Getting ahead of myself, but what else to do when I have'nt got anything but time and limited resources on my hands. The new camera, D-100, will be happening next week, while I'm home on leave. Thanks to Jason Etzel, aka: JasonNJ / Counter Boy. At present I have two lens, a Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8 D [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img], and a Nikkor AF 70-300 f/4-5.6 G [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I have low to no expectations for the later, but was part of a deal and basicly free. For my next purchase I'm considering a Nikkor 80-400 f/4.5-5.6 D ED VR. Most of my shooting is opportunistic. Often from stopped or slow moving vehicles, helicopters, or dodging the afore mentioned, on foot. The VR system claims to allow for about 8 times slower shutter speeds; that is, the equivalent of 3 stops. For example, a picture to be unblurred, even in the hands of a well seasoned photog, might need at least a 1/250 of a second at 300mm; with the VR you can safely take the speed down from 1/250, through 1/125, 1/60, to 1/30 of a sec.
So the lens, with an aperture of f/4.5 effectively -and approximately- becomes a f/1.8 lens; until the lens is extended all the way to 400mm focal length when it turns into a f/5.6, equivalent -due to the VR system- to a f/2. Sounds ideal for my situation, but, does it live up to the claims. Anybody have any thoughts, experience, or wisdom that might be shared, before I make a decision to take the plunge? Happy Holidays to all.
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