At 825g & 13.2cm long only, it is actually quite okay without the tripod
collar if the tripod head can handle it. I have the F*300/4.5 but don't use
the collar anymore due to vibration, and never found it to be a problem on
tripod. The FA*200/2.8 with the hood is actually as heavy as the F*300/4.5
which is even heavier and longer than the M/A*300/4. But the B1 head helps a
lot, and not exactly a cheap solution. Now imagine the original AF Nikkor
80-200/2.8 without the collar!!
Alan Chan
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan
I concur on the M*300/4 as a very nice hand-holdable long lens.
I use it a lot at the races. My only gripe is that it's a heavy
lens with no tripod collar, meaning I pretty much *have* to
hand-hold. Puting that much unsupported weight on the camera's
lens mount scares me a wee bit, and it does tend to be twitchy
on light- and medium-duty tripods.
