still not happy with the results

elrey2375 wrote in post #15182213
Try it without the IS on, this could be causing you a problem. You never want it on when shooting sports.

Worth trying this, from the photos it doesn't look like anything is in focus.

so i was interested in some of my stuff from last year so i pulled them up...

here is one that i think turned out nicely regarding focus and noise...

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Ltdave wrote in post #15183810
so i was interested in some of my stuff from last year so i pulled them up...
appear to be a compatibility issue between the 70-200 and 7D...
what can be done to get these to play nice together?

Micro Focus Adjustment is a good place to start. Know that while all Micro Adjustment methods should produce similar results if you are not very careful in following the procedures the results can and will be all over the place. If you cannot get the results you are looking for using Micro Focus Adjustment then it is time to send the rig in to a repair shop so that a calibration/repair can be done.

You will get a lot of good and some debatable advice on improving your technique for shooting action photos but know that all of those techniques will not produce a sharp photo if the camera cannot produce one using Single Shot mode at a stationary object. Once you know that the rig can produce an in focus photo then you can move on to improving your technique and setting up the custom functions.

all shot with the 70-200 f2.8L IS USM on either the 550d or the 7d...

they have all been cropped significantly in order to get a good impression of the details...

the red banner was shot at ISO 800, f2.8 and at 200mm on Av

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Do a more standardized comparison like people have asked. Shoot a stationary object with your camera and lens combo on a tripod with different focus modes. If you cannot obtain sharp focus then, then you know it is one of those items causing an error.

ajaffe wrote in post #15189055
Do a more standardized comparison like people have asked. Shoot a stationary object with your camera and lens combo on a tripod with different focus modes. If you cannot obtain sharp focus then, then you know it is one of those items causing an error.

thats what the red banner in my previous post represents. i shot at the indicated zoom settings (70, 110, 135 and 200) for the major f stops (2.8, 4.0, 5.6, 8.0) with both bodies but since that resulted in 32 different files, i just posted the two that are most representative of that series...

ive done the same thing with 4 objects of different distances in the immediate neighborhood. i didnt compare these with shots made with the rebel body but of the ones i shot during a hockey practice definitely show the difference...

i dont know now if its the lens on the 7d or if its just the 7d on its own...

Did you test with IS on and off?

You didn't show anything since you still have the most unstable variable involved, unless you used a tripod, did you?

ajaffe wrote in post #15189374
You didn't show anything since you still have the most unstable variable involved, unless you used a tripod, did you?

oppps. sorry thought i mentioned that the banner was with a tripod and the IS off...

the shutter speed on the banners were/was 1/200th...

um, thats what ive been saying all along. ive got enough time behind the camera to understand all about shooting good pictures, but the issue has been out of focus images with my 70-200 since getting my 7d. some are in better focus than others and i thought it was my lens. now evidence is point towards the body...

Fair enough, now just set up a better experiment with something stationary in a rather open space so that you can tell if you are front focusing, back focusing, or something worse.