Well, I did get around to going for a more extensive walk through of the arboretum yesterday, the first image has already been posted. It was the first time that I felt comfortable walking around with professional glass. I hadn't realized just how inadequate I felt walking around with my ginormous L on my ginormous gimbal head. I guess there's nothing like a $2,000 lens to make one feel like a poseur. But the good news is that my self confidence has returned and the images I'm getting are probably the best of my career.

What I've learned from all this is that, getting an expensive lens will allow for you to get a few shots here and there that you might not have been able to get, but the effect is somewhat smaller than typically imagined. I could have gotten the bee photo with a much cheaper lens, the main factor that allowed me to get it was a 200mm focal length and the speed of focus. If that were my main concern I could have gotten a lens like the Canon 70-200mm F4L without IS and should have gotten more or less the same image.

That being said, having seen the 70-200mm F2.8L IS in action over the last few photo shoots, I can safely say that I'll be giving it up when they pry it from my cold dead fingers. Just because it's the photographer that makes the shots, doesn't mean that I'll give up the lens.