[2 of 2 customers found this review helpful]

By The Dentist from Arlington, MA on 6/2/2007

The lens is a bit soft. Its long its heavy but with the price you pay, it worth the little bit of short comings. It would be perfect if it could add a zoom lock, it creep like crazy so pay attention of the zoom. It wasn't bad for taking photos of birds and wildlife, I enjoy it a lot, good buy for high $600ish (when I bought mine). I use it for specific wildlife trip. If I only go hiking, I still prefer my Nikon 70-300VR.

[1 of 1 customers found this review helpful]

By Renee from Williamsburg, VA on 5/8/2007

I read the reviews AFTER I had purchased the product and was worried that I may have made a mistake. However, once I got the lens I took it out on an overcast day and tested it on various birds and I was thrilled with the results. Adjusting the white balance and various other settings helped the lens (it does have a tendency to over expose in auto) and I was even able to use it free hand without the use of a mono or tripod and still got crisp/sharp photos. I do recommend the use of some sort of support (my husband held my arm up this weekend while at a wildlife refuge) because the lens is heavy and your arm gets tired.

Other than that? I have not encountered any of the problems others have listed and I take on average 300 shots a day of wildlife during my daily hikes.

I would definitely recommend this lens with the conditional that you get what you pay for and don't expect it to just do everything for you. Its a great lens for the price and if you are willing to undergo a bit of trial and error you will find the best settings for it.

Shot from across a distance of a football field

Tags: Using Product