Wow, 15-85 sharper than 24-105 4L?

Hello, made comparison shots. Camera 50D. 15-85 shot as is, 24-105 was even micro af via cable and pc via lifeview on pc screen. i always raved by my 15-85, but wouldnt believed that it will beat 24-105 even at f5,6. shots were taken from tripod, and 70 mm focal length.

Oh noes, now what ever will the world do?!!11

:p

Is this normal, or i have bad 24-105 copy?

The 15-85 is a good lens.

why is that even a surprise? 24-105 is no sharper than the 15-85, especially when used on a crop.

I find mine soft on ff compared to any of my prime, it's just gathering dust.

15-85 is the wary to go if you decide to stay on crop.

My first 24-105mm was a dog, it wasnt very sharp at all. My second (Current)one is tack sharp. I use to have the canon 24-70 that I thought was super sharp and my 24-105mm is crazy sharp for a zoom. I think every lens has variations between them. I think I got lucky with this 24-105mm.

The 15-85 is made to resolve for a more densely packed sensor but doesn't need FF coverage, so it shouldn't really be a surprise.

Shift7 wrote in post #14128088
Is this normal, or i have bad 24-105 copy?

lol who cares if it's normal just be happy = )

seoul4korea wrote in post #14128471
lol who cares if it's normal just be happy = )

lol!

Not surprised. The 15-85 has a good rep.

I am not sure if it's because of crop or what.

I used my 24-105 on full frame and it's way sharper than what you got there.

calvinjhfeng wrote in post #14128500
I am not sure if it's because of crop or what.

I used my 24-105 on full frame and it's way sharper than what you got there.

You're taking from the center which is normally the sharpest

Looks like the 24-105 shot's top portion is out of focus. Bottom portion is pretty sharp. Is there a tilt to the paper w/ respect to the focus plane? Did you use a tripod? What is the distance to the paper?

liupublic wrote in post #14128678
Looks like the 24-105 shot's top portion is out of focus. Bottom portion is pretty sharp. Is there a tilt to the paper w/ respect to the focus plane? Did you use a tripod? What is the distance to the paper?

Yes I used tripod. Distance is about 2 meters (6,5 ft). Paper was was upright. Today after batteries recharge I will repeat this test, but with natural light.

seoul4korea wrote in post #14128532
You're taking from the center which is normally the sharpest

So you are arguing 24-105 loses sharpness away from center?
I don't know about extreme corner, but my 24-105 is still tack sharp even if focused on subjects that's away from the center.
And again, you might need to consider OP's using a crop camera. His sensor won't capture the extreme corner of the lens.

Alright let me put up an example.
Straight out from camera, without any sharpening
Taken with a 5D classic, ISO 100, 24mm, F4.0 1/500 sec

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/photonaphy/7005​317335/

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

Shift7 wrote in post #14130785
Yes I used tripod. Distance is about 2 meters (6,5 ft). Paper was was upright. Today after batteries recharge I will repeat this test, but with natural light.

Depth of field is about 3" in front and 3" in the back. So everything on the paper should be in focus. The only thing left would be to use a remote shutter release w/ mirror lock up on a tripod.

There is always the chance that your 24-105 copy needs calibration. Not unusual.