I've read a lot of reviews and I had some apprehension about putting my money down for this lens, but let me tell you my first day of using this lens has been incredible. This thing works as good if not better than any other 35 mm prime I've ever tried. As for the longevity, that I cannot answer. However, the lens is very light in the hand but feels no worse of a build than many plastic cameras you can buy now.

I popped this bad boy onto my Nikon d70 for a test and I was surprised. Even on such an old camera, it made it look and feel like a new camera. I'll be moving it to my professional gear next, but judging by the results I got from this older camera it can only be an improvement on the higher grade gear that I have.

The focus when in manual mode is very smooth, and they seem to have gotten the sound of the motor muted pretty well over the life of this product run. It's about as loud as my 50 mm Nikon f1.8 prime. The only thing I hear is a tiny very quiet wine as the motor seeks focus. If your experimenting with portraiture or you need a first lens, this is a great value. My cameras have no problems recognizing this hardware and using it appropriately. They have improved this product dramatically since it first came out. Focus is razor sharp and the colors are rich and vibrant.

It's a good Gamble of 100 bucks to pick one of these up and give it a shot. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you've been shooting a kit lens all this time.

PS. I know the pics are a little dark. I like em that way. :)