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I mean sure, it's a damn sexy piece of glass and it thoroughly dispelled my idea that VR was nothing more than a marketing gimmick, that lens makes clear images at 1/4 @ 400 (600) for me, something impossible with no VR in my hands..

I'm talking about the 80-400VR again, as a lot of people are at the moment. I'd blame birddog but he's a good guy.. just Wednesday he saved my bacon.. I realized on Tuesday morning that there was no way I would be lugging my laptop around on Wednesday on my trip to the zoo, so I PM's birddog asking if there was any chance at all that I could get a card rushed down.. I was leaving at 11:30 the next day.

Never have done business with me before he still got the card to me at 11:29am on the following day, literally as I was walking out the door.. so we won't blame birddog.. k?

I've been planning on buying the lens, thinking about how great it'll be.. but then I look at my shots from the zoo on Wednesday..

http://pixspot.com/thumbnails.php?album=122

Wednesday was a really crap day for walking around the zoo, my back was aching and it was cloudy, raining, or threatening to rain. Then the sun finally came out and I took some photos.

Looking at the photos though I don't see how the lens would have assisted me. I've been slowly tackling this technical learning curve but haven't really been focusing on the artistic. I now shoot fully manual, never any of the pre-programmed modes. So I feel technical proficient now, I know what to do in most circumstances, I know what the camera can do and what the lens can do.. and what it cant..

The lens is a 70-300 Tamron.. maybe a little soft at 300 but here's the thing, at no point during the day did I wish that the lens was longer, at no point during the day did my shaky hands come into play.. the only limitation I had was due to the available light and that if I slowed the shutter speed down the movement of the subject became an issue..

Anyway, something for me to think about. In the mean time…

http://pixspot.com/displayimage.php?alb ... 0065&pos=1

Awwww

Those pics look fine mate.

I absolutely adore the meerkat. Alongside the Numbat, the Meerkat is my favorite small furry animal.

Ta - My point got lost in all the rabbiting on, but basically I liked the shots I took or you guys would never have seen them

Dean, all good shots... especially the meerkat.
It's great that you are getting good results from your 70-300 and no reason that you shouldn't in the right conditions... I have a nikon 70-300ED that serves me well in suitable conditions but often find it wanting when I haven't available light to work with given other required parameters like shutter speed and/or aperture. It really all comes down to the photos you seek to capture and the available conditions within which to do so.

One favour... would love for you to provide a little more detail on the settings selected for your shots... it is always great info for all who seek to learn.

Michael.

It should all be in the EXIF.. i made sure it wasn't washed out in PSP and should be available by clicking the button that looks like an information symbol..



Thanks by the way

Platinum, you are a rare one to resist the lust urges!

They are fantastic shots, looks like you know how to work the camera and lens to extract optimum performance.

Also you're able to get some lovely butterfly shots with the macro Tamron that you might not have been able to if you had an 80-400. The Nikon pro tele's don't exactly focus very close without a filter attachment (score another point for the 'consumer grade' tele-zoom).

Meerkats rock.

May I suggest an avatar for you?

Thanks again all..

What avatar are you suggesting, the meercat?

Dean - great shots and as you say in your preamble (I think) why spend $$$$ when you are happy with what you have.

I myself have suffered the lusting over other lens and in doing so have kept very quite about a lens that I knew would be looked upon as being hohum. It is the Sigma 55-200mm DC and, at first, I thought what a heap of crap. That was until I learned how the lens handled and I began to get shots that I thought were good, not great, but good.

Keep with it Dean you have shown how to get good shots from a lens that works in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.

Chris

Hi Dean, Like the shots as was good to see as i didn't know what them things was called, like meercat and etc. You can tell i haven't been to a zoo in a long time. When i was driving coaches years ago and away with school trips i always seemd to end up at reptile parks and i hate snakes.
Anyhow i am very happy with my 70-300 G i think it is a great lens, nice price as well and i too lust the bigger for more reach helps with what i like to take pictures of but if you are happy with the way it works well that great we all have to learn how to use these lens but it's who is holding the camera can make a big differance.
Cheers
John
BBJ
You can see my pics with the 70-300 G on pixspot

G'day PW,
Can't get to the pics at the moment (SQL error on pixspot) but the lens you're using would be capable of producing excellent quality images...

The big advantage of the VR for me, is the ability to cater for camera shake... Shaky hands on long zoom shots = blurry images... At least for me...

Cheers,
Mudder

PlatinumWeaver

Interesting coments

I've been out & about playing with a loaner 80-400 VR today to give it a good test drive. I have a Nikon 70-300 G and that's one of my comparisons.

Haven't formed an opinion yet as I've just returned home to review the pics. I'll keep you posted on my observations.

Mudder: I appreciate the VR's helpful in elimating camera shake, but if pixspot comes back you'll see that a lot of those images were taken at the full 300mm with relateively low shutter speed and they weren't blurred at all..

I know that previously I've said my hands are unstable and I can't hold the camera still, but it seems that I can on occasion do that very thing.

The whole core of my indecision comes from these clear pictures. With the 400 lens then yes any shaking would be amplified, but a lower shutter speed is going to introduce the much less controllable issue of having blur from the subject's movement.


Stubbsy: Looking forward to seeing the shots, who on earth did you con into letting you borrow the lens?

PlatinumWeaver wrote:... who on earth did you con into letting you borrow the lens?

I'm sworn to secrecy. Maybe you should come to one of the Sydney meets and try the lens out. Airfares Melb to Sydney are cheap

My 80-400 VR review is now up as promised and can be found here