> Regarding F* over A*, the two big plusses for me are AF (of > course) and the 2 metre minimum focussing distance of the F* lens.
Oh, yeah, I forgot about that - the F* focuses about twice as close as the A*, and that can be quite significant... I've had a couple occasions where I was able to get a larger critter (bird) photo with the shorter A* 200/2.8 than with the A* 300/4 simply because I was able to get closer with the 200/2.8. (With the 300/4.5, the improvement over the 300/4 would be larger, about 2:1 overall.) > The built-in hood on the A* is a bit too small for my liking (I > added a gigantic metal hood). True. The accessory hood for the A* lens (it's actually marked for the M* lens) is better than the built-in A* hood, but it's not as convenient, of course (it's a screw-on hood). Fred
