A somewhat overpriced "L" series zoom

This is among my worst lenses that I have. Well actually it is the worst but that is not saying it is horrible. It is going up against some amazing other pieces of glass.

There is nothing mechanically wrong with this lens. It is environmentally sealed, solid, feels great to use and all zoom/focus controls are smooth. The problems come in on the optics.

I tend to not be happy with the images from this lens. It is soft on the 1D and distorts more than I think it should.

UPDATE:
This is a strange thing. On my 1D, I never got results that I have been thrilled with. On my 1D Mk II, however, the results of this lens have been much better. I do not know if this is a result of the 1D Mk II being better matched optically (AA filters and micro-lenses make huge differences) than the 1D or what is going on. This is backwards to what I would expect because the 1D generally makes a pop bottle look like a good lens.

SAMPLE IMAGEs:
http://www.pbase.com/image/33778330
http://www.pbase.com/image/23115361
http://www.pbase.com/image/32456889