mikoyan29 Wrote:The Brand is Kenko. And I think it's f8 to f16. I do have a tripod and a monopod but it sounds like it's pretty light. I just want to see how it goes since I've been taking bird, deer and what not pictures and the 300mm lens isn't quite enough. If I don't like it, I'm out 180 bucks, but it has a 2x adapter, so my 300 mm can become 600mm...:)

Just because it is light in your hands though of course does not mean you can hold it very, very steady to get sharp images. Particularly out passed 500mm when every little movement of the camera and lens is amplified and exagerated as it relates to the focal length. At 1600mm I doubt you can hand hold in any position and get a respectable capture. I think invariably you should at least screw it on a monopod anytime you use it to help get the sharpest image you can. You got the monopod, you got the big a$$ lens; you may as well often use the two together.
That is about the price some of those Phoenix models were going for.