So what is the verdict for the 24-70 II?

Lowner wrote in post #15075010
It would appear that there is less sample variation, simply because if anyone had found a poor copy we would all have heard about it!

The photozone review was pretty bad compared to the community's expectations. Their copy had bad resolution in the borders. Other people are reporting different findings though so I hope they just got a bum copy and the reality of this lens is more like Lensrentals findings.

dadgummit wrote in post #15075028
The photozone review was pretty bad compared to the community's expectations. Their copy had bad resolution in the borders. Other people are reporting different findings though so I hope they just got a bum copy and the reality of this lens is more like Lensrentals findings.

Yes, I read others threads reporting that, but its the only one so far that I'm aware of. Time will tell.

Lowner wrote in post #15075010
It would appear that there is less sample variation, simply because if anyone had found a poor copy we would all have heard about it!

Maybe....Where are the owners though? They aren't posting any pictures or commenting. I have been somewhat watching these threads and there doesn't seem to be any 24-70 MKII owners out there. Just a handful....

Availability is almost nill. I just purchased from Newegg.com. They had four in stock, so they should still have three left as of this posting.

B&H, Adorama, Calumet, Amazon, BestBuy, and a multitude of others are all backordered and still filling preorders. I got lucky with a wild guess at newegg!

Kronie: I'm a new owner. I've used it on a bunch of newspaper assignements in the four days I've owned it. Love it so far and I want to post pics eventually (nothing super artsy, all newspaper-ish type stuff), but have been too busy shooting, processing, and submitting images. (And eating.)

Lens just arrived today after a month with Australia Post...
Used it for a delivery this afternoon. I normally shoot with a 50L, f2.8 with a flash.
Have to use it a bit more to comment on the colour contrast.
As far as sharpness goes, I couldn't tell the difference between this and the stopped down prime.
The shorter minimum focusing difference made it a lot easier to acquire focus in a cramped space.
It was also very quick to acquire focus even through a 3 stop ND filter.