But when you consider the factors - quality of build, quality of image, quality of IS, light gathering power, and the reasonable expectation that this will be a purchase you only have to make once to get literally a lifetime of exceptional use and value out of the thing - it is worth what it costs.

Exceed my expectations

This lens has far exceeded my expectations

This lens exceed expectations

This lens exceeds all my expectations and the sale

Exceed my expectations

It exceeded expectations all the way around

I will update this as I use the lens more, but, so far it far exceeds expectations.

The bokeh is OK but a little busy and not as smooth as with the legendary 135

at -5, there was a noticeable loss of detail; +0 to +5 are indistinguishable and as sharp as it gets.

The feel of the focus and zoom rings are about as "perfect" as it can get.

I'm mostly a portrait photographer (seniors and weddings) and it's great in the studio as well as in churches and other low-light areas.

Briefly, the newer features over the Mark 1 are: new fluorite elements - increased optical quality and reduced CA and less flare (as to whether that is that good or bad is subjective)

I agonized over the upgrade for as long as it took to save the money.

It is without a doubt as sharp as my f4 IS ever was.

It's as good as or better than my 16-35 on that point because the IS is so good.

The IS truly is greatly improved over version I, it really does give a 4-stop advantage