As a graduate student I am on a very limited budget but I still enjoy bird watching and wildlife photography. Solution? This lens! No, you won't get award-winning shots with it, and yes, it's *much* harder to master since it's entirely handcrafted, but it still gets some good shots! Everyone says you can't shoot wildlife with a manual lens, but I've been doing this for over a year now and you can, yes, even shoot motion if you have the patience to practice. I got this as an "upgrade" for my 500mm manual lens and I love it. While I really wish you could focus and *not* have to lock the zoom for speed, it's little less than what I could ask for for the price. All photos were taken with this lens. Alligator and Whistling Ducks were about 30 yards away, Harris' Hawk and Thrasher about 15 yards, and Little Blue Heron about 50 yards.
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