Take my word for it, this lens is a BEAST! Weighing in at around 13 pounds, it looked and felt every inch the professional sharpshooter's lens. During my brief period with it, I wasn't able to get the image quality I felt this lens should deliver - it seemed to back focus a little bit, and sharpness seemed a little off. Of course, the fact that I had it mounted in a $150 tripod probably didn't help either!
This was my first foray into big lenses, and my relative inexperience with good support systems meant I was never able to extract what this lens was capable of delivering. Thankfully, I solved the support problems by the time I got my next big lens…

Nikon 50mm f/1.8 nestled inside the lens hood of the 600