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I had bought my one in Iraq, I think in 1990. In the box it is not very threatening as it is disassembled. The customs officials and the security were curious, but that is all. In use the huge 300mm lense can never be mistaken for any thing but a lense, and the camera is clearly visible.

The advatage of the rifle grip is that it rests against your shoulder (rock steady) as you target wildlife - minimal shake. These are available for most of the cameras (including the Hasselblad 500 series) and used by a lot of wild life photographers. For birding it is way ahead of the tripod as you do not need any steady surface to mount it.

I'm selling my Nikon 80-200/2.8 AF-D ED lens. Listing with photos is in the classifieds section. Pls PM if interested. thanks.

What body have you been using? For me the default ISO is always between 800 to 1250 for wildlife on my D300. D7100 can do even much better, this is the reason I feel its better to spend on bodies these days.

On a lighter side, did you start your research with a D5000 lol?

Gd sir, which ff are u getting into, the D4? BTW just saw your current setup, a little similar to mine. except I do not have the 300 and instead of 24-70 I have the 17-55 f/2.8 ;-) ..

This looks promising, how is the weight addition?
For me it is next to impossible to add a gram of weight over the D300+200-400 with grip and 8 AA inside :-( .. To put it other way, does it become easier to carry heavy weight with this pistol?

You are correct :). Started from D 5000. There where lot of questions i was asking myself.

1. Do i need a SLR?
2. Nikon or Canon?
3. Nikon D5000 or D5100(even thinking of D7100)
4. Body Only or with kit lens

Finally settled with Nikon D5200:).

Why so high ISO? Even in the worst of the situations I've not gone above 400 or 560. Do you shoot birds predominantly?

On the contrary, would rather get a D3 than a D4. I'm exploring the D700 subject to the D300 getting sold. Manmohanomics...!

Aah, the 17~55, a legendary piece of glass. A friend of mine has a 17~35 f/2.8 another classic & a legend.

I had almost finalised the Nikkor 14~24 but Rudra stopped me from buying. He asked only one question - "what is your genre"? My answer was - wildlife. And he said then don't buy. :D

The pistol grip is quite light, and the rig has a dedicated strap which balances the weight pretty well. The 300mm lense is quite heavy - all metal construction.:D

For modern DSLR http://bushhawk.com/bushhawk/bushhaw...t-with-trigger is the way to go. It is only 12oz, say 350g

Yes mostly I do birds and tend to miss many shots ;-). And the reason for my inclination towards D4 due to its bombarding high ISO performance.

I am a pretty weak and lean guy sir, hand holding such a heavy equipment adds a good margin on my overall weight stupid: and is hard to keep my hands stable.

17-35 is heck of a monster but given the price and FL I would rather pick up the 14-24. I settled for 17-55 since its a DX and despite is a pro glass (a rare combo/breed). I gave away my 12-24 for this 17-55.

But you already have the 24-70, what else on earth would anyone need more than that. To compliment all you need is a FF, a very wise decision indeed.

I am quite tempted for this setup, thanks a lot for this information Aroy. To be very honest my major issue is weight more than stability (pls see my high ISO inclination on top). If this pistol reduces direct pressure from hand/shoulder then I think I should try it out.
The normal setup will be D300 (800gm) + 70-200 VR (1.5 kgs) + TC (200gm)+ MB-D10 with 8 AA batteries(500 gms). Nearly 3 + kgs.

With 200-400 add another 2 kgs.

Recently I had a very acute neck sprain which took place after my Leh Trip. After back tracking I realised it happened due to carrying 7.5 kgs of backpack (Kata UL220 totally stuffed) and walking for kms together in the dunes of Nubra valley. After taking off the bag I could not feel my shoulder for a while. After few days I was down with sprain and became a robot.

1. The pistol grip comes with a strap so pressure on your hands is relieved to some extent. With the rifle stock you can effortlessly follow the birds at high speed as the weight is taken up by the shoulder (horizontal load, not vertical)

2. For you back, I would suggest that you evalaute back packs designed for high altitude mountains. These are not only light but come with lower back supports so that the strain on your shoulders is relieved. As a routine mountaineers and treckers pack upwards of 15 kg and walk for miles with minimal shoulder pain. http://www.deuter.com/en_US/backpacks.php?category=118 (go to system description)
http://www.carabinadventure.com/products.html
http://www.deuter.com/en_US/backpacks.php?category=120

Some instructions
http://www.deuter.com/en_US/adjust-backpacks.php

Thanks again for the info Aroy. Unfortunately the hiking bags will not fit the bill provided the equipments I have.
I think it is mostly the weight of equipment which is a cause of concern. The kata bag I have is the flagship which I thought should solve the problem but in vain
http://www.kata-bags.com/bumblebee-2...-lens-4-lenses

The hiking bags will not be able to carry the amount of equipment I use to carry. For smaller proportion I have a Tamrac Velocity 7X which eats in the D300+grip and 17-55 with no trouble and is easy on shoulders.
http://www.tamrac.com/products/velocity7x/

But I wanted a hiking bag as well and was researching mainly on The North Face and Lowe Alpine. Deuter is new to me, but if a VFM then I will certainly look out for one.

Hey guys,

I have a Canon 1000D, that I got as a gift a couple of years ago. Ever since, I have been really into photography. Right now using just the kit lens.

I want a nice tripod, that is not too expensive, but is good quality as well. Any recommendations? Please include a link from where to buy it, if you can!

Thanks!!

The D400 might be announced this year, along with a new 300 mm f/4: http://nikonrumors.com/2013/07/09/ne...sibility.aspx/

Great news for wildlifers! With a D90 I didn't like shooting beyond ISO 800 in bad light (dawn/dusk), with a D400 - assuming same or better ISO performance compared to the D7100 - one should be able to shoot till ISO 3200 or even 6400. Some sites say that the D7100 low light performance is equal to that of D700. Fantastic for a cropped sensor.

D400 + new 80-400mm VR AF-S would make a really nice, flexible, handholdable combo. That is 800mm reach assuming a 24 MP + 1.3X crop like the D7100's.

Am salivating :-)

All the nikon wild life shooters are desperately waiting for the D400 but once again like all these years I feel we are in for a disappoint. But I hope I am wrong this time.

You probably did not understand what I was trying to say. I bought the 24~70 & the 80~200 at one go and then I was contemplating the 14~24 as well. I already have a Fx body (D800) and the 24~70 is mated to it.

As far as for the need for more is concerned, didn't you know that it is a bottomless pit?

I would rather say +1 to this post. But it has been a rather long frustrating wait. Due to this I thought of going in for a second Fx body. Ideally I would have loved to have a Dx & a Fx body. But it seems it might not be possible.

Consider using waist/belt mounted bags, they will relieve your spine and neck/shoulder area. And trust me, contrary to popular belief, they do not represent your sexual preference.

The 14-24 is a nice lense but as the front element protrudes no filters are possible. Have you thought of the 14mm f2.8. Though the lense is of older design it is still one of the best in that focal length http://www.nikon.co.in/en_IN/product...tLink=gp11zkzd. The only lense giving it any competetion is the manual focus Zeiss 15mm http://www.kenrockwell.com/zeiss/slr/15mm-f28.htm, but it is quite expensive.