It was very frustrating for me. I bought one last october (was going to be my xmas present) and then had an accident which has left me with some movement problems and I can't get into all the positions in the garden to get the best out of it. Indoors, for me at least, it was excellent and I used it with 2 speedlites off camera. I managed to get the eye of a sewing needle around 12" long and 2.5" wide. An amazing lens for some amazing shots but if you're outdoors and it's more than breezy you've had it. Good luck with it and I'll look forward to seeing your pics in the macro section, I'll just stick with my 100 L that I can move about with.