Originally posted by Ron Boggs 
It's in fantastic shape! Now for the real challenge...controlling the inevitable vibration issues. Perhaps this lens will benefit from shake reduction even on a tripod (when you are supposed to turn off shake red.).
I've had noteworthy success with using the old Bogen magic arm camera support that screws into the tripod mount on the camera body and then braces down to the tripod leg...this way both the lens and the body are supported by the tripod creating a nice triangle of support. There are some tricks to using this system on moving critters...I'll walk you through some of it if you are interested.
You may also find that using the little remote trigger will take your own vibes out of the equation. I have a heavy trigger finger myself, but am not keen on shooting wildlife with the remote. I have a shooting buddy that prefers the remote even with superteles, and he has much better trigger finger control than I do.
Regardless, this will be a very fun lens for you once you work out your own system of taming the technique to get the sharpness the lens is capable of.
Looks like Clint has the same tripod setup as I do so it should be well balanced and you can move it around with just a couple of fingers, but you're right, vibration is a killer. I try to use a remote with the 3 second timer when I can, but since the DOF is so narrow, any movement from the subject ruins the shot. On darker days I try to crank the ISO up a bit which helps. I've also wondered about shake reduction and perhaps someone here can shed some light on using it with longer lenses. It only goes up to 800mm and I am presuming that it is because anything over that would go past the throw of the mechanism that moves the sensor around?
Post #1 by Clinton
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