Right up front I'll say that I'm giving this lens five stars based on the way it performs at its price point. I have a few lenses that each cost four to five times as much as the SAL35F18 and, of course, I think they're better lenses. But, they didn't cost $200 and aren't light, compact, and easy to carry. Overall, this is a nice little lens for all-around use. I have carried it in the field where I would normally carry my 105mm macro, and it performed admirably, letting me get landscape shots, close-ups, as well as a series of shots that effortlessly stitched together for a pano. It has also done well for general purpose whatever-have-you photography. I haven't had a "normal" prime lens in years, and I'm having fun learning to shoot that way again, rather than being able to rack focal length on a zoom lens. People have commented on the weight, or lack thereof. Comparing it with my old, retired 18-55 Sony kit lens, the SAL35F18 seems heavier, and produces much better quality than the kit lens, for which my copy could best be described as "crappy" (YMMV). My experience with this lens at f/1.8 is that it requires a lot of care. For me (shooting an A55) I've found the auto focus to be unreliable at that aperture. I also think the lens is a bit soft at that aperture, so perhaps that is the cause. I get better results, or at least more consistent results, with manual focus at f/1.8 and f/2. Also, when wide open I have experienced purple fringing in high contrast situations. Of course, Lightroom takes care of that quite nicely. One comment about macro shots -- I quickly learned the difference between a 35mm macro and a 105mm macro when shooting handheld: a couple of mm of movement of the photographer or the subject amounts to a significant percentage of the subject to sensor distance for the shorter lens, not so much so for the longer lens. Thus, taking macro shots handheld with this lens is more challenging for me than with my 105mm. I had not considered that before, but it makes sense to me. Overall, a good lens and a lot of capability for the price.

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