Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: Great alternative to the kit 18-55

Before this lens I used the canon 18-55 kit lens...I got tired of it because it never seemed very sharp and I would see quite a bit of CA in prominent compositions of a shot, even in the middle of the picture. I liked this lens as soon as I got it; it has a solid feel to it, without being too heavy. By f5.6 it is wonderfully sharp and still fast. The hood that came with it is also very nice; I just keep it on instead of a UV filter and it protects it fine. Never really liked those (filters) anyway, and the tulip keeps a great distance from the lens.This is my walk-around lens, although for closeup work or small detail I will go to my 50 f/1.4 or 55-250 kit lens which has better color on macro work. If I had gotten a different lens for a mid-range walk-around, I probably would have just gone L, but I found this to be a great compromise; pictures are incredible. I gave this 5 stars because of performance/price, but performance by itself would probably be 4.