real life lens testing- how to?

I don't wanna mess w/ tests, mostly because i don't have a tripod. I just want to know if my new 85 1.8 is working good on my 5d. I think I read somewhere here a while ago, to stop down a bit, and go outside? shoot something that doesn't move, correct? I tested a bit in the bathroom on my dd etc, but honestly i'm still very new to my 5d (and haven't shot anything in a year and very little before that, manually) so I'm REALLY rusty. so some shots i took by the window were focused a bit on her hair instead of her eye, and then some in the bathroom were focusing on her back eye instead of her front.. UGH! I was using the center focus point, not recomposing. my ss was 200.. iso 640.... and i was at 1.8, so that's probably not good eh? I had a nikon d700 last year, i had no problems nailing focus wide open indoors or out... what gives!

ps- with my anxiety- I have a habit of making a mountain out of a mole hill. I'm hoping this is nothing and I'm just gonna hafta work harder at focusing w/ the 5d or something. (I miss my d700 but I do not wish to talk about it here) so anyway- please be patient with me.

Don't "Test" .. Shoot

Go out and put your gear to use and share your results here. If you eventually feel that something isn't 100%, make mention of it and the collective mind here can weigh in but don't obsess over it until you've made several hundred frames.

To paraphrase a shoe company: Just Shoot It

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #12998569
Don't "Test" .. Shoot

Go out and put your gear to use and share your results here. If you eventually feel that something isn't 100%, make mention of it and the collective mind here can weigh in but don't obsess over it until you've made several hundred frames.

To paraphrase a shoe company: Just Shoot It

This, except for this:

Just shoot it. +++If you feel like something is wrong, practice for a couple months on that type of shot with that lens. If it gets no better after that long, then you might have an issue.

so- if it's canon it's usually user error?? I really do hope that's all it is- much more convenient for me to just go out and use it and play and get good, than to send it off.

it's probably a newbie thing to get a new lens and freak out huh?

it sounds like you did test it just by shooting, and you're coming up with issues...so i think you should actually test it for real...i know you said no tripod...but just get it to sit stable on something..line up some coke cans/batteries/whateve​r in a diagonal...spaced out enough...aim at the center one...it should be the sharpest...if it's not, and it's back-focusing like your other shots suggest then you've got an issue

amytug wrote in post #12999019
so- if it's canon it's usually user error?? I really do hope that's all it is- much more convenient for me to just go out and use it and play and get good, than to send it off.

it's probably a newbie thing to get a new lens and freak out huh?

It can be - sometimes its painfully obvious that there is a problem, but most of the time when it seems hit or miss it can be explained by the learning curve.

Good luck!

okay- I'll try that battery thing. I may go out w/ the kids today too, and play around when the light is right. thanks yall!

Not good if you're as you say rusty. Stop it down a bit to give yourself more DOF until you feel more confident

okay guys- took it outside at 1.8 tonight and we have sharpness! I don't know for sure what was going on inside? I was using bbf earlier since that is how it came to me and i am SO not used to that, so it was probably just me. figured out how to change it back - maybe it's that! Either way- i'm a happy camper.

I have never heard of this lens having issues. Not that it couldnt happen, but just get it outside , take alot of pics n have fun .

Keep in mind the MFD of the lens. Inside close quarters can be hunting in low light


Enjoy your lens !!

thank you I did take it outside and the shots were good and sharp.

I had to return the first copy of the 85f1.8 I got. It back focused on my crop. The second copy was fine.
You should be able to get sharp shots indoors at f2 if your shutter speed is high enough. A faster shutter speed is better for this lens, but you should be able to get good shots at 1/100.

If you use center point focus and hit the close eye in a portrait, that eye should be sharp. There is very little depth of field, so you may want to try a few larger apertures to see what you like - f1.8, f2, f2.2, & f2.5.

Shoot a measuring tape.

Make sure you understand first whether your AF point in use is cross-type and if not which direction it goes. What AF points you have and what they do depends on the maximum aperture of your lens in use, see the manual. You can't expect the AF to work if your aim at a point where the subject has contracts only in the direction your AF point doesn't detect.

Since the AF "point" is quite a big larger than people expect (except on Canon bodies that allow you to narrow down the center AF point) it then strays and picks up some contracts that's going in the detectable direction. The result is a super-sharp picture with the focus on the wrong spot, and that can be perceived as front or back focusing.

uOpt wrote in post #13002737
Shoot a measuring tape.

preferably a Stanley one the silver & yellow looks so cool

uOpt? really? it's not just the little + in the middle that's the point?? well how does one make certain the focus will be in the right spot if the camera is still going to hunt/guess?