Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I currently shoot mostly with the canon 50mm 1.4. I was hoping for something more compact that would be great to throw in a rucksack for a day out hiking, or at least just something less bulky. I figured with a 180$ lens, if it was only OK I wouldn't be too depressed about it. I have been continuously impressed with this thing, and I foresee this being as vital a cog in my photo arsenal as has been my 50mm. Yes, it is compact, it actually fits in a zipper pouch in my daypack that I previously had to separate the lens from the camera in order to be able to accommodate it all. It's wide, and can really capture the scenery as I have included in the pics I took, and has the same great bokeh effect with a fast 2.8 aperture that my 50mm has (well not AS much, but good nonetheless), which I love and need. One surprise I didn't realize was that it has such great macro capabilities, I mean I am like 2 inches from the subject and it focuses right in on it, bam. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have such a multitasker for my adventures, I can take a picture of a weird bug, pretty flower, and capture the sunset nice and wide, or a portrait of a person. I crave, no NEED multitaskers in my gear, I am not a professional, and I like my dollar to stretch as far and wide as it can. I am very happy with it so far. The image quality appears to me to be really good. The autofocus is fast, works really well even in lower light situations. Yeah, there are a few things I would defer to my 50mm 1.4, but these two together make me a very happy photographer.