Hi Arek,
I have this lens, and absolutely love it - I've used it in all manner of situations, including extremely low light work - concerts and circuses. It's extremely sharp, the image stabilising really makes a massive difference to the usability of the lens.
What else... well, it's heavy - very heavy if you're not used to pro lenses. However it has it's own tripod mount which is very useful and makes a fine hand hold also I find. I'd be wary of mounting it on a cheap body because of the forward weight and strain on the lens mounting collar.
The push-pull zoom style has come in for some criticism by some users, as many lenses like this can get water inside - I don't think this is a problem with this lens, which is environmentally sealed all over.
There's a zoom locking collar which stops the push-pull from sliding out if the camera is held around your neck. Very nice - I used to have a push pull that would slide out to maximum as soon as you lowered it, which was very annoying.
There's a focus limiter to minimise hunting though I've found the lens focuses beautifully when coupled with my eos3 even in very low light. The performance with less expensive bodies is reduced (naturally since most of the AF work is a result of the body).
Additionally, not sure if this is the case with _all_ image stabilising lenses, but it has two stabilising modes, one for panning and one for handholding steady.
Suggest you try the lens out at a shop for it's weight and because it's an expensive purchase. Also I put a high quality UV filter on the front before it even left the shop and have never taken it off - the front element is too precious on my budget!
Here are some samples:
http://www.usefilm.com/image/16358.html
http://www.usefilm.com/image/108742.html
http://www.usefilm.com/image/110149.html
Finally, I think this attached image (though not in my portfolio) is a good example of the lens' capability - this guy was doing a handstand at the top of the big top of a circus, in extremely low light. The shutter speed was about 1/45 at 400mm - well below recommended even with IS, but I often shoot slower than recommended. The scan is "ok", but on the print you can see ever hair and every glisten of sweat.
Hope that helps
Chris
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