Sigma Zoom Normal-Telephoto 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM Autofocus Lens for Nikon AF-D

I rented this lens for a few weeks to photograph wildlife in Montana and Yellowstone. This was the first lens I've used in the 500mm focal range, and I used a monopod to support the weight because it's at least 5 pounds. I played around with shutter speeds to end up with a sharp image. Of course, anything faster than 1/750 worked fine. With the monopod, I felt OK dropping it to 1/600, but I didn't dare drop it much further.

I used the highest ISO setting my camera would allow, which was 1600 to make it possible to still get a good exposure with the faster shutter speeds because at the longer focal lengths, the aperture will only go to f/6.3.

This was a fun lens to play around with. It was heavy and awkward, but still really fun. I felt like I was carrying around a rocket launcher or something.