Is the NIKON 70-300mm VR a good second lens?

I have decided that I want a telephoto lens as my second lens because my kit lens can handle landscape and portraits. Is the NIKON 70-300mm VR a good telephoto lens to upgrade to. If so which camera bag should I get, I was thinking the lowepro slingshot 202 AW. Any help is appreciated.

I don't want any people saying save up for a 70-200mm 2.8 because I really don't have that money on me now because I'm still a student so those type of lenses will be in the future.

Yes, it's good. Be aware though that there also are the 55-200mm VR and 55-300mm VR. The wider wide end of these may be a significant advantage of these for you, saving you from a number of lens swaps. Other than that the 70-300mmVR is considered optically superior though.

I tried the Slingshot 202 bag once, but i found it to be uncomfortable - the whole weight is on one shoulder, asymmetrically. So i returned it and got a Flipside 400AW instead, and i'm very happy with that one. It's also available in smaller versions, but it's nice to have some extra space (for filters and whatever else), even if you just put some mars or snickers bars into them.

You will enjoy the 70-300 mm VR.

It is actually one of the inexpensive Nikkor lenses that performs better than one may expect… For the price.

I use the much older Nikon AF Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED when I shoot air shows. It is many times lighter than my 300 mm f/2.8 and in bright sun shooting aircraft flying close to the ground, it does an excellent job.

I reserve using my 300 mm f/2.8 for shooting sports when isolating individual players using a shallow depth of field is important. But I pay the price in how much it weighs (not to mention costs). The 300 mm f/2.8 weighs over 6 pounds plus the weight of the camera), the 70-300 VR, less than 2 pounds about what the camera weighs.

300 mm f/2.8 VR = $5, 900
30-300 mm VR = $590

I use a standard Victorinox back pack I bought about two years ago. I can carry three camera bodies, four lenses and all the accessories I need to shoot sports and editorial assignments. It also has a place to put my notebook computer.

If you like slingshot bags that model will do nicely.

I've shot the 70-300 extensively for 2 years, just recently replaced with a sigma 150-500.It's an impressive telezoom, quite possibly the best in it's class. Wide open it's extremely good from 70-250mm, after that you want to stop down just a bit to get back that stunning sharpness, otherwise it degrades to merely very good.

Build is awesome, I've shot this in torrential downpours, I've had icicles hanging from the zoom ring and a snowdrift in the hood.

Occasionally I still miss this lens, it was so nice to shoot birds in flight with it

The Nikon 70-300mm VR lens is targeted towards sports, nature and wildlife photographers that need a lightweight, versatile telephoto lens with great optics and vibration reduction technology, at an affordable price. The lens works on both Nikon FX (full-frame) and DX (cropped) sensors and has an equivalent field of view of approximately 105-450mm on DX sensors, which makes the lens particularly good for reaching distant subjects. The Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ID-ED VR lens features two "ED" (extra low dispersion) glass elements that are used in all Nikon professional lenses, providing higher contrast, lower chromatic aberration and higher resolution, due to less air bubbles and glass deformities within the glass elements. In addition, the lens sports the latest vibration reduction "VR II" technology, giving up to 4 full stops of advantage over non-VR lenses at low shutter speeds. Vibration Reduction, especially the latest VR II generation, makes this lens particularly useful for hand-held shooting while hiking and traveling. Autofocus is practically silent, thanks to the Silent Wave Motor (AF-S) within the lens.