Rick, I know that apart from a 50mm prime I have never been able to afford a good lens, and the D700 was putting my collection of old Nikon and slightly less old Sigmas off ebay, but this is astounding its sharp all the way through its range (which is stunning) and aperture settings don't seem to matter, its just sharp. The photos were all taken hand held with the OS off and they are brialliant. A friend pointed out that I have spent ages using old kit, and tatty lenses with which I still managed to get decent results that I have served an apprenticeship and now can use this combo to great effect. Nice idea