I am also excited to know that you have the same lens I bought off ebay a few months ago! I used it a little bit in a hockey rink today (have some shots posted under "Love the One You're With"), and I was pretty happy with its performance at a horse show a couple of weeks ago. When used for portraits, the whole photo just has a different look - different type of boka and it seems to soften the skin just a bit. I do find the AF hunts a lot if the light is not good, but maybe that can be said of many lens?