outdoors in bright sunlight. In addition, most point & shoot cameras have a fixed focal length lens or one that perhaps offers 2x or 3x telephoto, and some offer an additional 2x digital telephoto, but that is only a process where the camera crops your image down. The problem with the digital tele is that as it crops the image down, it is reducing your negative size, which then dramatically reduces the size of quality prints you can expect to get. You could step up to an entry level DSLR but even the basic entry level DSLR's start out at around $500 plus the cost of a lens and they are generally much to bulky for those who want a point & shoot. Fortunaely they make what is known in the industry as "Bridge Cameras" because they bridge the gap between the el cheapo point & shoot and the expensive DSLR. Bridge cameras will generally average about $200 and upwards to $400 but when you see what you get, they are without question one of the best bargains in the industry. Bridge cameras will operate in simple point & shoot mode, requiring no technical skills from the operator, but they also have the full range of shutter speed and exposure controls that are found on the professional DSLR's. Now, while the bridge cameras do have a fixed lens instead of interchangable lenses, they offer some fantastic zoom capabilities on the lenses they have. They will generally all have zoom lens that ranges from wide angle to 6x or 8x and some even have zooms that go as high as 15x or more. The bridge cameras have an optical viewfinder which means when you look in the eyepiece you are actually looking through the camera lens and you are seeing what the camera sees so you need not worry about chopping heads and feet off and some even offer the live view as an option for shooting in dim light or framing a closeup. And while on the subject of closeups, most of the bridge camera lenses also have the macro feature so you can shoot extreme closeups. You mentioned that you want to be able to put your photos on a flash drive. Nearly all digital cameras use SD or SDHC cards for memory. The actual number of photos that you can fit on a card depends upon the size of the card and the size of the files that are created by your camera, but to give you an example, I shoot a Pentax K10d DSLR and when I use an 8gb SDHC card and shoot in the highest quality JPEG mode, I can get 1615 photos on a card, but then I never go in the field with just one card either. I carry four or five spare cards and a minimum of 3 spare Lithium batteries and I can get 700 shots per battery. If I am going for a weekend I also carry my battery charger for the car. To upload your photos to the computer all the cameras have an umbilical cord that plugs into a USB port, but I find it just as easy to pull the memory card and plug that directly into the computer card reader. In a Windows operating system when you plug the card into the computer and box comes up and says it found a memory device and asks you what you want to do, Hit "import photos" and it will automatically upload the photos into "My Photos" on the computer. I then put the card back in the camera and use the camera to format the card, which erases it so I can start over. (You can also pull the card and insert it into one of the photo kiosk machines at your local photo center to select what you want printed.) One thing I would caution you. When you are selecting your new camera find out what type and size of battery it uses. Some of the smaller cameras use a special battery that is designed specific to that camera. If that is the case, you may have difficulty in finding a spare battery, especially in the future. I learned the hard way because I have an older HP point & shoot that has a battery that will no longer hold a charge, but they have discontinued production of that battery. Many of the point & shoot and bridge cameras use AA batteries, which means it is very easy to find replacements and even the rechargeables are not expensive. (I would strongly advise you be sure to get rechargable batteries). If the camera you select uses a proprietary battery find out if that battery is used in other cameras or by other camera manufacturers. If it is in common use by many cameras the odds of it being discontinued any time soon are greatly reduced. Also, if the camera uses a lithium ion battery that is an advantage because Li-on batteries provide much greater power than ni-cads or Nickle-metal halides. When you get your new camera generally they include a simple photo editing program with the camera software disc but I would suggest you also download a free photo editing program from Google, called "Photoscape". Photoscape is a very powerful, yet very user friendly program that is totally free. No spam, no spyware, and none of that 60 day trial nonesense. I have three professional photo editing programs but I find that Photoscape is my basic go to program for all but the most demanding edits. Here is an illustration I made that will give you examples of the different types of cameras...

Actually there are a number of options for taking macro photos. Technically speaking the term "Machro" means that you can produce an image on the film that is between life size and 10x life size. (Image magnifications greater than 10x actual size are referred to as "Michro Photography". Without question, the simplest and most user friendly method of producing Macro images is by means of a true Machro focusing lens. Call me old school if you like, but when I began my serious interest in photography back in 1966 Machro lenses were not yet even heard. The simplest method of producing Machro images with a manual camera is by means closeup lenses, but close up lenses often introduce some aspherical aberrations on the edge of the image. While I doubt that the average amateur would ever notice the difference, none the less, to a died in the wool purest, they offer the least quality in the final print, especially if you intend to make big enlargements. Another drawback is that the close up lenses block some of the light, which means you may loose an F-stop or two. The next method of producing Machro images is by means of a "lens reversing ring". The normal lens is taken off the camera body, then the lens reversing ring is screwed into the lens filter mount on the front end of the lens and the lens is then attached to the body backwards so that the rear element of the lens is now out in front. (This can only be done with manual aperture lenses or auto lenses that have an auto/manual switch lever). While this method does work very well, with no loss of light the downside is that you are limited in the amount of magnification it can produce. The next method is to extend the distance of the lens from the film plane by means of "Extension rings". Generally the extension rings come in a set of three rings, each of a different overall length. The extension rings are simply hollow tubes that fit between the rear of the lens and the camera body. The longer the extension, the greater the magnification, and the extension rings can be used singly or they can be stacked to further increase the extension, thus greater magnification. One advantage of extension rings is that you can get a set of "Auto-Extension Rings" which means the rings have the necessary internal mechanical linkages to maintain the cameras auto aperture function. (You can generally find both manual and auto extension rings in brand new condition for sale on Ebay for about $30 to $75) and if your willing to take your chances you may pick them up for half of that through the bidding process. Another advantage of extension rings is that there is no internal lens element so there is no loss of light. Now if you are a true purist and want the ultimate in machro images you must use a "Bellows Extension". A bellows extension has a metal frame with a lens board on one end and a camera mount on the opposite end with an accordian type cloth bellows that will extend or contract as you adjust the position of the camera or lens board. The adjustments are made by means of micro fine screw knobs on the frame. There is no mechanical linkage between the camera body and the lens board so typically you must us a manual lens to set the F-stop, however they do make high end bellows units that have an aperature control mechanism built into the lens board and it uses a dual shutter cable release so that when you press the shutter release one cable will stop the lens down on the lens board while the second cable will press the shutter release to snap the picture. i once used my 1966 Pentax Spotmatic body with a Pentax Auto-Bellows and a Pentax 50mm f1:1.2 Auto-Tacumar lens to shoot a Ladybug sitting on a rose petal, and I got a full image picture of just the face of the ladybug. i later had that image enlarged to 11x14 with full clarity. Here again, you can always find brand new extension bellows units on Ebay for immediate sale or you can take your chances on bidding and perhaps save a lot of money. NOTE: When searching for a Bellows also look for "Bellows Slide Duplicators". To duplicate 35mm slides they use a bellows that has a special second bellows and slide holder. They can be used as either a slide duplicator or the slide holder can be removed and the main bellows used for Machro. In fact, My Pentax Auto-Bellows originally came with the slide duplicator attachment. Now if you are really serious about shooting a lot of macro there are a couple other accessories that will prove invaluable. 1.Right angle finder. Generally when shooting machro images of insects, flowers or other natural subjects you will be using your camera at a very low angle. Most SLR cameras have two small slots on either side of the eyepiece to allow attaching a rubber eyecup or other accessories. A right angle finder snaps on the eyepiece and extends the eyepiece at right angle to the camera body. In this manner when shooting a low angle you can place the camera close to the ground then look straight down into the eyepiece as if you were looking in a microscope. Come of the extension eyepieces even offer a slight magnification to aid in focusing, and there are even some that can be fitted with a corrective lens so that people who wear glasses can use the eyepiece without glasses. 2.Quite often when shooting extremely close machro shots the camera and lens will be so close that they cast a shadow and normal flash is difficult to use in this situation. If you are serious about shooting a lot of machro you might want to consider a "Ring Light". A ring light is a circular flash unit that attaches to the front of the lens and it will produce shadowless lighting on the subject. 3.When making machro images the depth of field is always extremely limited when compared to normal photography. For best results one should always use a tripod or other means to support the camera and insure it will remain steady during the exposure. If using a Machro zoom lens you can generally get by with a basic tripod, but most tripods will only close down to about 18" high and that means you will generally be looking down on the subject. For very low angles you might want to use a small table top tripod that is only 5 to 8" high, of course you would then need the angle finder eyepiece mentioned above. I hope this information was not too confusing and be of value to you Richard