Bug lens

I purchased this lens because I wanted to take some extreme Macro photos. Boy does it deliver. This is the best lens that I have used at taking pictures up close. The sharpness is amazing, and the results are eye-popping.

When I told my wife that I wanted this lens, she said "Fine, can you take pictures of our son with it?" I responded, "Only if you want a close up of his fingernail." This is not a lens that has any real practical uses.

It is heavy, super hard to use (I liken it to holding a microscope above your subject, with a ton of practice I still get garbage shots half of the time), manual focus only, needs a dedicated flash, has no practical use, and is, by far, my favorite lens. I have pictures of flies where you can see the facets of their eyes, the hairs on their backs, and the veins in their wings. You can focus on something and see things that are not visible to the naked eye.

Without a digital camera you would have to be richer than Croesus to use this lens. I take 100 pictures and throw out 50, show off 5 and love 1. The one great shot really gives me a feeling of accomplishment.

All in all probably not for 99.999% of people who want a macro lens, but boy is it neat.