I bought it and have not regretted it. Pros: I use it as a standard lens. I'm not quite used to it yet, but it has a number of advantages over the Kit lens. Of course, it’s difficult to compare, since it’s still a macro lens, and a whale, no matter how something averaged . but I also use this lens when shooting portraits, mostly not groups of people, although the lens allows you to effectively highlight one person from the crowd =) So the main advantages are: sharpness, built-in lens hood (more precisely, its likeness) and not bad portrait photographs. Different cons: Noisy (but for that kind of money ? I'll tolerate it), it seems like something is wrong with the brightness . or I'm not used to it yet. Often with noise =) the trunk extends))) scares people =D Slow focus and not very decent macro =(you can’t shoot insects!