Originally posted by Paul the Sunman With several years of experience now under our belts, and 147 pages of posts to this thread, I wonder how that advice has panned out with time. Personally, I use the lens almost exclusively hand-held, with (to my mind) great results. Despite its size, I don't find the handling difficult. What is your experience? Do you endorse the recommendation to only use it with a tripod or monopod?
I too use it almost exclusively hand-held. It isn't hard to handle IMO. It can become somewhat heavy if holding it up for several minutes.
Like any long optic a slight amount of shake is exaggerated at distance - so I'll brace on something if needed to make sure any shake doesn't make me miss the focus.