70-200 l f4soft
I just switched over to canon,bought a 40 d with the 28-135 kit lens... after reading tons of reviews purchased a L70-200 f4 non is lens.. the 28-135 is sharper than the 70-200 ... is there a test I should run before sending it back... it does not seem like a back focus issue... I tried a friends 50 1.8 and the pics where way sharper than the both other lenses... any help out there.. :scratch
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Have you done test shots with a sturdy tripod or were they handheld? Also, what aperature and shutter speed? Any samples we can see?
well I set up and ran a series of thests with the both lenses;;; the 28-135 was consistant in most shots,good not great,,, the 70-200 when shooting f8 or higher was great.. at f4 was quite soft... run some sore tests to see what else I find..
Without seeing what you're seeing, I kind of relate. I have had a real love-hate relationship with my 70-200 f/4 IS. It's almost always fine on a tripod but handheld, even with IS, even at shutter speeds over 1/800s I have mixed results. A big part of me believes that there's something about shooting telephoto that I don't totally grasp, as I grew up on 20-50mm primes and am a long lens novice. The other part of me thinks my 30D was not a swift focuser and that my AF technique also left something to be desired. I find I'm least happy when shooting outdoor activity or sport. Again, the 30D might not have been the best ally here.
Other times, I get great, sharp shots out of it fairly wide open and I'm very impressed with it. I haven't figured it out. I don't have this relationship to any other lens, though it's my longest.
I moved my query to a new thread—sorry Sparky675.
I had one of these lenses a couple of years ago and it was razor sharp though out the range.
Basking in the shadows of yesterday's triumphs'.
I am having same problem with a 70-200 Non IS lens. First I sent it to Canon repair for back focusing and when I got it back last week it now is so soft that programs DDP and others will not make the photos sharp. I am very agravated with it.
Will call canon and explain and send it back with a cd full of soft images so they can see what it is doing.
I have read so many reviews about this lens being so sharp wide open but mine isn't any where close.
I would not sell it on ebay with it being so soft.
You may need to send both camera and lens to Canon so that they can calibrate the two together.
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I have just contacted Canon for a similar problem I am having with my 40D.
I am getting soft-ish images when using all my lenses but the 70-200f4L is worse than the 28-135. The 70-200 worked fine on my Rebel XT.
Sometimes the focus is bang on, but that is becoming a rarity.
I think a trip to NJ is iminemt for my 40D and probably both lenses.
Simon
:barb
Having just returned from the Scotland workshop with Marc Muench, I can only tell you what he's found from years of testing lenses. He puts a chart up, and shoots it at all apertures and several representative focal lengths. Lenses suffer at their extremes. The rule of thumb is to go down 2 stops from wide, so on the 70-200f4L that would be f8. That is the sharpest that lens will get. Occasionally the rule will be bent, and you'll go in 3 stops, but as a rule, 2 is good.
Having said that, I had a problem with the same lens (a problem that developed, it wasn't there when I bought the lens - used). For me, the left side of the frame was always OOF. I sent it in and they fixed it.
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I have the Xti/400D and the 40D. My 70-200 was sharp at F4 before I sent it in for back focus problem. Now its very soft at that setting with both Cameras.
I have the 400 F5.6 and its very sharp wide open on both cameras. From what I have read on reviews the 70-200 should be sharp at all settings. I dont understand why it got so soft when sent in for repair for the back focus.
It is so soft I would not offer it on ebay because I know who ever bought it would want a refund.
Will call canon today and see what repair has to say about the problem.
The tolerances of modern dSLRs and lenses is so amazingly tight and the ability of "anyone" to scrutinize the image at 100% so available that matching lenses to bodies can be required for best results.
Some professionals send their entire collection of most used lenses and bodies to service centers for alignment.
Without your body all Canon repair can test with is "their" equipment, which may be slightly different from yours. The calibration according to their equipment may be within spec, but you are more interested in the calibration with "your" equipment. If you don't send in your camera "and" lens you must accept that they can only work with what they have to work with.
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Yes I understand what you are saying but why is it that 99% of the lens bought are sharp and work as they should.
My 18-55 IS and 400 F5.6 work on both my 400D and 40D. Both produce images that are sharp and how I think it should be.
Now if I get both cameras calibrated for the soft 70-200 would the 18-55 is and the 400F5.6 be out of calibration for the new calibration for the 70-200.
Canon told me to send photos as came from camera with the lens and they could see what the problem is and correct it in the lens.
Will return to repair and see what I get back.