Great shots as well and as someone who has far more experience with the lens, I appreciate the details. I guess I was surprised that bulbous front element didn't have more flare given my experience with other similar lenses and I was impressed that the contrast didn't get blown out, either. The original shot is almost black & white given the dynamic range, so I was happy with the lens. In terms of the sharpness, I do see some softness in the shifted shots (more so than the 24mm) but I find the central 2/3 of the frame to be extremely sharp and without any movements, razor sharp. Looking at your shots, the flare is the same as what I'm seeing and is much smaller than what I get with the 16-35. I'm definitely looking forward to shooting more with this lens - I have been tied up with a ton of commitments since December, but in about 2 weeks, my time will be my own again, well, mostly, I'm still married...