24L II: my problem child

Sdiver2489 wrote in post #12483648
Funny...I've been working with a supervisor Danny as well...sounds like we each got the same guy.

That or they're all "Danny"s on the phone.

jwcdds wrote in post #12483855
That or they're all "Danny"s on the phone.

When I was in Hawaii I had a surf instructor named Danny...he was playing a ukelele on a bench on the beach...he fit the stereotype perfectly....duuuuude.

MatthewK wrote in post #12482710
7 copies?! Which body? Unbelievable.

5DII. I know other guys who had to go through a couple of copies too. What I've noticed is that most of the reported stellar performers are the earlier copies, like the first batches were fine before something were wrong.
With my copy, I'd say I get approximately 80% of keepers (excluding user errors), the number will vary with distance (95% from close, gets worse with increasing range). There can also be some specific objects it doesn't like.
All in all it's usable but requires caution and I usually chimp after every 2nd or 3rd shot to make sure I got things right. I'm still a tad disappointed though, especially for this price. The real problem with this lens is that while you may hate it, it's hard to stop loving it.

Glad to see that everything worked out for you. It give's me confidence to send mine in too. Did you send the lens with the body or just the lens?

DavRob wrote in post #12489477
Glad to see that everything worked out for you. It give's me confidence to send mine in too. Did you send the lens with the body or just the lens?

He sent in just the lens, I sent in my body+lens all the times. I would send in both so that any MFA can also be cancelled out.

I'm excited about getting my lens back hopefully fixed this time. I tried a Nikon D7000 at BB today...not THAT enthused about the body...so Canon had better get this right.

No, just the lens. But I sent sample shots on a cd, the same screen shots as in this thread that I took from DPP. Send the unedited RAW files too. Not sure how much they helped, but it wouldn't hurt.

I'm a bit worried to send in my body to, because I don't have MFA on it and I don't want my other lenses to become out of sync.
I could also send all my stuff in, but I don't want them to make any unnecessary adjustments to stuff that doesn't need any.

Sdiver2489 wrote in post #12489695
I'm excited about getting my lens back hopefully fixed this time. I tried a Nikon D7000 at BB today...not THAT enthused about the body...so Canon had better get this right.

Did you get a chance to play with Nikon 24mm f/1.4? Maybe after all it might be a good time for you to switch to Nikon system since you have not invested that heavy into Canon and resale values are high rightnow. Report to us how you like Nikon equipments if you decide to switch.

hhuy888 wrote in post #12489995
Did you get a chance to play with Nikon 24mm f/1.4? Maybe after all it might be a good time for you to switch to Nikon system since you have not invested that heavy into Canon and resale values are high rightnow. Report to us how you like Nikon equipments if you decide to switch.

Nope the best buy had a single D7000 in the display case I asked them to take out to try (no fancy lenses at BB). Controls weren't nearly as good as the 7D. I'm conflicted because I do like other aspects of Nikon. I do agree that now would be the best time to switch if I was going to.

The Nikon 24G is a nice lens, but is plagued with similar issues and the AF is very deliberate...

I am glad you got it resolved MatthewK. Can you shoot an indoor subject around ISO 800, f/1.4, ~1/100 sec. shutter speed at a distance of 2-4 feet? The subject has to be less contrasty but enough that the auto focus immediately locks on. Shoot it 5 consecutive times and let me know if it focuses dead on every shot.

My 24LII is pretty accurate in good light like the shots you posted up on page 3 after being sent to Canon, but I don't trust it in low light as the indoor test above reveals some inconsistency where my 50L nails it dead on every time. I think I am going to send it off to Canon again to check it during low light.

nicksan wrote in post #12491914
The Nikon 24G is a nice lens, but is plagued with similar issues and the AF is very deliberate...

Which suggests that fast 24mm f/1.4 lenses are inherently problematic.

I did read somewhere, but I can't locate it now, where a Canon engineer stated that when you have such a wide angle lens and fast aperture, optical errors are more difficult to eliminate, which in consequence can effect AF performance.

I have the 24mm f/1.4L MkII and it's my second copy. The first did exhibit some of the problems the OP experienced so I exchanged it for another and it's been fine. However I have noticed it still misses focus occasionally, but I have narrowed down the circumstances when this occurs. Cluttered or indistinct targets and very low light for example, which kind of verifies that the optical errors present on this lens wide open (obviously, as all lenses focus at maximum aperture), can confuse the AF system in these circumstances. But if the subject is large in the frame it's spot on. I suggest a manual focus screen for those difficult targets.

I hope the OP's problems are finally sorted as he definitely got a dodgy one, but I would like to say that AF is merely an aid and it'll never be 100% accurate 100% of the time with 100% of subjects. Then there's lens and body tolerances to take into consideration, but that's another story!

Man! Sorry to hear about your problem Matthew. I have no problems locking AF even in low light but, let's hope your issue gets sorted.

Locking focus in low light with less contrasty subject is not the issue. The issue is the focus can be quite off.

Try shooting a low contrasty subject 5 times in a row in average lighting conditions and let me know if the focus is consistent all 5 times.

David S wrote in post #12511185
Locking focus in low light with less contrasty subject is not the issue. The issue is the focus can be quite off.

Try shooting a low contrasty subject 5 times in a row in average lighting conditions and let me know if the focus is consistent all 5 times.

When my copy misses...it is absolutely consistent in missing...sometimes even misses consistently to the same degree.