don't normally give 5 stars in these reviews but this lens almost made my old Nex 3 feel like a new camera. For taking pictures of people, it's head and shoulders above any other NEX lens I've tried (this is my fourth lens). Essentially, the f1.8 aperture lets in so much light that the camera (along with image stabilization) can use faster shutter speeds to get a specific shot, which means a lot less blur and, in practice, beautifully sharp images. The f1.8 aperture also defocuses the background of the shots, making for simpler compositions that emphasize the main subjects in the frame. Also unlike many fast Primes, this pen is sharp down to F1.8. Of course, the 75mm equivalent focal length makes this a single-purpose lens, but don't let that put you off - it's a purpose that most people will need plenty of, and there's nothing wrong with doing one thing well. Here is a real example: Last year I went to a wedding. A nice occasion but the ceremony was indoors and it was a dull gray day. I used the stock zoom lens that came with the Nex (the 18-55mm) and none of my images came out all day; they were all blurry because people were moving too fast and I couldn't react in time to catch fleeting moments and that was because the zoom lens can only do about f5 at its 55mm zoom end and in any case it is on this one Focal length not very sharp. Last weekend we celebrated my little son's christening. A nice occasion but the ceremony was indoors and it was a dull gray day. I used this lens and every single one of my photos came out perfect - beautiful. No need for flash, no need for high ISO. I was even happy to set the camera to the default settings and let my friends take photos for me because I trusted the lens to get a good picture. I've never done that before! One thing I've found is that I have to go a step further backwards than I'm used to because the lens can't focus close-up. You must be a few feet away from your subject. In every other respect, this is the best money I've invested in photography since buying the camera. I was nervous about buying this as it's more expensive than the entry-level lenses in the Nex range. It turns out there's a very good reason for the difference - it just has a much better "success rate" for getting the right photo first time than any other lens I've used; it complements the money I originally invested in the Nex camera and adds another dimension it didn't have before.