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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Overread" data-source="post: 1279655" data-attributes="member: 68571">For birds 300mm is a bit on the short side I agree, unless you are shooting in a park or santuary where you can get closer to semitamed birds you will find it tricky.That said the 70-300mm range is good for zoos, santuaries etc... where you can get closer - I would say experience with this sort of lens is that the 300mm end will be a bit soft - up to 200mm will be its best performing distance.A tripod (cheap tripod is better than no tripod) would also be a good early investment (curries or tescos) - though as in all things if you are and can pay for a good quality one it will last you a good long time (though that will cost you the best part of £150-200)I would also echo that a teleconverter - even a good 1.4 teleconverter would be wasted on a lens such as that - chances are any gain in range will be lost through the increase in softness</blockquote>