I was very lucky as I got the lens for £150 while going through duty-free at Manchester Airport.
I went up to Trafford Centre the other day and it was selling in Curry's for about £350 IIRC. To my mind the lens is way overpriced
I have taken good pictures with the lens and there are decent examples in the forum BUT above 150mm I reckon it's below par for 3 reasons:
1. The image softens considerably
2. Unless you stop down to f8 there is serious vignetting
3. Focusing is frequently too slow for action shots like fast jets or birds in flight.( here it seems like a combination of the lens with the inherent focusing abilities of the camera )
Yes it can be used for action shots as here but I'd love to see it replaced by something better.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/crabb/4331355766/" title="P1010105 by d_crabb, on Flickr">
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
"1024" height="598" alt="P1010105" /></a>