I bought the 300f.28 when they first came out,  I actually had trouble getting one, which at nearly $4000 surprised me, figured I wasn't the only one with a size complex. :)

First impressions, how the hell is my back going to manage?, it seemed enormous, but on first outing was pleasantly surprised, its actually hand hold-able, albeit for short periods (unless you're the governor of California). Above was one of my early efforts with this lens (together with TC1.4E and stepdown rings), I reckon I lost best part of 2lbs in sweat following this bee on a hot summers day. Its only when you use a long lens that you appreciate just how fast bee's fly!! check out the bee close up .

Image quality is excellent, very sharp, and incredibly quick. My first dealings with AF-S lenses, after the 180mm AF and its incredibly slow (by comparison) search time, this was a dream.  I primarily use this lens for ski-ing shots, motor sports, and now and again nature.

However it wasnt long before I realized I was constantly searching for the converters, 300mm is great for most sports, but for wildlife, just not enough, at least not with film, Digital is another matter.

After a trip to Kenya, I realized if I was serious, I should go for more pulling power, options were relatively limited. 400 - 500- 600 Nikons, or alternatively the 300-800 Sigma Zoom (see review by Mike Dougherty) Originally the 300-800 looked like a good bet, cheaper, more flexibility, but down side was physical length, worry about AF speed and most of all, have always tried to stay with Nikon gear, and so far, never regretted it. When the dollar dropped against the euro, suddenly the 400AF-S was in reach so ..... quick call to BHPhotoVideo and 3 days later, wow. As a brit it never fails to amaze me the cost of equipment in UK,  I ended up paying NY sales tax, as they wouldn't deliver to Kosovo, and still the cost was $7167 whereas in the UK we were talking £7499!!! at the moment with the exchange rate as it is,  thats a $6405 saving, enough for a D2H, wireless transmitter, and maybe even a laptop!!!!