Somethings not right with this rented 70-200mm L f2.8 mk ll. HELP!

I just rented the 70-200mm L f2.8 Mk ll from lensrental.com. I received it a couple days ago but didn't have time play with it. I rented it for a pageant I was photographing today and this morning I go outside to microadjust. I was not able to get the lens adjusted and I tried all the way from -20 to +20 and none of the images were sharp. I was pretty heated seems how I was about to go photograph a pageant. My 24-70mm L 2.8 is ALOT sharper then this Mk ll lens. Of course it is the weekend and i'm unable to reach lensrental. After the pageant I went home and performed a focus test to see if it's front or back focusing but it was fine. I don't know what is wrong. I know when I micro adjusted my 50mm f1.4 and the 24-70mm lens you could see changes as you in each picture that has different micro adjustments until you find the sweet spot. With this rented lens none of the adjustments made it any better.

you know people are going to want to see pics...

it seems like you're just looking for problems if you instantly micro-adjust lenses...but what do i know...i don't have that feature...but even if i did, i don't think i would go to micro adjust right away...

agree with DreDaze... post some pics but seems like you are one of those guys that looks for problems where there aren't usually any...

I always seem to return my adjustment to 0. Let's see those pictures.

I don't have micro-adjust I have 5 lenses all were sharp right outta the box! no problems...

I formated that cf card before i left for the pageant. Let me retake the pictures tomorrow morning and i'll upload to my website then post them tomorrow night. I'll also post a pic of the 24-70 to compare. I find it a little comical everyone asks why I micro adjust? Maybe because I want the best results from the lens and I didn't have time for trial & error to find out if it would needed adjusted.

Should have tested the lens upon arrival instead of shooting day?
Like it always amazes me when people say they upgraded their camera (2days before the wedding) or new fancy lenses but struggled to use it..

So did you bring the lens to shoot or not? Were you shooting in daylight or studio? kinda hard to believe that the focustest came out positively, but didn't look sharp dhen you tried MA. I wonder what kind of method was used when you were microadjusting?

ProjectNineFive wrote in post #12008990
..I find it a little comical everyone asks why I micro adjust? Maybe because I want the best results from the lens and I didn't have time for trial & error to find out if it would needed adjusted.

Probably because it's comical to say that you didn't have time for "trial and error" which is exactly what you did by "trying everything between -20 and +20

On a less tongue in cheek note, though; without seeing the results you were unhappy with, exif info no one here's going to be able to make any suggestions or offer any help.

Oh I am sorry... I thought trial & error was actually doing maybe a couple photoshoots to figure it out. Instead I spent 15 minutes microadjusting. I guess everyones meaning of trial & error are different.

reprazent wrote in post #12009152
Should have tested the lens upon arrival instead of shooting day?
Like it always amazes me when people say they upgraded their camera (2days before the wedding) or new fancy lenses but struggled to use it..

So did you bring the lens to shoot or not? Were you shooting in daylight or studio? kinda hard to believe that the focustest came out positively, but didn't look sharp dhen you tried MA. I wonder what kind of method was used when you were microadjusting?

I had the lens for 2 days but because of work I was unable to test it prior to the day I needed it. So it wasn't my intention to wait last minute. I was using it for a pageant. I had to bring the lens to the pageant because I don't have a telephoto lens. That was the whole point of renting the lens. Even though I wasn't happy with the micro adjusting I still had to use the lens.

When I did MA it was on a tripod with a timer during the daylight.

If it were me, I would put the lens back to "ZERO" MA and shoot at f/5.6 or even f/8. That will minimize any focus errors. If you don't get sharp photos, the lens is bad not the MA.

If you can't get sharp photos at f/8 try it with the IS off. It's possible the lens was damaged in shipping. It could be just the IS is malfunctioning.

Micro Adjust doesn't make your lens take sharper photos. All it does it move the focus point slightly forward or backward. Even if you took a bunch of photos with the MA set from -20 to +20 and all points in between, the average photo will have some points somewhere in the frame that will be 100% in focus and they will have to be sharp.

I think MA is highly over-rated when it comes to zooms. Especially slow zooms or if you usually shoot a fast zoom stopped down. It's really only fast primes that can really benefit from MA, and only if your camera is precise enough to consistently hit the same focus, and only if the focus is not thrown off by changing the focus distance from near to far.

ProjectNineFive wrote in post #12009488
I had the lens for 2 days but because of work I was unable to test it prior to the day I needed it. So it wasn't my intention to wait last minute. I was using it for a pageant. I had to bring the lens to the pageant because I don't have a telephoto lens. That was the whole point of renting the lens. Even though I wasn't happy with the micro adjusting I still had to use the lens.

When I did MA it was on a tripod with a timer during the daylight.

You had to work for 48 hours straight???


FWIW I rented this model from LR in early November and the instance I received was awesome. UPS in Ft. Bragg, not so much.

I've had quite a few dealings with Lensrentals.com and they have always overdelivered in the service area. If I had a problem out on the road and I sent them and e-mail at 3AM on a Sunday morning, I would awake with an answer in my inbox. If you look at their contact page they list their office hours and state e-mail and IM is the way to go when the office is closed.

skifurthur wrote in post #12010891
I've had quite a few dealings with Lensrentals.com and they have always overdelivered in the service area. If I had a problem out on the road and I sent them and e-mail at 3AM on a Sunday morning, I would awake with an answer in my inbox. If you look at their contact page they list their office hours and state e-mail and IM is the way to go when the office is closed.

Thank you for the info. I tried calling them but they were already out for the weekend. I will email them.

I will be posting pictures tonight.