Originally posted by Pentaxor not really into starting an argument but rather an informative exchange of thoughts, but I would vehemently disagree with the notion that it is soft wide open. it is actually very sharp if you nail the focus perfectly. so it's either focusing error or a lens issue if this lens was indeed soft wide open. if there was any real issue with the lens, it would be the glowing (blue fringing) at wider apertures, other than that, the lens is marvelous.
I take your point, and maybe I came across as brusque in that statement. I think that everyone has a different point at which normal progressive softness when opening the aperture actually becomes "soft". The 85/2 is certainly no softer wide open than most lenses, but I see a fairly big sharpness difference between f2 & f2.8. It is certainly usable wide open, maybe even very useable, but these are all subjective measures. The blue fringing does also have the effect of reducing sharpness, by blurring lines that out to be clean. For me, as the longer focal length usually gives ample subject separation even at f2.8, that is where I usually use it. I do agree that it´s a marvellous lens: colour, contrast, "3D pop" are all there, wide open or not.