Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 pretty soft at 70mm

[LanceR]

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I recently purchased as Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 and I am about to return it.  I am curious if people have had similar experiences.

In short, the lens gets pretty soft at 70mm, even at f/5.6 and f/8, to the point where it can look like it missed focus on a still subject.

I am wondering if this might be an issue with the copy or generally what people have experienced.

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[Boojay]

3 hours ago, LanceR said:

I recently purchased as Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 and I am about to return it.  I am curious if people have had similar experiences.

In short, the lens gets pretty soft at 70mm, even at f/5.6 and f/8, to the point where it can look like it missed focus on a still subject.

I am wondering if this might be an issue with the copy or generally what people have experienced.

Not my experience with the lens at all, even wide open I always found the lens to be sharp enough.  I could happily provide samples but not sure this will help you, it may just be your copy is not performing how it should.   

[LanceR]

@Boojay that is really interesting.  I appreciate the information.

Reviewers indicated that wide open they thought that it was a bit soft at 70mm, but not at f/5.6 or f/8.

That makes me suspicious that it might be an issue with my copy.

[jaapv]

4 hours ago, LanceR said:

I recently purchased as Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 and I am about to return it.  I am curious if people have had similar experiences.

In short, the lens gets pretty soft at 70mm, even at f/5.6 and f/8, to the point where it can look like it missed focus on a still subject.

I am wondering if this might be an issue with the copy or generally what people have experienced.

It think you have a bad copy. It gets slightly softer in the corners at 70 mm, but nothing you would notice in normal photography. My experience, echoed by most reviewers.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/field-review-sigma-28-70mm-f2-8-dg-dn#conclusion

https://www.cameralabs.com/sigma-28-70mm-f2-8-dg-dn-review/3/

https://dustinabbott.net/2021/02/sigma-28-70mm-f2-8-dg-dn-review/

[LanceR]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

It think you have a bad copy. It gets slightly softer in the corners at 70 mm, but nothing you would notice in normal photography. My experience, echoed by most reviewers.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/field-review-sigma-28-70mm-f2-8-dg-dn#conclusion

https://www.cameralabs.com/sigma-28-70mm-f2-8-dg-dn-review/3/

https://dustinabbott.net/2021/02/sigma-28-70mm-f2-8-dg-dn-review/

Thank you @jaapv for your response.  I had gone through those reviews before I purchased, so I was expecting it to some degree.

I suspect it is a bad copy and letting them know I think it is defective.

Thank you again for everyone's time, much appreciated.