<p>Shun, an eminently sensible response, thank you, and I'm pleased your 80-400 is fine.<br>
I've just acquired my 200-500 and am about to head up to South Africa's Hluhluwe-iMfolozi reserve, in Kwa Zulu Natal province, which is in the middle of a very tough drought. We'll be in a place called St. Lucia, a World Heritage Site wetland, on Friday and in Hluhluwe sometime shortly thereafter, depending on weather.<br>
My son's partner is there at the moment, working on her PhD on tuberculosis in the Cape Buffalo - but her off-time seems to be spent with a pair of baby rhino orphans. (Like quite large, scared, grey puppies in a way! She's sent us some very short videos but, sadly, you can sense their isolation and bewilderment. Don't fret too much, though - they're being well cared-for and will be reared to the point of reintroduction into the wild. After all, this is the reserve that brought the white rhino back from near-extinction.)<br>
All the cellphone pics she's sending back indicate huge amounts of dust as a result of the drought - so let's see what happens. We're going to be up there for about a fortnight - I don't know if that's really going to be long enough to give the lens a full test, but I'd suggest it's also fairly typical of how most of us use these tools. We will be in our own vehicle, with the camera/lens in a camera bag, unless it's in use, and that's slightly different, perhaps, from being on the back of a game drive vehicle. For example, when we drive, it's windows closed and aircon on, to maintain a positive interior air pressure and prevent dust from getting into the car, let alone the lens. Of course, when we stop to take a picture - engine off, aircon off, windows down and dust can sometimes flood up from the road. I suspect an old pillow-case might well find its way into the mix - thanks for the tip.<br>
I'll report in due course - and hopefully provide some decent pictures, which is, after all, what this hobby/profession/obsession is all about. My personal passion is birds but I'll certainly try for the baby rhinos if we're allowed to sneak in to where the professionals work. I somehow don't think the 200-500 will be on the camera at that point!<br>
Best Wishes<br /> Chris</p>