Ugh...Another "Does this look too soft" thread....

Well, first off Ill say that I also hate the "is this lens soft?" threads. BUT, i need opinions. Well, not really opinions, agreements rather.

The following are 100% crops from my Sigma 24-70. I hate pixel peeping, but its affecting my real-world shots. My past experience with Sigma was fantastic, so If I have to send em' my lens, I will have no worries at all.

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

for a 100% crop of 2.8 I'd say it looks pretty good, f4 looks a bit soft though... What part of IRL pics is it affecting? Got a sample?

If you're concerned at all though, send it in!!

IRL ? Not sure what you mean on that.

Sigma said 2 week turnaround, but may be shorter because I live near them (same state). Ill probably send it in. Ive used the 70-200 Siggy, and 2.8 was darn sharp. It convinced me to go with their 24-70. Ill probably send it next week, if it comes back sharper, then bonus!

definitely way too soft @ f/2.8

Send it to Sigma and get them to check it. After all, peace of mind is worth a fair bit.

Few lenses are razor sharp at f/2.8 but that looks a little fuzzy to me.

Yeah, thats what I figured...oh well, off to Sigma it goes!

NAisBEST wrote in post #2184343
IRL ? Not sure what you mean on that.

Sigma said 2 week turnaround, but may be shorter because I live near them (same state). Ill probably send it in. Ive used the 70-200 Siggy, and 2.8 was darn sharp. It convinced me to go with their 24-70. Ill probably send it next week, if it comes back sharper, then bonus!

IRL=In Real Life. My Sigma 70-200 is slightly sharper than my 24-70 at 70mm/f2.8, but I expect that.

I see. It might not bother me as much on some shots as others, but its still i nthe back of my head. Ill test my luck and have them calibrate it.

Good call, like Steve said, piece of mind is worth it! Out of curiosity, where do you notice the softness primarily? Wide end or long end?

What kind of sharpening are you using in post? USM or high pass?

At what focal length are these shots taken? From what I've read the Sigma 24-70 can be quite soft at the longer end, especially wide open.

Ive noticed it on both extremes of the FL's. Ive seen other 24-70's be much sharper then mine wide open. Sigma just told me to send it into them, and also include what kind of system body I use. We'll see when it comes back.

And Liza, I usually use either smart or usm. Ill also use high pass once in a while.