My first post on this forum and I apologise if this has been discussed before but I could not find any discussion on forum search.

I have a new Nikon D90 and am planning to do some wild life photography back in the Kgalagadi national park in South Africa soon. From searches on the net, I found that this lens may be an option as I have a limited budget and I am far from professional!

Does anybody on the forum own/use one of these? It seems to be a bit slow with F5 - 6.3 and also reported to be a bit heavy for hand-held shooting.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Have no idea about the Sigma but the Nikor 70-300 is a great lens for the price and the VR function rocks!

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06080901...0-300vrlens.asp

You should also be able to pick it up for a lot less than RRP

Forgot to say its very light and you don't need a tripod at 300mm

I've got this lens and it's a great deal. On my Nikon D300 it works like a charm, the OS is a bit noisy but works great. I mostly use it hand held, all though it gets heavy after a while, but in combination with the R-Strap I can handle that. Can't say it's slow focusing. The sharpest photo's I get at 400mm@F8. Most of my latest bird photo's are made with the lens, which you check out here http://www.pbase.com/moniques/birds_thailand I think this would make a great lens for 'shooting' wildlife in South Africa! Happy hunting

Thanks both above for replies.

I have the Nikon 70-300 for my old Nikon FX90 SLR; tried it out on the DSLR but with disappointing results with image clarity; mind you I did not have a lot of opportunity to play around with it. Will probably take both cameras with me.

The Kgalagadi is mostly desert with low shrubland so long shots are going to be the order of the day.

Great bird shots!

The lighting should be good so select a high shutter speed 1/500 or 1/1000

and you will be OK. Consider a monopod, or resting on the vehicle when shooting out in the wild.

The lighting should be good so select a high shutter speed 1/500 or 1/1000

and you will be OK. Consider a monopod, or resting on the vehicle when shooting out in the wild.

Will definitely take my tripod and sandbag/window rest for inside the vehicle; unfortunately, wildlife and the light here is best after sunrise and at sunset in this area so the F5 - 6.3 on the Sigma may present a problem with high shutter speeds and it would not be ideal to use a high ISO at more than 300mm.

My "enthusiastic amateur" status will definitely be severely tested!!

Thanks for the advice!

Please post some of the results once you get back home.

Look forward to be able to do so!

Most of my latest bird photo's are made with the lens, which you check out here http://www.pbase.com/moniques/birds_thailand

some nice shots there... Whats the story behind the Blue-winged Pitta, photographed 'in hand' ?

injured ? mist netted ?

I have no idea. It was hiding in the corner of our terrace one morning and I was just able to save it from the dogs. After taking the photo I put it on a branch outside our garden and within five minutes it flew away. I guess maybe it was disoriented because of the light of our house when she flew over at night?

@mitmig.. yes probably, they are migratory so a 'rest' could be the answer.. You're lucky to get so close to one, very tricky once they're flitting about in the woods & forests..

Perhaps an update would do:

Looked also at the new Sigma 50-500 lens; really heavy at about 1,7kg. International forums seem to suggest the optical- and build quality do not compare with Nikkor lenses.

Have just been testing my new Nikkor 80-400!! About 100USD cheaper than the Sigma 50-500.

Also invested in a monopod (Manfrotto); removed the tripod collar and hood. Camera with lens feels well balanced and easy to use and point.

Hand held shots under quite cloudy conditions as about 5 pm yielded clear images even at 400mm. Noise at ISO 3200 much, much less than expected.

Really look forward to using it in the field.

Any feedback from current users?