I'm real impressed with this lens. I've been needing to get more reach for my wildlife photos. The Dof and Bokeh are wonderful.I use the Tamron 200-500 with my Rebel Xt. I have very small hands, and I have NO problems hand holding this lens at all. What I do is, when it is fully extended, I just put my left hand under the end of the lens to balance, and it's as easy as that.I only have it 3 days and I'm really enjoying it. My images are sharp!The only thing I did was change the contrast on my camera, which had been set to HIGH, to NORMAL.....The "sun shade" is a must in bright light, and really works well.If I chose to mount on my tripod, I have no problems. I have a bogen-manfrotto and it's sturdy enough to hold this big lens.