Good morning! I have to say...this was my first read of the day and OH! my brain HURTS already! Bazza, I have a 300mm lens and I can't use it without a tripod because it is super heavy. So, if you were leaning toward aging don't because it is just a heavy lens.

I also have a couple of heavy lens such as the Sigma 70-200mm and Nikon 24-70mm. The heavier thay are the steadier they become. No problem as I have a couple of super tri and mono pods. its mainly a question of getting the max amount of sharpness out of them. Yes photoshop is another route I can take but as the saying goes "the better the photo taken the less editing required"

Bazza

D300 are heavy enough on their own !

Try the D300 with a grip fitted with en-el4a battery in a grip together with a Sigma 70-200mm lens. Add a Nikon SB900 and 4 aa batteries and you have a total weight of 7.5 lbs.
(3.5 kilograms in foreign money that is )

Something I wouldn't want to carry about for a day

Bazza

thats why I have a sherpa (the wife) hahahaha

One mistake I think you may be making when mounting on a tripod is having the Vibration Reduction turned on.

The usual advice is to turn off any VR or IS when using a tripod. It is designed for use hand-held and can lead to image deterioration when used whilst tripod mounted

Steve

I havn't had a conversation with my wife for 4 years. I can't get a word in edgeways.

Steve thats something I keep forgetting but most of my photos are hand held as the tripod is on the heavy side.

taken with 50mm lens on tripod, no VR on the lens. So many things to thing about when setting up for a shot. Suppose that an advantage having a studio (which I don't), you can set up everything beforehand not only the camera settings but lighting and backdrop. Even if I did have a studio, with my luck my clients would be around 150 years old.

Bazza

Bazza

I'm in the same boat. On a walk with the dogs I have the IS turned off when trying to follow the erratic movements of the dogs, and turn it on when taking a landscape view or more static view.

The number of times I forget to put it on the correct settings is unbelievable after checking AF Mode, ISO, Metering Pattern Focus point Etc.

Steve