Out of focus - Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS USM ver 2

bobbyz wrote in post #12151227
Something else wrong if MA can't fix it. Try it on anther body. The lens is really sharp. And 1/125 is nothing IMO even at 200mm. You can easily do 1/30 without problems. A quick snapshot from a while back;

very sharp picture, what was the setting for this picture.

Thanks for the input, it is really helpful. My friend just sent me another photo for comments:

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

tell your "friend" to send me that lens so i test it and figure what is wrong with. pm with shipping info.

1/50s is just too slow, almost always for anything that moves, like a person's head/face while they are talking. It just won't end up very sharp. Also a comment on the first pictures you posted. There is no contrast on the second shot to speak of covered by the focal point. Getting an exact hit is relying more on luck than the focusing system, imo.

bohdank wrote in post #12151640
1/50s is just too slow, almost always for anything that moves, like a person's head/face while they are talking. It just won't end up very sharp. Also a comment on the first pictures you posted. There is no contrast on the second shot to speak of covered by the focal point. Getting an exact hit is relying more on luck than the focusing system, imo.

^

And it is absolutely too slow to handhold a 200mm FL in a perfectly steady manner to avoid camera shake. IS can help to reduce 1/320 minimum per Rule of Thumb to 1/80 but in spite of what might be claimed in marketing literature, 3EV (1/40) is pushing it.

When i first got my 70-200MKII i tested it in the kitchen and shot the below at 70mm, f2.8, ISO100, SS 1/5, handheld and was amazed it came out this clear.

Granted this is static subjects but this lens is a definite keeper IMO so i wonder if his IS could be faulty:

Exif intact

I wander what kind of discussion can be held here. The images look perfectly sharp. In fact at this size and magnification a cheapest P&S would produce an equally sharp picture. The edited image is plainly ugly, oversharpening cannot make a good photo, with exception of some special cases.

Apples to apples. It is not fair to compare 7D to 5D.

bobbyz wrote in post #12151227
Something else wrong if MA can't fix it. Try it on anther body. The lens is really sharp. And 1/125 is nothing IMO even at 200mm. You can easily do 1/30 without problems. A quick snapshot from a while back;

Agree that 100% crops are needed to really see if this lens is up to snuff or not. AND those 100% crops need to be shot with high enough SS in good light to rule out camera shake, subject movement and bad IS.

I've still seen zero evidence in this thread that there is anything wrong with this lens. All I see are images produced by a user that uses to low a shutter-speed for people photography where IS doesn't help anyways and by someone that doesn't understand how to properly apply sharpening to Raw files in post.

Who knows ... there could be something wrong with the lens, but I highly doubt it from what I see.

Refresh Image wrote in post #12152216
Apples to apples. It is not fair to compare 7D to 5D.

No? Considering the shots were both at low isos, I don't really see why not. But that's for another thread .

twoshadows wrote in post #12152220
Agree that 100% crops are needed to really see if this lens is up to snuff or not. AND those 100% crops need to be shot with high enough SS in good light to rule out camera shake, subject movement and bad IS.

Agree. And if the image is shot in Raw there should be an appropriate amount of sharpening applied to counter the effect of the AA filter.

Refresh Image wrote in post #12152216
Apples to apples. It is not fair to compare 7D to 5D.

+1 ^^^

My kitchen test shot was with my old spare crappy Xsi !

Fwiw, I went a couple of months before I sent my 70-200II in to be fixed. Wish I hadn't cause I'm getting orders for 16x24's and 20x30's with the pics that I took with it before it was fixed. It's requiring a lot of extra work to get a less than fantastic image . I guess my point is that if the OP's friend is less than impressed with his/her new lens, there may be a reason.

90c4 wrote in post #12151126
I typically have sharpening set to 7 within DPP, give that a try. with that lens photos should be sharp even at 100% crop.

7?! I've never set my sharpening levels anything higher than 4 with 3 being used 95% of the time. When viewed at 100% to test a lens sharpness, 3 or 4 is more than adequate to remove the blur created by the AA filter. It also has to be focussed correctly with no camera shake which is trickier on higher density sensors.

To be honest, anything above 3 isn't showing lens sharpness, it's showing you software induced sharpness and going above certain settings creates artefacts which can be easily seen at 100% or 200% crops.