A slow, mid range range zoom for $1500 dollars..... let me think...
um.... NO!
I get that this lens will be about 1100 dollars in a year or so, but these initial MSRP's really tick me off. I like to dream about getting newly released products, and am always tempted to be a first adopter. However, when I do dream about getting these shiny new toys, I don't like that dream to end with a steel toe boot kicking me in the balls after looking at the MSRP. All too often recently, Canon has been thrilled to do this to us(5DIII,24-70 2.8II, 35mm 2.0, this lens.)
This is a nice looking lens, mainly because of the size and the macro bonus, but for me, the sweet spot on price is about $800 bucks. F4 for me equals cheap, and this lens ain't that.