Hi Wearside Weasel,
Welcome to WAB, good to have another mustelid fan onboard!
I too am entranced and obsessed with these marvellous mammals. In particular the otter.
Plans are afoot to paint one or two, however, I'm a stickler for getting my own reference photos, and as yet, no opportunities have arisen. I do have a fine photo for which I paid a copyright royalty, but am rather loth to go ahead until I see what I can achieve. I have a Nikon D2x, and coupled with the Sigma 300-800mm, good shots should certainly be achievable. They're harder to see down here in Essex, and sea lochs in NW Scotland are my preferred habitat.
Regarding what DSLR? Well, if you can, a D200 of course. I sense you're on a budget though, so perhaps your options are limited. If you could stretch to a D80 you'd not regret it. I don't know what Canon has in your price range, and being in the Nikon camp, I would have no intelligent recommendations. Of course the advantage with current Nikon DSLRs is that you get the effective magnification of 1.5 whenever you stick a lens on, so it's a boon for wildlife. Go Nikon! Whatever you choose in the end, good research is essential; decide what you really want from the camera, and then try and find the model that fits your bill.
Good luck!
Jonathan
