soft ?

on another page someone claimed that the 70-200 f/4 is soft. these are handheld with no manipulation other than slight cropping on the thistle. i think the thistle was shot at f/4.5 with a shutter speed of 125 and the gate may have been stopped down to f/8. are these shots soft?

i see i was wrong about the shutter speed on the thistle and aperture on the thistle

They look fine but it's really hard to tell with a web size image. Also, it depends on which 70-200 f/4 your talking about and what your definition of soft means. The original Canon 70-200 f/4 is a nice lens but definitely softer than the 70-200 IS f/4 and both are softer than the 70-200 IS II f/4. Or are you talking about the Sony 70-200 f/4? or the Siggy 70-200 f/4. They are all fine lenses but as with anything, some are slightly better than others.

the original 70-200, non is. IBIS steady shot was on for both images. yeah, i don't consider them soft and with a monopod and not sitting in a running diesel truck i think i could do better. i just thought it was odd to say that lens is know for being soft and picked a couple of things in my pasture to test it. it's hard to tell but the thistle was shot through a fence. thanks

I have both the original 70-200 F4 (non-is) and the 70-200 f2.8 II and obviously the 2.8 is sharper, but the F4 is a beastly lens. It is my go to when I am not shooting low light. The difference in weight and difference in sharpness is why. I have not really noticed a softness that is enough to keep me from using it. It is currently on it's way to Canon as it is over 15 years old and needs a look at its AF since it is spotty. But when it is on, it is on!!!

The main subjects are not too soft in my opinion.
Edge to edge sharpness in the pipe photo is good too.
Subject sharpness and bokeh in the weed photo.

Its all a matter of comparison. Wide open that lens isn't as sharp as the IS variants mk1 or mk 2. If it makes you happy then don't worry about it. Just int ever use the IS lenses or God forbid the 2.8II. Ita hard to go back.