Today i upgraded to 70-200 f/4... click to see a sample pic

[Vic_izoita]

I traded in my24-85mm USM for a brand new 70-200 f/4 L. I think that both lenses are solid build but i really see a big difference in picture quality. The colors, saturation and sharpness are way much better then with the 24-85mm usm . I don't thing i would ever buy anything but Ls.This is a 100% crop picture of my neighboor's dog without any processing.

[Vic_izoita]

HMM , what am i doing wrong that the pic didn't load?
let try this:
http://home.comcast.net/~vii/100_crop.jpg

[Vic_izoita]

http://home.comcast.net/~vii/100_crop.jpg[/img]

[Vic_izoita]

I really like that smooth background blur. My next lens i think would be the 24-70mm L f/2.8 but becasue of it cost it will take me some time to save up.

[vvizard]

You know you can edit posts to fix errors in them instead of having to resubmit? Just click the "edit" button in the upper-right corner :)

Nice dog. The reason why your image won't load is this:


[/img]http://home.comcast.net/~vii/100_crop.jpg[img][/img]
^^ ^^^^^^^
You can't have a slash in the opening tag. It should be in this format:

[open] ......... [/close]

See? No slash in the opening-tag, but one to close. Also you have two closing tags. That shouldn't matter for if the image is loaded I guess, but it's still wrong, and if you had another opening-tag longer up there which you forgot to close, things would probably be messy..

[Vic_izoita]

You know you can edit posts to fix errors in them instead of having to resubmit? Just click the "edit" button in the upper-right corner :)

Nice dog. The reason why your image won't load is this:


[/img]http://home.comcast.net/~vii/100_crop.jpg[img][/img]
^^ ^^^^^^^
You can't have a slash in the opening tag. It should be in this format:

[open] ......... [/close]

See? No slash in the opening-tag, but one to close. Also you have two closing tags. That shouldn't matter for if the image is loaded I guess, but it's still wrong, and if you had another opening-tag longer up there which you forgot to close, things would probably be messy..


Thanks for the tips VVISARD.
Victor

[drisley]

Beautiful! Interesting looking dog.

Yeah, I too have been looking at getting the 24-70mm F2.7L.
I was totally shocked to see how expensive it is!
I have the 70-200mm F4L, which was about $900CDN, so I expected the 24-70L to be about the same price, in the $1000CDN range. It's so shocking to see it costing over $2000CDN. WOW!

I have heard many good things about the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 lens, although many users here say it is soft at F2.8 which is rather disappointing.

[tommykjensen]

I don't thing i would ever buy anything but Ls.

I am hooked too, I bought this lens 3 weeks ago and am very happy with it. On my last 2 visits to the zoo this lens was the only one I used even though I had other lenses with me :D

[randyk]

Vic, a very nice pic but it seems a hair out of focus to me. But the overall pic is very representative of this lens, great background.


I had the 70-200 f4 and was always impressed with how sharp pics turned out, even with moving subjects shot wide open.

Did you crop the pic at the bottom? Would be interesting to see the grass to better identify the focus point.

[NILOLIGIST]

Very nice, the bokhen on that lens is so nice.

I am thinking of buying the 2.8 70-200 next week. I want that lens so bad and I think I can use it at a dance performance next month.



NiL,

[Vic_izoita]

Vic, a very nice pic but it seems a hair out of focus to me. But the overall pic is very representative of this lens, great background.


I had the 70-200 f4 and was always impressed with how sharp pics turned out, even with moving subjects shot wide open.

Did you crop the pic at the bottom? Would be interesting to see the grass to better identify the focus point.

You're right, it is little out of focus but the funny thing is that i remember that the the focus point was right at the dog's face. Here is the full size pic without cropping.
http://home.comcast.net/~vii/IMG_4157c.jpg
Past sunday i did a photo shoot of a college graduate with my new 70-200 f4, shot about 150 pics in RAW. When i got home and checked the pictures i noticed that every single image is very soft. i've used Av at f/5.6 to f/8 and the shutter was auto set to 200 with 420 flash. I've viewed the pictures in FVU to see if tje focus points are OK and they were all perfect . I copied all the pictures to my laptop and took a trip to my local shop where i got the lens and even the owner said that there is something wrong with the lens, camera or both. He said that he will show the pics to some to get another opinion.... The dog picture looks crisp sharp comparing to the graduation shoot... real bad.

[Vic_izoita]

Vic, a very nice pic but it seems a hair out of focus to me. But the overall pic is very representative of this lens, great background.


I had the 70-200 f4 and was always impressed with how sharp pics turned out, even with moving subjects shot wide open.

Did you crop the pic at the bottom? Would be interesting to see the grass to better identify the focus point.

Here are some samples of that sunday shoot. i double checked the focus points and they were all right at peoples faces. These pics are without any crop.. just reduced size and no other editing.

http://home.comcast.net/~vii/CRW_4353_RJ.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~vii/CRW_4349_RJ.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~vii/CRW_4363_RJ.JPG

[randyk]

Hmmm, something is not right. I believe you when you say the focus point is where you say it is but it looks to me that the camera is front focusing. I was hoping your dog shot showed some grass in front of the dog so I could confirm this.

My 70-200 f4 was always spot on, even wide open. Take a look at some of the pics in this folder, all are with this lens and many are at f4:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=383777

In this particular shot, look at in the large size, see the grass below his feet?

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2204429&size=md

And this one is a 100% crop at 200mm @f4:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2350176

I used to laugh at people that did ruler focus tests since I have been very satisfied with my equipment, but I tried it once and was amazed at how spot on some of my lenses were when wide open. I think you should try a simple test to check your focus, something is not right.

PS - And since you like bokeh, check out this shot at f1.8 with the 85mm Canon. I think its very sharp for that aperture and the bokeh on this lens is even better than with the big zoom:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2199490&size=md

[Vic_izoita]

Hmmm, something is not right. I believe you when you say the focus point is where you say it is but it looks to me that the camera is front focusing. I was hoping your dog shot showed some grass in front of the dog so I could confirm this.

My 70-200 f4 was always spot on, even wide open. Take a look at some of the pics in this folder, all are with this lens and many are at f4:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=383777

In this particular shot, look at in the large size, see the grass below his feet?

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2204429&size=md

And this one is a 100% crop at 200mm @f4:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2350176

I used to laugh at people that did ruler focus tests since I have been very satisfied with my equipment, but I tried it once and was amazed at how spot on some of my lenses were when wide open. I think you should try a simple test to check your focus, something is not right.

PS - And since you like bokeh, check out this shot at f1.8 with the 85mm Canon. I think its very sharp for that aperture and the bokeh on this lens is even better than with the big zoom:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2199490&size=md

All of them are just crisper then crisp... im very impressed with with your 85 @1.8. I really think now that there is a problem either camera or the lens or both. I was hoping that when i show the pics in the photo shop they would blame me for the softness but after the guy checked all the settings and my focus point( My fucus point is fixed in the center, i feel that this way is less room for errors) he said same thing: hmm something isn't right here....

[randyk]

I have seen several shots where the focus point was right on yet the picture was not in focus. Somehow the lens locks focus on something else outside of the little focus rectangle, in effect its fooled into thinking something else is the intended subject. This is more common in low contrast situations and when the lens is wide open. Keep testing and good luck! Don't settle for less than this equipment is capable of, thats why we pay the big bucks.


All of them are just crisper then crisp... im very impressed with with your 85 @1.8. I really think now that there is a problem either camera or the lens or both. I was hoping that when i show the pics in the photo shop they would blame me for the softness but after the guy checked all the settings and my focus point( My fucus point is fixed in the center, i feel that this way is less room for errors) he said same thing: hmm something isn't right here....[/quote]

[drisley]

Do you think it could be camera shake?
By the look of how bright it is, I would say not, but what shutter speeds were you using on those shots?

[Vic_izoita]

Do you think it could be camera shake?
By the look of how bright it is, I would say not, but what shutter speeds were you using on those shots?

The shutter was 200 , f5.6, iso 200 and flash for fill-in. i dont think the shake is the problem.
Today i took my camera and my new 70-200mm f4 to my local Canon shop again and they did the ruller test and it was clear that it was back focusing by 3 inches on every 10 shots that we took at 700mm, 135 and 200. We had it set on a tripod/mirror lock and timer. Im so glad that they agreed that there is a obvious problem. They are shipping my camera and the 70-200 lens to Canon for repair. Hopefully this will be resolved...
Victor

[drisley]

Do you mean every tenth shot backfocused? Or you took 10 shots and they all backfocused?

The good thing is that it's an obvious problem, so they will be able to fix it fairly easily.
Let us know how you make out!

[randyk]

I am surprised they didn't just offer you a replacement. I know that it has taken some people 2-3 tries to fix this problem so be persistent if they can't get it right.

[Vic_izoita]

Do you mean every tenth shot backfocused? Or you took 10 shots and they all backfocused?

The good thing is that it's an obvious problem, so they will be able to fix it fairly easily.
Let us know how you make out!

We shot 10 shots and they were all back focused. As soon as my gear comes back i will test it again and let you guys know the outcome.
Vic

[Vic_izoita]

I am surprised they didn't just offer you a replacement. I know that it has taken some people 2-3 tries to fix this problem so be persistent if they can't get it right.

I asked the guy when i can expect the camera back and he told me at least two weeks. I hope its going to be quicker then that.

[drisley]

I think you may owe RandyK a nice cold beer for his good eye in spotting the problem!
:mrgreen:

Now I may have to do some testing of my 70-200F4

Does this look ok?

http://www.mts.net/~lftbrain/rebel/cocoa/crw_0541_std.jpg

[msvadi]

Today i took my camera and my new 70-200mm f4 to my local Canon shop again and they did the ruller test and it was clear that it was back focusing by 3 inches on every 10 shots that we took at 700mm, 135 and 200. We had it set on a tripod/mirror lock and timer. Im so glad that they agreed that there is a obvious problem. They are shipping my camera and the 70-200 lens to Canon for repair

Can you, please, give us more details on their testing procedure? what was the target, light, shutter speeds? Thanks

[drisley]

I just did some testing.
Here I focused the 70-200F4L on the tree, to the left of the "stump".
I think it focused ok.

http://www.mts.net/~lftbrain/oak_tree.jpg

[Vic_izoita]

I think you may owe RandyK a nice cold beer for his good eye in spotting the problem!
:mrgreen:

Now I may have to do some testing of my 70-200F4

Does this look ok?

http://www.mts.net/~lftbrain/rebel/cocoa/crw_0541_std.jpg

You're right, he does have a good eye.. Thanks RandyK!
Drisley your pic of the dog looks sharp to me. I went back to the store again because the owner told me to bring my warranty registration cards.
When i got there i asked him if i could run another test with my lens but a different 10d. The result proved that the problem is with the camera and not my new 70-200, all pics were sharp and crisp.

[drisley]

Wow, that is interesting.
I am surprised the store didnt try a different camera initially.

Is your camera under warranty?!

[randyk]

Drisley, I think your dog shot looks great but less sure about the tree pic. Maybe its the angle of the shot.

In misfocus cases I have heard about, Canon always asks to see both the lens and the camera and they somehow calibrate them to work well together. I would be skeptical if a store owner told me it was one or the other causing the problem. Could be the case but how can one really verify this? I can't see how Canon can fix a body without a lens, I assume other lenses work well for you?

Maybe call Canon service and get their take. I bet they ask for both the body and lens and would expect them to solve the problem regardless of warranty situation, they have a vested interest in ensuring their lenses work well with their bodies.

[Vic_izoita]

Wow, that is interesting.
I am surprised the store didnt try a different camera initially.

Is your camera under warranty?!

All my canon gear was purchased from my local camera shop, 10d is 4 month old and the lens is few days old. So all should be under warranty . The reason why they didn't try a different 10d with my new lens is because they didn't have any in stock at the time but when i had to come back next day to bring my warranty card(they said canon require cwarranty cards to be shipped along with camera and lens.)i saw that they had a new 10d on a shelf. Good thing i saw it.