soft pics with new 70-200

I have a 7D, and it appears im getting about 1 out of 10 focused images.
Im still new to this lens and learning what it likes.
90% of all pics so far are in bright daylight, low iso, high shutter speeds.. sometimes even “auto” settings
Been trying IS on and off.
Not a ‘newbie’ to my 7d, just new to this lens.
All hand held, very little tri-pod usage at this time.
Besides the obvious camera settings, does anyone have any lens specific ideas for me to try?
And fyi this is at any focus length.

Very vague post I know, maybe im more venting..

I used the 70-200 on the 7D and had the same issues. I found much later on on reviewing my images that I wasn't accounting for the stupidly thin DOF at 2.8 at 200mm and my focus point needed addressed.

I ended up shooting at f4 most of the time, then got rid of it for an f4 and now I need one again ahaa

Get it on a tripod with a fixed target, and focus using Liveview. Also recommend using a remote release cable, or set the camera to 2 (or 10) second timer to eliminate shake. Take a few shots at f/2.8, 4, 5.6, 8 etc. Probably also best in good light/low ISO (or use a flash for each shot).

If the shots are sharp then the glass is probably fundamentally ok. BTW between each test shot rotate the focus ring so it's very out of focus.

Now turn off Liveview (and turn on mirror lockup) and repeat the test through the viewfinder (using phase AF). If that's bad then you'll need to MFA the lens/body combination. If it's OK then...

Use the lens handheld and repeat. Try different shutter speeds (even with IS you will probably need to keep the shutter speed up a bit at 200mm).

If when on the tripod and using phase AF it seems to be OK at smaller apertures, but soft wide open then that's a good indicator of MFA issues (the thin DOF is missing the target). It can help to have a flat black and white image to focus on (e.g. an ISO 12233 Test Chart), and a ruler on the floor in shot next to the target (helps you to see the plane of focus). Note that there will be shot-to-shot variability - you won't always hit exactly the same focus distance for each shot, so take multiple.

The Dot Tune method is then useful for doing MFA (probably quicker than many other methods).

Hope that help.

James

The ^^^ info is great advice.

If you are handholding, leave the IS ON - it makes a huge difference. Just looking through the lens with the IS ON when it engages you can see how much it stops the lens from moving around - I truly believe the 4-stops better with this lens - I can hand hold it at crazy low SS at 200mm and still get decent shots with IS ON.

I used the DOT Focus tuning method and I have adjusted my 70-200 IS lens by (w=+8, T=+8) for Tungsten light on my 5D3. During the DOT Tune method, I was still able to get Focus Lock at +20 but only at -4 on both Wide =70mm and Tele = 200mm so my lens, at least in Tungsten lighting was still in critical focus but there was very, very little in-focus DOF behind the spot focus point - so using a +8, +8 was very helpful to center the in-focus plane and immediately was noticeable when shooting at 2.8 and 200mm

Paulstw wrote in post #17291809
I used ….

sploo wrote in post #17291833
Get it…..

wallstreetoneil wrote in post #17291842
James….

Thanks paul, sploo, wallstreet, ill be trying this stuff tonight. I don’t get much time in the daylight with our current schedule.. but id like to be able to hit more focused images when we are out on missions. There are many, many kids out here that the expressions on their faces is both amazing and heartbreaking..
Thanks again!

Also post some example images, may be simple user error... Motion blur, or missed focus

post some pics with exif

Digitally_Altered wrote in post #17292035
Also post some example images,...

DreDaze wrote in post #17292230
post some pics with exif

thanks, i would, it's hard here, very low bandwidth, and it takes some time to upload. im on coalition base in southern afg..

Have your misses been mostly moving subjects like the kids you mentioned? If so, were they more or less moving toward you?

PineBomb wrote in post #17293503
Have your misses been mostly moving subjects like the kids you mentioned? If so, were they more or less moving toward you?

If he's on a coalition base in southern afg I do wonder if the misses were due to other types of object moving towards him at some speed. I'm not sure I'd have the cojones to do that job.

PineBomb wrote in post #17293503
Have your misses been mostly moving subjects like the kids you mentioned? If so, were they more or less moving toward you?

very sporadic. The missis of the kids some move some just stand there and stare at us. But..i cant really call those shots missed or soft, as they are taken through a 3 inch thick ballistics (bullet proof) window. So I cant even begin to complain about that as normal human eye vision is skewed at times/angles looking through that glass.

sploo wrote in post #17293739
If he's on a coalition base….

hahaheeehhe, I do say I laughed at this comment. Luckily the cold season is upon us and the talibs have scurried back to their ‘dwellings’ and are hibernating for the season..

I wish I could upload a picture from here in the ‘office’ but for example, I took about 20 or 30 pics of our PTDS the other day. ( see link for an example/description)
These things are about the size of a big motor home, apprx 200 meters in the sky, and for the most part, stationary. I was at iso of 100, and auto, shutter 1000, and anywhere from 2.0-22 on the ap. I know rule of thumb you want it in focus bigger ap number. That’s why I was playing with everything in between.
These PTDS have ropes that attach them and several hanging below it for ground guiding when they lower it. I could get it in focus, but no matter what I tried the ropes were never sharp. Always slightly out of focus. Ill get my camera on the tripod toady and try some shots on the tripod, mirror locked, 2 sec delay, and live view on 10x.. ill see if I can steal some bandwidth from our SF guys and upload a couple pics.
Thanks for all the replies from everyone..
http://www.army.mil …etection_System​_aerostat/

100% crop
F5
1/800
Iso100
200mm

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Can't add too much to the conversation, James, other than to say that on my 7D/70-200 f/4 IS combo, it took me awhile to find that my "sweet spot" was f/9. Set there, just about everything is sharp. Either side of that, the DOF kicked in. But then again, both the lens & body are new to me. Tweaked the MFA (totally new concept for me) until it drove me nuts, but found it was all good at "0" - just user error.

On another note, THANK YOU for your service over there! My two sons (1 Navy, 1 AF) have done 7 deployments combined. Please stay safe & have a Happy (as best you can) Thanksgiving.

bk2life wrote in post #17293868
100% crop
F5
1/800
Iso100
200mm

Yea, that's a nasty image for f/5, ISO100 and 1/800s. At that kind of setting you should be able to count eyelashes on a 100% crop of a portrait shot.

Remind me: is it the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II? Even the version 1 should be sharper than that (unless you're shooting through a really bad UV filter, or a 3 inch thick ballistic windows!)

sploo wrote in post #17293877
Yea, that's a nasty image for f/5, ISO100 and 1/800s. At that kind of setting you should be able to count eyelashes on a 100% crop of a portrait shot.

Remind me: is it the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II? Even the version 1 should be sharper than that (unless you're shooting through a really bad UV filter, or a 3 inch thick ballistic windows!)

No filter, this is handheld, no tripod, but braced up against a door way, with IS on. This is a new purchase IS II, with a date code of early 2014. I have several other pics, just having a hard time uploading ude to the restrictions we have here. I have a picture of a parked car, similira results.
The car was 20 feet in front of me, the balloon is about 200 meters away. I don’t really know that the ‘limits’ are for sharpness at a distance.