Grisha - fencing is actually a very fast moving sport when it comes down to the 'action'. Often in dimly lit halls - hopefully yours will be better lit. Anyhow - MF on the spot where you anticipate the action will happen will get you more keepers than AF.

Volleyball - sure there are people better qualified to comment on this one but it should be well lit and shouldn't give me many problems. The 70-200 is definitely your lens (if they let it in) !

Then just reverse the hood or worst case scenario - don't take it at all !

Grisha - your 77 is 423mm and the 70-200mm is 385 - 1,100mm ... on a Q

Same as Stuey - #3 & 4 are the picks. Tough conditions for all but the spray in the wet gives something extra to exciting shots.

I can see that. The one in the second shot has obviously been a victim

2nd shot is very good.

#1 is just superb David.

Oh Florence - my absolute favourite artist of the moment. On non-stop at home and in the car.

Excellent set, I like #7 & #11 the best.

It is !!

I like the original best - after removal of the colour cast. It would look better as a large print when the detail in the girl & wallaby would be more visible.

It comes up now and again Bill. Just set up a watch on EBay or several forums and you'll get one. Alternatively you can buy one new from Japan (use a trans-shipper who you have it sent to in Japan and they'll ship it on to you for a very small fee - they have English websites). I've seen it on Japanese Amazon and Ebay.

Thank you David !

The DA*300 is an excellent partner for the AFA x1.7. However AF can be a bit frustrating if you don't have good contrast, sometimes even having to move focus off the ideal spot to get a focus confirmation and then recompose, this, as you can imagine, occasionally leads to lost shots. Actually it's not bad for BIF due to the low focus throw if focus is missed the first (or second or third) time around (whilst MF is set on the lens of course).

The other downside is that if in those situations (of low contrast in the high canopy or dark bushes) you can not switch to fully manual as the AFA has it's own mini-motor that you can not switch off, so great for adding a degree of AF to MF lenses but not always desirable !

I did find it wasn't a great match for the Tokina 300/2.8 MF lens so that lens will be sold next week as IMHO 400-500mm is the minimum requirement for most bird shots (ignoring most small passerines, garden birds or if you are in a hide).

You need a relatively fast, bright and sharp prime to get the best out of the AFA x1.7. which wide open (f6.7) is very usable but is better still at f8.

Thank you all very much for the kind comments Kris, Mat, Bassman, John, Snappy, Bill and Mike (big sigh of relief after 7.5 hours when they eventually came close enough to get decent shots - they were usually around 100+yds away in other tall trees) !