hmm is my new 24-105L "tack" sharp??

wheresdavid

well I am back in the states for a short while and just got a 24-105L that everyone is raving about (ok, the majority). I haven't had time to take many photos with it but the ones I did just didn't jump out to me and scream tack sharp. So today, I set up my tripod in my moms back yard (I am hoemless) and using the timer took shots and 24mm, 75, and 105 and stooped it down from 4 to 22. The problem is i can't tell if they are "tack" sharp :dunno . I read somewhere that you can get a "bad" lens every now and then. I have posted the pictures here http://fotosbydavid.smugmug.com/gallery/2719885

i will be hitting the road again soon and i dont have the time to use a real "target". hopefully the shot i set up is ok, i took the photos using my rebel xti, and i think I focused on the angel in the middle. any feedback would be appreciated.

thanks!!!

rosselliot

it looks as good as my copy, and it looks sharp.

I know you want to be sure, since you just churned out a pretty big hunk of cash of a pretty big hunk of glass - - - but it's sharp if you think it is, the internet has not helped in the way of making people feel better about their buys. People posting about lemons and backfocusing, etc, has only created a scare among all photographers and there is a 50/50 chance of you getting a good copy of a lens, which is just not true! If it were a lemon, and you felt you needed to send it back for a new one, you'd have looked at the picture right away and thought - what a crappy lens, I guess I got a lemon. not - is that sharp? It kinda looks sharp...I can't tell, I'm gonna ask someone else.

if it looks SCREAMS lemon, return it, if it doesn't then keep it and love it - because I know you will.

- RE

LiquidAir

I didn't go through the whole gallery, but your copy looks fine to me. One thing to know about the 24-105: it has a fair amount of chromatic abberation at the wide end. The CA makes the corners of the shots look soft out of the camera, but it is easy to correct for in software (ACR and Lightroom both do a fine job of it). With correction your shots will be nearly as sharp in the corners as they are in the center of the frame.

ziggy53

wheresdavid wrote:

well I am back int he states for a short while and just got a 24-105L that everyone is raving about (ok, the majority). I haven't had time to take many photos with it but the ones I did just didn't jump out to me and scream tack sharp. So today, I set up my tripod in my moms back yard (I am hoemless) and using the timer took shots and 24mm, 75, and 105 and stooped it down from 4 to 22. The problem is i can't tell if they are "tack" sharp . I read somewhere that you can get a "bad" lens every now and then. I have posted the pictures here http://fotosbydavid.smugmug.com/gallery/2719885

i will be hitting the road again soon and i dont have the time to use a real "target". hopefully the shot i set up is ok, i took the photos using my rebel xti, and i think I focused on the angel in the middle. any feedback would be appreciated.

thanks!!!

David,

That's a good lens. Prime focus for the first image is in the center, on the statue and the tree bark and the sign to the right, which are all very sharp.

CaiusMartius

My 24-105L was prone to backfocus, I sent it in to Canon and they fixed it.

claudermilk

Those shots look fine to me. Looks about as sharp as my 24-70.

Like Ross said (yes, I'm agreeing with him. )--the 'net has created a mountain out of a molehill regarding sharpness & focus accuracy. I'll bet 80% of the gear Canon service gets in is perfectly fine & is just wasting their time.