Soft images on 24-70L?

So i heard ppl said about these lenses are going soft when it ages. Is this true? how bad is it? or ppl are just imagining things because there are many lenses produce tack sharp images nowaday? (Not including those that are not sharp from the moment you opened up the box)

There's truth to it for sure: http://www.lensrentals​.com …0/the-limits-of-variation

The 24-70 was always a mix bag. You might end up with a good copy or a bad one. I bought mine off craigslist so I was able to test it before I got it and was happy with the results.

The lens has a few plastic collars that "wears out" over time, requiring replacement parts and calibration to bring it back to its ideal sharpness levels.

If you directly correlate age to use, then yes. If you just sat a 24-70 in a box for 5 years, I'd be surprised if it 'aged' itself out of spec.

True... Has to be used to wear out!

Are you referring to he 24-70 mki or new mkii version? The hope/expectation is the changes to the mkii model wil not suffer the same issues as the last.

The original version.

The Mark II has much more robust collars (Lens Rentals tore one apart and compared) and found the build quality MUCH better. It should not go out of calibration with bumps and stuff like the original.

Thanks everyone for educating me. Now i have a better idea of how it's constructed. The reason i asked because i have a the original brick with UA code date and it's sharp. I just want to make sure i can keep using it for another meanwhile waiting for the mark ii to prop a few $$$.

I'll be surprised if the mark II will soften itself in the long run O_O

I've had my 24-70 since 2003, and it's still wonderfully sharp. The new version isn't enough better for me to spend any money upgrading. But, then I don't pixel-peep my pics...