Mine came with the same cap...I  put it over the end while mounted to the body and have it attached to a monopod,  It carries very easily over my shoulder between shots.  Not protected, but I take good care of it.

Welcome...

Party At The End Of The World

 

Jimmy Buffett...

I agree with the card reader...Unless you are a pro photographer who is having to upload multiple times a day, you won't be constantly swapping cards in and out...

 

I have had to make multiple uploads in several instances and still have not experienced any issues with the cards...SD cards are relatively cheap these days - even for the higher capacity, fast cards...

Looks nice...are you going to do the other as well?  If so, same color?

For me, they are worth their weight - no pun intended...the 200-400 is not an easy beast to hand hold either...I think I have done it a few times but only if it is necessary...

A quality monopod is important for most photographers...Especially if you move to higher quality lenses...they tend to be larger and heavier... I have the 200-400 and it is a wonderful lens. I know several folks who bought the less expensive 200-500 and it is nice but it doesn't have the f4. I also have tested the 300 and the 400 f2.8 lenses. They are amazing but in my case, I really couldn't justify the price. I also like the flexibility the zoom gives me although the f4 takes me to a higher ISO than I would like based on field lighting...It seemed the best compromise for my needs... An all-in-1 zoom can be handy for travel but like the lenses I mention above, each of them are good at some things and sacrifice in other areas...