Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'd read all of the great reviews of this lens and ordered one. I compared sharpness of the 24-105 to my Canon 17-85, 70-200 F2.8IS and the tamron 28-75. All three of these (YES EVEN THE 17-85), absolutely exceeded the 24-105 in contrast and sharpness. The 24-105 was not even close to the other three. All were shot at F5.6 at about 75-80mm. The 24-105 looked like a $100 lens compared to the other three! That copy is on it's way back to Amazon. I'm hoping that it was just one of those infamous 'bad copies'. COMMENTS added 08May2006: I received my second copy of the 24-105. The sharpness and contrast of the second copy are equal to that of the 70-200 F2.8IS. If you are planning on buying this lens, test it to make sure your copy is truly of "L" quality!