sharpness: 5 

color: 5 

build: 5 

distortion: 5 

flare control: 5 

test on film camera: Yes

test on digital 6MP: Yes

test on digital 10MP: NO

test on digital 12MP: NO

test on digital 14MP: NO

user: phazemstr   review date: September 21, 2007  

compared to:

100 2.8 Macro
Sigma 400 5.6 APO
100-200 4.5  

positive:

Quite sharp
Great colors
Impeccable flare control
Sturdy hood
The camera attaches to the lens, not the other way around.

negative:

Screw on hood
Fitting it into a bag (it does fit in the slingshot 200 though)
It zooms the canikon way, not the minolta way.

comment:

The lens is very sharp, and light enough for me to handhold. I could see people who are very frail having difficulty getting sharp shots with it, but it does indeed produce beautiful results throughout its aperture range. The colors are great, if a bit warm. The tripod mount swivels around and locks in place securely. It's very strong. The case for it is decent for a hard case. The lens hood is adequate, though I've been finding that the flare is so well controlled that the hood is rarely necessary (I use it anyway though). It's very difficult to find nowadays, and it's a lens that can be had cheaper than anything else even close to its class in the range. I have been getting sharper shots with it than a friend using his sigma 100-300 f/4 on a rebel XT, but it's impossible to say if its sharper overall because there are too many factors involved in cross system (and different user) comparisons to make it of value. All in all though, the lens is sharp and does what you ask of it throughout it's range. If you are going to use the lens for more than a few hours at a time without resting, I'd recommend a monopod. The tripod mount is very nice in both portrait orientation and normal. No complaints there. The autofocus is reliable and much faster on a 7 than a 5D. It's internal focusing and internal zooming, so once you get used to the feel of the lens you're golden. The only real downside is that it's hard to get ahold of nowadays. If you see it, snatch it up.