earlier batches of 70-200mm users did complaint about thread defect flakes in their lenses.

http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109661

sunat event?

if you import raw files into lightroom, by default there will be some preset settings applied, which includes a little bit of sharpening.

just after importing. i'm not sure exactly when, but on my not-so-fast computer, i can see the settings being applied when i select the picture

and as i notice it, the presets are camera-dependent. so the preset settings are different depending on camera

make sure you recorded the actions correctly if you're using a custom action.

alternatively, you can use lightroom to watermark your photos during export

sharp enough la. don't worry too much. in any case if you want additional sharpness, you can apply some sharpening.

and sharpness doesn't have anything to do with focusing lah... difference between manual and auto focus is just the focus accuracy. autofocus may sometimes focus incorrectly, but still the incorrect focus point will be sharp.

for me, focus accuracy > sharpness. soft pics you can always add a little sharpening, but focus incorrectly, can't do anything liao.