60D + Tamron 28-75 not sharp!

Hey guys...

A couple of months ago i update from a 400D to a 60D.
Meanwhile i have actually not used it so much because i have had a lot of work. But since a couple of weeks i started using it more and more.

But the photos don't seem sharp!

It is not just the occasional out of focus photo. It happens the whole time!
In the beginning i thought maybe it was just me not used to the 60D's body. But then it went on... =/
Well, i am not the best photographer in the world, but still, with my 400D the photos looked much sharper!

Let me show you an example:
This is a photo i took the other day and that is ABOVE average. Usually photos don't looks as sharp as this one...
As you can see i had the lens full open at 2.8f

Any chance you could post an image you took with the 400d @ f2.8 just for comparison?

I recently learned that cases like this are likely an AF issue between the body and lens, and it varies from body to body or lens to lens. Some cameras (not 60D unfortunately) have a micro adjust feature which lets you fine tune the AF until you acquire the accuracy you desire. I had a similar issue with my 24-105 L lens which was remedied by the micro adjust feature on my 5D2.

Try to take a pic while focusing as best you can manually and then take the same pic again using AF on the same subject to see if you see an improvement. Use tripod and a 10 sec delay to ensure a perfectly still camera.

I have been using a Tammy 28-75 with my 60D and results were pretty good, The lens you own might need recalibration. You can consult Tamron for the same.

The DOF at f2.8 at that close range is so thin, even breathing will push/pull the focus plane. You need to stop down the aperture and work on your technique. How does it focus at more normal distances such as a few feet or more ?

If you compare 100% from the 60D and 400D, almost always the 400D will be sharper, unless you're using a top IQ lens. 100% crops from the 60D are magnified significantly higher than from the 400D.

However, it doesn't mean that the 60D image has less detail. If you examine the photos at the same magnification (e.g. same size print, or viewing the 400D at 100% while viewing the 60D at roughly 67%) the detail should be the same.

If you experience blur and less detail in the 60D images even when comparing images at the same magnification, then something else is wrong.

Furthermore, try to do some controlled testing, for example shooting a detail-rich, flat surface from both cameras from tripod, live view on 60D (400D does not have it), manual focus on 60D, timer, etc. Then you can draw some conclusions.

gabebalazs wrote in post #14567560
If you compare 100% from the 60D and 400D, almost always the 400D will be sharper, unless you're using a top IQ lens. 100% crops from the 60D are magnified significantly higher than from the 400D.

^
Viewing a 60D image at 100% is equivalent to viewing the original image blown up by about 68X. Viewing a 400D image at 100% is equivalent to viewing the original image blown up by about 51X...a lens would have to be 33% better in 'sharpness' or 'acutance' -- not even factoring in detail resolution -- in order to simply equal the perceived sharpness as in the lower magnification image.

I've contemplating getting the lens. I have both a 60D and a 5Dmkii and found it to be incredibly soft on both on several different copies I've tried. So it reaffirmed me to stick to primes.

Good luck sending your lens to Tamron for recalibration, I sent mine twice and it came the same...

I love my Tamron. I needed to send it in though right after I got it. It suffered from halation caused by an element being out of whack. Only noticeable at 70mm and f2.8.

It came back perfect. It's the lens, in my kit, that I have had the longest, about 5 years. Nothing out there that is worth replacing it, with, imo, so I haven't.

Maybe the new Tamron 24-70 or the new Canon, when it comes out.

People talk about build quality. My lenses get shoved into bags, pulled out of bags, spend time trying to get as many decent shots in concerts as I can (3 songs and you are out). The 28-75 has rolled off my car seat more than once, attached to a body and it still keeps on ticking. The build quality is good enough, imho.

My 28-75 is very sharp, more so on 5Dc than on my 60D which I sold later. At 100% it'll always be sharper on 5Dc compared to higher pixel density camera.

I went from a 40D to a 5D, when I had the Tamron and I was amazed how much better the images looked coming from the 5D and that lens. It was still great on the 40D but......

The day I quit looking at my photos at 100% is the day I became a better photographer!

boguz wrote in post #14567041
Hey guys...

A couple of months ago i update from a 400D to a 60D.
Meanwhile i have actually not used it so much because i have had a lot of work. But since a couple of weeks i started using it more and more.

But the photos don't seem sharp!

It is not just the occasional out of focus photo. It happens the whole time!
In the beginning i thought maybe it was just me not used to the 60D's body. But then it went on... =/
Well, i am not the best photographer in the world, but still, with my 400D the photos looked much sharper!

Let me show you an example:
This is a photo i took the other day and that is ABOVE average. Usually photos don't looks as sharp as this one...
As you can see i had the lens full open at 2.8f

and here is a crop at 100%

Do these seem ok to you?
Is it just me being paranoid?
Is there a way to "test" the sharpness of a Camera+lens?

Can it be that i just notice more the "lack of sharpness" because now with the 60D the pictures have more "definition", more pixels, they are bigger in size so i can see it better?

Well, any thoughts are much appreciated!

Thank you

What was your focus point?, Using a tripod? Shutter speed?

I am sorry that i have been away for a couple of days, but when i now came to see if someone had answer i was really surprised. Thank you all for your help!!!

Well, as some of you suggested, i have tried to do a "controlled comparison".
I have set the camera on tripod, with timer. Both cameras same ISO (200), same aperture in the lens (f/8) and same focal distance (75mm). Manual focus.

Here is the photo from the 60D:

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1770 x 910

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