This is a really nice auxillary lens...impressive

I bought two of the Sony R-1's shortly after they were released and several months later decided to try both the wide angle and the telephoto auxillary lenses. The VCL-DEH17R has been quite a surprise to me. The photos taken with this lens are "Tack Sharp"...no softening of the image at all, not even at the edges. The color balance is also "Right on"...no negatives at all with this accessory lens. Way to go Sony ! Nice work. BTW...the wide angle lens, the VCL-DEH08R is also a fine performer. This wide angle accessory lens lets you shoot at the equivalent of about a 19mm wide in the 35mm format. Its also very, very sharp with no color balance issues. Both of these lenses are big and heavy, and require the use of the Sony VAD-RA lens adapter, which attaches to the camera. Then the lenses lock into the adapter. But the additional weight actually adds to the stability of the camera if hand holding. The VAD-RA adapter also has a tripod recepticle socket on the bottom to facilitate use with any of the tripods out there...I use the Sony VCT-D680RM tripod and its a great combination with the R-1 and these lenses. The tripod has the remote control camera functions built in to the tripod handle. I have been shooting for almost 30 years now...and find both of these Sony "Hi-Grade" accessory lenses to be outstanding. Bill in Missouri...