Last year, when I travel to Costa Rica, I borrowed from NPS the Nikon 80-400 mm lens and founded fast focusing and easy to handhold. To complement my 70-200 F/2.8 lens. I have been viewing the different long zoom lenses that are on the market. Years ago I did have the Sigma 50-150, which I liked but when I obtained my 500 mm F/4 lens and my 70-200 mm F/2.8 lens, I gave the Sigma to my son to use. Last summer, I did try the Tamron 150-600 mm lens, I liked the quality of the pictures, but however, it was heavy enough so that I could not comfortably handhold it. So I finally made a decision, especially when Nikon had a discount on the 80-400 mm lens and bought it.

What I like about the lens, it is is compatible with all my cameras, whether they are FX or DX. It is very handholdable, quick on focusing, sharp and I can utilize my Nikon 1.4 X converter on it. This will give me an aperture of F/8 when the lens is fully extended to 400 mm. I do a lot of my bird and animal photography at F/8 and I adjust my ISO so that I can obtain the shutter speed of at least 1/1250.

I carry the combination with a new neck strap manufactured by Indigo Marble Camera Strap - Soft Padded Black Neoprene Lightweight Adjustable Comfortable Designer Sling for Your Valued Canon Nikon Pentax Sony DSLR - Anti-Slip - For Guys & Women - Quick Release Design - Protect Your Investment - 100% Money Back Guarantee , which finally, I have a strap that doesn't bother my neck or back.

Sunday morning I visited Allen Pond and then traveled down to Sapowet Marsh/ Beach in Tiverton, Rhode Island, where most of my photography were birds in flight. Photography wise, to me the only drawback was it was a beautiful sunny day with only a rare cloud in the sky. Therefore, most of the backgrounds are blue.