All the sample pictures and reviews swayed me to order this lens. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect or how it would really compare with my Tamron 150-600 "g1." Took it skiing with me last week & liked the results. The VR on this lens is insane. And having something really sharp at f5.6, from 200-500mm (without having to stop down), certainly trumps my Tamron. So impressed with it that the Tamron is going bye-bye. Took it with me to a gymnastics meet a couple of days ago, purely for fun. I normally only shoot with the Tamron 70-200/f2.8 with fairly high shutter speeds. For the Nikon, I shot gymnasts relaxed & chilling, but I also tried a number of shots following movement and then shooting when there is that fraction of a second when I know the gymnast will have temporarily stopped movement. I already feel like I annoy people enough shooting with the 70-200, so the massive 200-500 probably won't be joining me for future meets. Can't wait to try it out with soccer.
This was way on the other side of the arena from me: