I'm a newbie too, but I did just get that 70-300mm lens because I could get that, the extended warranty on my new d70s, an extra camera bag, a secret decoder ring, and a shiny whistle for only $150.00 @ Adorama. Yes, it fills a need, but I have been trying to get some decent shots of this red cardinal in my back yard and every one I have taken thusfar has been less than sharp all the way out at 300mm. I would say get the lens, but don't expect it to perform like gangbusters. I do need to try it with a tripod, though. Good Luck! The bag is not too bad I put all my extra camera junk in it, and looks like it'll hold at least four beers.

Quote:
Yes, it fills a need, but I have been trying to get some decent shots of this red cardinal in my back yard and every one I have taken thusfar has been less than sharp all the way out at 300mm. I would say get the lens, but don't expect it to perform like gangbusters. I do need to try it with a tripod, though.

That about says it. You can't tell anything about the image quality of a lens if you don't shoot with it properly. Always use a tripod or some kind of camera support and don't expect the best results if you don't.

I used the tripod today, and a remote shutter release, and though the bird was only 20-25 ft away, the results were still mediocre at best. I did capture this butterfly w/out a tripod at about 10-12 ft.

What were the settings you used and can you post an image you're unhappy with? Given the slow zoom and the distance, I assume you were shooting at a slow shutter speed. I'm not happy shooting with my 180mm 2.8 at half that distance (with my D200) because it still requires a 50% crop to get the composition I want. But at least using a 2.8 lens allows me to use a high enough shutter speed stop subject movement.

Do you have an image stabilization feature on that lens? I learned the hard way (instead of reading the manual, where it's clearly printed...) that you have to turn that thing off if you use a tripod. It seems as if it'll cause oscillation feedback if you have it fixed to something like a tripod and will blur your image a bit.