Previously at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area, I had some Big Glass

Me with the Big Glass
by Mully410 * Images

For the previous week, I spent my vacation with Nikon's wonderful, super duper, AF-S Nikkor 500mm f4/G ED VR Lens. This is about 9 pounds (3880g) of pure awesome.  I used it on my Gitzo monopod and now fully understand why people get those fancy gimbal heads for their tripods.  Whew.  I am sore.

It was nice to get some tight shots of all the birds and flowers in the area.  Less cropping and bigger prints!  Contrary to popular belief, a big lens doesn't necessarily mean you don't have to get close.  The closer you get with the big lens, the less cropping (or no cropping) you'll need.  With this lens, I did far less cropping which means I can get far bigger prints without a loss of resolution. 

I rented this lens at lensrentals.com .  I found this lens a bit heavy for my style of wildlife shooting.  If I wanted to sit on a stool with a tripod and gimbal, I'd get the Nikkor 600mm f4.  For my next stay-cation, I think I'll try the Nikkor 200-400mm VR.   It's "only" 7.1 pounds.  ;-)