I couldn't resist. It's a few days before my trip and I just got the 70-300, although judging by the looks I got from my wife I don't think she's all that happy about the expenditure. I'm going to either go straight to B&H to buy my equipment or have it delivered to my office if I'm going to get anything else in under the radar.

No chance to try out the lens yet, other than a quick shot at my lawn furniture from my bedroom window. When I first tried to zoom, it seemed to stick a little at about 200mm, so much so that I thought I had zoomed all the way in by feel. When I looked at the lens I realized I could zoom in more. It seemed like after my initial turn that the zoom no longer stuck. Still not the best way to start a relationship with a lens.

The lens is shorter than I had imagined. Even though it was early evening and I was shooting outside through my bedroom window, focus seemed pretty decent. I'm sure in full daylight it will work very well. The weight seems very manageable.

Someone suggested a monopod and I'm definitely putting one on my wish list but I might not be able to sneak another piece of equipment past my wife prior to our trip. We're leaving on Friday.