wow tthanks for all the posts guys ! my original plan was to get a 100-400L but i read on quite a few sites that the image quality wasnt very good. i found that weird because i thought all L lenses where top of the line. a 400 prime would be nice but im pretty sure it will be to long sometimes. a zoom would be a definite advantage. i have seen a lot more used 100-400 lenses than primes too. easier on the wallet lol