Stu,
I love the new one.
The Sigma is tough to hand-hold if you don't have real fast shutter speeds. Of course, if you can't get the tripod set up and still keep the deer around, you really have no choice.
I wasn't trying to be critical. Just felt that it was a tough situation to get the camera rock steady.
Well, you may have deer in the back yard, but we have ducks on the pool. Not that I'm jealous or anything

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Happy shooting,
Jim