Review: This lens has fantastic optics. The images I have taken with it were truly amazing (except when I made mistakes in manual focusing or composition-always human error). I mostly use it for people portraiture, and can easily capture "peach fuzz" on a 4 year old kid-in head and shoulder shots! In terms of sharpness, contrast, zero color cast, flare control, and distortion, this lens is a perfect 10, and better than the 85mm f/1.4. It has a focus distance range limiter switch, that lets you use the lens for a shorter distance range than full range. In other words, if you plan to just shoot people, you set the limiter switch to limit the lens to photograph anywhere from infinity down to 0.6m, which gets you to 1:4. I find that in AF mode it is very fast, quiet, and never hunts. You don't have a zoom lens here, but the tradeoff is that you get much better photographs than any zoom lens set to 100mm can give you, and you don't waste time zooming in or out while the subject moves away or changes expression-you lose fewer photographic opportunities with a fixed focal lens . It also has a circular aperture when stopped down to 5.6 or wider. The barrel does not rotate in AF, and the front end never rotates, so polarized and graduated filters are easy to use.
Construction is solid. I believe the lens mount is stainless steel (not aluminum as in some Canon camera lens mounts). It includes a reversible lens hood. Filter thread size is 55mm, and a protective UV haze filter is highly recommended. It's not low priced, but this is a case of "you get what you paid for"-and in this case, what you get is great! The rating is requiring a "zoom" rating-disregard it.
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