Sharp, but too bulky and heavy

Jerry-astro wrote:

Reading through all this is just painful, and it's typical of the sorts of dialog that has at times driven people away from DPR. A few thoughts of my own to share and I'll [try to] leave the rest for you all to hash out:

* Most everything you read in this forum is an opinion (with maybe a few facts sprinkled in). Occasionally, people will mix facts and options, muddling the distinction between them. Best get used to it... and welcome to the Internet (and DPR). Caveat emptor (buyer beware).

* This particular piece of gear has always been pretty controversial. Very few people have challenged the quality of the optics (which is good, because that quality is hard to dispute IMHO), but many find the size and handling to be awkward. Arguing over personal preference with respect to handling is pointless and such arguments generally go nowhere, as they are here. People who generally shoot street photography will likely find it to be unwieldy. To exaggerate the point a bit, those of us who often tote around a 100-400 coupled to an X-H1 great distances while hunting for elusive birds will shake their heads thinking "jeez, whatta bunch of wimps." There's no winning or losing this... is all comes down to your own tolerance for size and weight and what you're used to shooting and carrying around. Plain and simple.

* My advice will be the same here as it is in countless other threads. Read the opinions on handling, take them all with a grain of salt, and rent the gear first before committing to a purchase if you have qualms. I held off on buying a 16-55 for a long time because of this. That was my loss... it's definitely one of my favorite lenses now and if I'm not out bothering the birdies, it's usually the lens that's glued to my X-H1. If you do a lot of street photography where size/weight is of much greater importance, your reaction, opinion, and preferences may vary greatly. If you've been toting around a Nikon 200-500 for a while, I doubt you'll be bothered much. It's all about what you're used to and can personally tolerate.

The only painful replies here are the nit picking ones of the OP's personal review - I bet they're sorry they bothered.  Apart from the initial few replies including yours, I don't see anyone nit picking or scaring anyone off.