bought this lens on recommendation. I was nervous about buying a single focal length lens because I used the zoom all the time on my old camera. It has proven to be my favorite lens. After learning its limitations, I also learned how versatile it is. This lens takes great sports pictures. It opens wide enough to let in enough light even in a dimly lit gym. A side effect of this is that it only focuses on a thin piece. As a result, my sports pictures draw attention to what is happening. It's not exactly the "bokeh" of portraiture, but it's effective. When the subject is close, I can get a real "bokeh" as the background. There are some limitations with this lens. For one thing, it fares poorly with images of the action at the gym. The athletes develop a kind of halo around every white in their uniforms. I don't notice this with outdoor photography so I'm wondering if it has to do with the lighting in the gym? This lens also has autofocus, which is a bit too slow for fast action. I have to be reasonably good at predicting what's going to happen, otherwise the plot might not be in focus. However, lack of zoom is not a limitation. Instead, I've learned to be creative about where I position myself for images. I also learned that when this lens is attached to a good camera, I can crop images and still get good results. In landscape photography, this is a great lens when I have a specific subject: a waterfall, church, etc. It's bad for broader landscapes, especially when they're large. I live in North Dakota, so my landscapes are often large. In these cases, a wide-angle or zoom lens seems to work better. However, if you want a truly versatile lens, this 50mm lens is a great tool to have in your pocket.