Nikon 70-300VR

if your trying to save money go with the 80-200mm(the two ring auto focus version)  and your not even really changing anything about the lense  besides a 10mm difference, read the reviews and you will see its verrrrryy comparable to the 70-200mm and also amazing.

can get it for about $600 nowadays

I got the sigma 70-300, it's awesome, a bit soft at the extremes of appeture and zoom, but F8@270mm is pretty sharp!

So much cheaper than the Nikon version, and if you are shooting snowy scenes, you don't really need VR.

congrats man! 70-200 probably wouldnt be too great for africa anyways- it will be useful to get close up to the animals (zoom close up). I myself am saving for the 70-200 vr but it would be nice to get past 200! Enjoy, and be sure to post up some photos when you get back. Im pumped to see!

ye, i went for the 70-300 over the 80-200 cause with the 1.3x crop its equivalent to 105-450 or thereabouts so got a good range on it for africa.

Also, instead of making annother thread. Do you guys think it'd be worth getting a battery grip? or just another battery? Don't really want to have to worry about my camera being dead halfway through a safari.

i bought a used one for my d200 and i like that it has another shutter button for verticle shots. it helps keep the camera a lot steadier as well. If i had to do it again, I probably wouldnt get it thought. Its nice to have, but by no means a necessity. If you want it for the extended battery, just buy another battery and throw it in your pocket. if you want it for the other things that it offers, then go ahead and get one. You'l probably be happy either way but i'd do some research to see what other people think. honestly, for a d40, im not sure that its worth it. I havent looked around and researched the d40 grip though

ye i was thinking it would add a bit more stability due to weight, but as you said, it is prtty pointless for the d40,so i think i might just get an extra battery off the internet. probbaly a lot cheaper aswell.

dude this is a solid lens. i have it. the VR is a big help with limited lighting and slower shutters. its just like a solid lens not much to say about it. hardly any vignetting at long focal lengths except in certain conditions. very sharp. fast. your going to love it

this is true but,

it would be nice with a teleconverter, you prob wouldnt have to worry about the change in aperture due to it being really sunny in africa, and f4 or so for long teleconverters isnt bad if it gets you a better shot and thats the sharpest stop of the lense usually so kinda a plus plus.