In this paper, the challenges of parameter estimation for the Gamma-Gamma turbulence channels with generalized pointing errors are addressed. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness-of-fit statistical test results indicate that the approximate probability density function obtained by the saddlepoint approximation (SAP) method provides a better approximation for a larger value
w
z
, and this means that the proposed method is more efficient for the FSO links over long distances when the transmit divergence angle at the transmitter side is fixed. Also, an additional parameter
k
needs to be estimated in addition to the shaping parameters
α
and
β
under the SAP method. An estimation scheme for the shaping parameters is proposed based on the SAP method. The performance of the proposed estimation is investigated by using the mean square error (MSE) and normalized mean square error (NMSE). The results indicate the proposed estimator exhibits satisfactory performance in both noiseless and noisy environments. The effects of the receiver aperture on the estimation performance are also discussed.