Originally posted by nicedog A picture taken at f/2.8 16mm, and let's say, it's soft on both sides. I keep telling myself, isn't that normal?
I checked some other lens reviews such as nikon 20-35mm f/2.8, it has the same problem too.
I mean, a brick wall picture with blurry image on both sides really means the lens is bad?
No, it is a question of how bad. Lenses are naturally softer near the edges. Decentering is easier to spot because the softness is asymmetrical. There are other types of defects though (and the DA*16-50 seems to have many of them). For example, in the latest example I posted here, the softness was symmetrical, but it was absolutely terrible. (In fact it if you believe laker, it made him dizzy
) Usually, the softness at the edges sharpens as aperture is reduced (higher f/stop). In my case, there was no improvement at any aperture or focal length. As I mentioned in the other thread, it was a bit like looking through the bottom of a Coke bottle.
Now my first lens wasn't as bad. I noticed the problem eventually when I realized all my pictures were softer on the right than the left. These examples are not me being picky. These two lenses I had were clearly worse than my 18-250 lens that costs about half as much.
I just got confirmation from B&H that my replacement lens just shipped. I'll let you know what new defect this one has.