10D and tamron lens

[Moose Dawg]

I have been using my new 10D and a new Tamron 28-300 XR. I am very concerned about the softness of my pictures. They just seem to be out of focus. I am thinking of getting a Canon lens after reading all of the comments on this forum.

Any advice? I am new to this forum and absolutely love it. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Dave

[Longwatcher]

Apparently according to Tamron you must use only the center focus point with that lens. So try using only the center focal point.

Someone else posted the link to the Tamron site either here or on DP review.

[Moose Dawg]

I have set the Custom Function to use only the center point. I still get very soft focus pictures. They are not very sharp and lack detail.

Thanks for the reply.

Dave

[PacAce]

Try setting the camera to Av mode and set the aperture to f/8 or smaller. See if that makes a difference.

[Longwatcher]

Also, just in case you are unfamiliar with Canon Digital SLR technology.

All images start out appearing soft and should be sharpened in post processing of some kind.

I can only speak for Photoshop 7.0 or photodeleuxe.

For PS7 the best seems to be unsharp mask filter (I can't remember my settings except the first one is 150).

For Photodeluxe use sharpen filter (I usually had to sharpen twice).

This is different then a focusing problem.

[spark]

Do you have a picture to show? I have a Tamron 28-200mm but it still produces sharp pictures...cheers.

Did you try resetting your camera...some says it helps....let us know....

[nanderson]

I have the same lense on my 10D. at less than F8 I've been getting very soft images. Last weekend I set up on a tripod and used the aperture priority mode and took about 50 test shots in raw mode. the Tamron gave a sharp image at F8 and higher.

I'm finding that bumping up the ISO to 800 and bumping up the F stop gives a sharper picture with almost no extra noise.

I also tested the lense against the two canon lenses I have - (neither of them are L series) the Tamron performed slightly better than the 35-80, but slightly worse than the 75-300

I havn't noticed an improvement in sharpness if I limit the camera to only the center focal point.

[brault]

I have a Tamron 28-200mm which is quite decent on my 10D at f8. At f5.6 it gets kind of soft.

Frank B

[Moose Dawg]

Yeah, I noticed that, too. I am sending the Tamron back and getting the Canon 28-135 IS and the Sigma 15-30. I have read good things about both of these so far. Thanks for all of the posts!!!!

Dave

[scotgasch]

I recently bought the Tamron 28-105 2.8
It cost me 820.00 and my 100.00 canon 50 beat it in sharpness. Sure the 50 is a fixed focal but come on guys 800+ for a soft lens? I sent it back and got the canon 85mm 1.8 and the canon 28-135 both anre excellent and surely beat the tamron. The autofocus is also noticably faster.

[Light Chaser]

See thread - lens help - for more on this subject.

Steve

[jgbryan021900]

I have the same issue with a Sigma 28-300, of course some users think this is expected of a super zoom.
I have tested with a Canon lenses and even at F4 the photos are still sharp. I am trading in my Sigma and just going to purchase Canon lenses. Did want to mention that at F8 and higher the pictures get alot sharper.

[brunz]

One thing that may be entering into your problem is the 1.6 multiplication factor. Your lens becomes a 480 mm lens which requires a 500th sec. shutter speed to get a sharp picture. I've got a feeling that your softness problem is a steadiness problem more than a lens sharpness problem. Use the middle focusing square and put your camera on a tripod with a cable release. Now, check the sharpness at all f stops. Now you can make a decision about lens sharpness ....I am assuming that the camera is not malfunctioning and causing a focus error. Good luck...Brian