I use this on my Sony a300 as my standard lens and it's better than the lenses that come with the camera; It seems much more durable and the photos are clearer. I have literally taken thousands of photos with this lens. Personally, I haven't had any of the autofocus issues that others have reported. My only minor complaint is that the zoom lock button doesn't work really well; The weight of the lens itself seems to loosen the latch, so it tends to pop out if you carry the camera off. And it also stands out there: Fully extended with the lens hood you are talking about 8 inches. I suppose the downside to this is that if you turn the camera on with the lock engaged (like I did) you won't damage any internal parts when the lens starts to move. If this issue was somehow resolved I would give this lens a solid 5 stars. Another interesting point is that this lens doesn't provide ADI flash information for my Sony DSLR so the camera defaults to TTL flash metering, but I was aware of that before purchasing. A lens that delivers this information costs more than I'm willing to pay at the moment.
π· Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G Lens with Auto Focus: Perfect for Nikon DSLR Cameras
76 Review
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Fixed Lens - Discontinued by Manufacturer
93 Review
Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Lens - Fixed Black (6310B002) for US Cameras
76 Review
Canon EOS SLR Camera Lens EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM
124 Review