Hey guys,
I really need some pro advice ASAP. I read nothing but postive reviews on the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens and just ordered one today. Then tonight i was just reading on some other reviews and have found about 80% of the reviews to be extremely negative saying that the lens is extremly soft in the 2.8 to f/4 range between 24-42mm. Also, they say it all depends on if you receive a good copy that it's probably one of the best lens around. A good copy? WTF? Now im scared to buy it!
Can anyone that owns this lens tell what they have experienced and if it is indeed not worth the money ($1349.00) what would be the best choice in that focal length.
Thanks for your help in advance.

I dont own one, but I've heard nothing but good about them as well. Also its quite common for most lens to be soft at their widest, thats one of the reasons you get the faster aperture, so that you can set the camera at two stops above its widest to get typically the sharpest picture ( for example my Canon f/1.8 , sharpest at f/3.2 ). So that part not so uncommon. I dont know about extremely soft though as you say. You sure it was specifically the canon they were talking about? There are sigma, tamron, quantary and so on that carry the same focal length and sometimes the same aperture.

my first question would be did you find one in stock somewhere?  i just ordered one also, but they seemed to be back ordered every place i looked.

i also read all the reviews i could find, good and bad, before ordering; i googled for that lens performance in conjunction with the camera body i would be using it on to see if there were any particular issues i should be concerned about.  i decided to order.  i would say don't worry about it too much.  if the lens works well, great.  if it doesn't, we'll send 'em back.

being a guitar guy you might appreciate this; i had a similar experience when i ordered my first bass tube amp.  i read some glowing reviews, ordered it, and the night after i ordered found some user reviews ripping it to shreds, and found out the company had been sold to fender.  it freaked me out...  all that money...  the amp arrived, there was a ground wire that had come loose, but other than that the amp has been great.

now i always make sure to look for the good and bad before deciding to buy, always order from a reputable dealer, and make sure there's a good return policy...  so good luck to us and that lens!  and i do hope you didn't pay $1349.00 for it...