Budog,
For still photograph, nothing beats Nikon cameras and lenses. They aren't inexpensive, but they're great. There's a guy named Ken Allaman over on the "Bino and Spotting Scopes" classifieds that has a Nikon F5 for sale. I just bought a big Nikon lens from him and he was great to deal with. He'd also be a great resource if you want to talk wildlife photography.