[Innsbrucker]

I finally broke down and bought this lens, locally in Innsbruck, Austria. Perhaps I got a good copy but I'm pleased with the results. Yes, wide-open in the extreme corners it's not a rock star but I have yet to try an 24-105 mm+ lens that is? Even with that, results under extreme conditions are acceptable and perfectly usable for my pro work. My experience is that by f5.6 its plenty sharp, and mid-range, it's amazingly sharp, in the rock star area! If you back off the extreme wide-end at 16 mm or 80 mm, down to 75 mm its actually pretty stunning, and again try not to shoot wide open and the extreme ends. My previous experience with such lenses are the Canon L series 24-105 f4.0 and 24-70 f 4.0 lenses and the Nikon 24-120 mm f 4.0. All of those were admittedly dogs. I also have the 18-55 mm f2.8-f4.0 Fuji lens, which is fantastically sharp, lightweight and compact but I've been frustrated with it though, as it's usually not wide enough, those 2 mm make a massive difference on the wide end, and not long enough on the tele side! For night/dusk work this lens is also great with minimal flare. For traveling, backpacking, street-photography, and some circumstances even landscape shooting, it's a fantastic lens, the extra width and tele and worth the compromises. I've pretty much stuck with f4.0 zooms because of size and weight which is critical for me, then the extra few stops which can be compensated with extra ISO. It's now my daily, go-to, workhorse lens, and is always attached to the body. I went from a bag full of heavy Canon glass and full-frame bodies I didn't use as much due to the size and weight, down to two Fuji bodies and the 10-24mm, 16-80mm and 55-200mm lenses and that's it. Photography is fun again!