canon 70-200 f4L

[stevescivic]

I just purchased a canon 70-200 f/4 L lens the other day and I was very satisfied with it except that there is a problem with it on digital bodies.

I noticed that on a 10D and a D30 the images taken with this lens is soft compared to a consumer grade 100-300 4.5-5.6 lens. I did text from a magazine and took a picture with it and compared the photos and every time the L series lens performed worse than the cheapie 100-300.

I was somewhat aware of this problem before I purchased this lens b/c a guy on a website posted his review/rant on this lens and said that when used with a digital body it seems to have softness to it, as if it wasn't picking up the image properly on the cmos sensor.

the website is here: http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/canon_ef70-200usm.htm

I did many trials using this lens in the exact shooting conditions and ever time it consistently performed sub par.

How would a lens from canon's L series be outdone by a normal consumer lens that cost 1/3 as much?

I redid the test on my own film body (elan7) and the L lens performed perfectly giving me pictures that were beyond sharp!


Apparently all I could find on the net was the article in the above link. It seems that only the 70-200 f4/L suffers from this problem.

I am now trying to decide whether or not I should return the lens and wait for a revised version of this to come out.

What are your guy's experience with this lens? Have you compared it to a normal prime lens or a zoom lens of similar focal lengths?

Thanks

[Cadwell]

I suspect you'll get this answer from most people on this board. My 70-200mm f/4L is as sharp as, if not sharper than any other zoom lens in my bag on a 10D body.

The other zooms I have are Canon 17-40L f/4, Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, Canon 28-135mm, Canon 100-400L and Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8.

In other words, the 70-200 f/4L SHOULD be tack sharp. If your's isn't (compared to your other zooms and non-L primes) then you may have a problem with your example. I've read the the review at the link you posted and I would say the same to the reviewer. The lens he was using obviously had a problem.

[Loekito]

Not sure whether this is the same problem that I know.

My friend bought 70-200 f4L for his 300D. But there's something wrong happened with it's focusing ability. The focusing seems shift from the point that the camera focused.

For example, we put a computer keyboard in 45 degree position (lean into the wall), then we try to take a shoot to that keyboard with focus on "S" key.

the result is, the "S" key is soft, but somehow, the sharpest, is somewhere in the "W" and "Q" keys.

we tried the test many times, using speedlight, using tripod, etc. and all have the same result, the focus is somewhat shifted from the point we aimed.

Don't know whether it's the problem with the lens, or with 300D.

But it don't happend with any other lens that we have. When we claim to the seller, they said maybe something wrong with the focusing system in the lens, and they offering us to recalibrate the lens, but we haven't bring the lens back to them for a while.

regards,

Loekito

[blinking8s]

mine is razor sharp, i love that lens...when I first got it though I did have to learn how to use it...

[TonyKInTexas]

And that is a benefit of Canon glass (L glass) is to get the lens and the camera in sync as far as the focusing system is concerned.

I would suggest doing it AS LONG as it does not hurt the other glass in your collection. :)

...

But it don't happend with any other lens that we have. When we claim to the seller, they said maybe something wrong with the focusing system in the lens, and they offering us to recalibrate the lens, but we haven't bring the lens back to them for a while.

regards,

Loekito

[stevescivic]

Don't you guys find it odd that there would be a website that outlines the problem of this lens with digital bodies? I thought that maybe that guy got a bad lens but it is very apparently in my case that the lens isn't performing properly with a digital body. On film the lens is perfect. That would be fine for the next 2 years or so but the day I buy into digital bodies I want to have a lens that will work as good as it does for film.

i have comparison shots if anyone is interested in seeing.

[Cadwell]

Don't you guys find it odd that there would be a website that outlines the problem of this lens with digital bodies? I thought that maybe that guy got a bad lens but it is very apparently in my case that the lens isn't performing properly with a digital body. On film the lens is perfect. That would be fine for the next 2 years or so but the day I buy into digital bodies I want to have a lens that will work as good as it does for film.

i have comparison shots if anyone is interested in seeing.

No, I don't find it odd that there is such a website. Anyone can create a website that says anything they want - it doesn't mean it's true. So far you have cited one example... there are hundreds of reviews of this lens out there that don't describe any sort of problem.

I am prepared to accept that the guy writing that review had a problem and I am prepared to accept that you are having a problem. What I cannot accept, because there is absolutely no evidence for it and my personal experience and that of a lot of people on this site says otherwise, is that there is a generic problem with this lens. Send your defective lens back to where-ever you bought it from and get a decent copy.

[RichardtheSane]

Apparently all I could find on the net was the article in the above link. It seems that only the 70-200 f4/L suffers from this problem.
Thanks

Mine doesn't

Maybe yours is faulty?

[WestFalcon]

My 70-200 F4L does not focus well on my 10D bodies(all 3 of them) but seems to be razor sharp on my new 20D. I never have liked the focus on the 10D's.....I think Canon had a bad focusing system in that camera and have improved it with the 20D. I had a D30 and D60 and both focused better thn my 10D's.

[stevescivic]

have any of you compared your L shots against a normal consumer lens?

I just find it really weird that my problem with digital is exactly the same as the guy on the net's review.

Luckily for me the L lens I'm using is the store display model. My lens was out of stock so they had to order it in from canon. I'm certain that the display lens is fine (b/c it works excellent for film) as the owner of the store is very careful with his equipment.

I will get the new lens today and do a retest to see if its truly screwed up.

Thanks

[blinking8s]

the 300d and 10d have fery poor AF...dont blame the lens, you need to be one with your camera to get the best quality out of it....be one...be the camera

[stevescivic]

but why would that one particular lens not work properly? Any other L lens or consumer lens performs perfectly on these bodies including the D30.

Why would the 20D or other bodies not suffer from this same problem? I even tried manually focusing and didn't get good results.

thanks