the decision is hard....the nikon 80-200mm is slow, focus dependent on body...gonna be pretty slow on my D50, and apparetly the AF/M switch screws up easily.

The sigma is fast, but at f2.8 it is relatively soft compared to the nikon, but at f4 it best even the vr version... well according to reviews of course. Really dunno which to get, they are about the same price

Some say they can't take moving objects with the nikkor....dunno what body they using, and i've read alot about AF-S is faster than the nikkor, hands down....as far as optics, they are both very good....all depends on whether you get a good sample or not anyway...even leica doesnt make perfect lens...I'm gonna call and see if they carry it locally...wanna see if those ppl are exaggerating the speed or what not..