I have been using this macro lens mostly for my aquarium projects and occasional indoor head/neck portraits. Because field of view (FOV) becomes 96mm on my 350D, it is too narrow for indoor photography unless one has a palace. I have never really used it as a walkabout outdoor point & shoot lens so I decided to give it a try. I went to London yesterday (2 June 2007) with this lens on my 350D and use it as a point & shoot for one day to see what photos I get out of it. It was a really hot and sunny day!
All samples were taken at F2.8 and converted from RAW using Capture One Pro (V3.7) with my usual exposure/saturation, white balance, sharpness and cropping adjustments. Some of the photos were adjusted in Adobe Lightroom to create vignetting to create a ‘film-like’ effect!
Overall, I was surprised how sharp the images were wide-open at F2.8! At FOV equivalent of 96mm, I did feel that it was quite narrow at times. Like most macro lenses, focus speed is slightly compromised. It takes approximately half a second (roughly speaking) for it to change focus distance from macro to infinity. So if your previous focal distance was at the macro end and your next shot is at infinity, it will take half a second for it to achieve focus lock. This can mean loosing your shot if you were trying to capture something moving quickly. Another thing I notice is the colour this lens produces. I find the colour too muted, especially green colour of leaves/trees look very dull. Other than these issues, I am rather surprised with the results. However, it would not be my first choice lens for walk-around. Macro lens is meant for macro! That said, I will certainly no doubt continue to use it as a head/neck portrait lens. | 
