Need help to identify problem..70-200mkII

Guys I need some expert opinions on whether I have a bad copy of the 70-200mkII.

So i was out in the park with wife and daughter this morning. Took some snaps and am just not happy with the sharpness of my copy.

below are some examples, imported to LR and export without any tweaks. (I do believe the default sharpness has been applied thou)

All EXIF intact, 5D2 + 70-200mkII @ 200mm, f2.8, ISO200, 1/200, Al servo, center point only. No crop.

1) This one is really soft. She was still at the time...

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More tests... F4, f5.6, etc...
See if you find it sharper stepped down

And don't test in AI servo!!

SMP_Homer wrote in post #14876467
More tests... F4, f5.6, etc...
See if you find it sharper stepped down

And don't test in AI servo!!

Thanks for your reply SMP_Homer. Sure I have shot my lens @ f4 and f5.6 etc and of course it does sharpen up nicely.

But it still looks way too soft @ f2.8 (at least with my examples above). I took ~30 photos this morning and they are all pretty much like this.

I am just trying to work out if it's an user error or one can see anything iffy going on with my copy. I guess it can be the body too??

Don't test still subjects with AI Servo - go to One-Shot for still subjects. And do you have the minimum focusing distance switch on the lens set appropriately? I used to find my 70-200 would be soft if I accidently forgot it on the 3m-something side, if the subject was farther away then that.

Christina.DazzleByDesi​gn wrote in post #14876588
Don't test still subjects with AI Servo - go to One-Shot for still subjects. And do you have the minimum focusing distance switch on the lens set appropriately? I used to find my 70-200 would be soft if I accidently forgot it on the 3m-something side, if the subject was farther away then that.

Thanks for your reply Christina. Can you comment on these real life shots thou? Can you see anything that I could have done wrong?

Reason being I have certainly run some simple focus test with my lens and although nothing scienctific, it seems to be ok. But as we all know, shooting living subjects is always more difficult than static one despite the fact that they were dead still when I took those shots (especially my wife).

The focusing distance switch is set properly. The lens didn't hunt when focusing. It's just that I find the output a lil soft

Maybe post some 100% crops of the focus area of each of the pics. I can't really tell from looking at the largest size of the pics on your flickr From what I see at this size, it doesn't look that bad, but 100% crops would help

Here's the 100% crop for pic 1 and 2...

2 is by far the best out of the 3 but still not up to par imho. It looks soft as hell

#1 looks out of focus. Check the GAP part of the little girl's sweater. Is that part in focus?
#2 looks decent to me - possibly a problem due to her glasses?

Maybe your lens is front focusing a little bit?

Is the focus limiter on?

Christina.DazzleByDesi​gn wrote in post #14877620
#1 looks out of focus. Check the GAP part of the little girl's sweater. Is that part in focus?
#2 looks decent to me - possibly a problem due to her glasses?

Maybe your lens is front focusing a little bit?

You maybe right about #1. I blame the 5D2....I guess upgrading to 5D3 is inevitable

#2 might have something to do with the glasses like you said. Still very soft imo.

davidc502 wrote in post #14877624
Is the focus limiter on?

It's at the right spot. 1.2m to infinity.

Christina.DazzleByDesi​gn wrote in post #14877620
#1 looks out of focus. Check the GAP part of the little girl's sweater. Is that part in focus?
#2 looks decent to me - possibly a problem due to her glasses?

Maybe your lens is front focusing a little bit?

I agree, have you tried micro-adjusting the lens yet?


You also need get the camera/lens combo on a tripod to rule out all other possibilities.

looks soft. I would try without AI servo as already recommended.

Don't blame the camera... blame the photographer!

1. Is there a filter on the lens? If so... remove it.
2. Are you using the lens hood?
3. Use One Shot for still subjects, when you want critically accurate focus. AI Servo is for moving subjects and isn't as critically accurate. Also, with 5D/5DII in particular, if you use AI Servo and have Focus Assist points enabled, choosing the center one manually still allows the camera to shift to using one of the hidden assist points instead.
4. Actually, Live View focus is even more accurate than One Shot. It's darned slow, though.
5. Stop down a little. Nearly all lenses improve sharpness a bit.
6. Micro adjust the lens to the camera. If you haven't done that, you shouldn't expect perfection.
7. Zooms usually cannot be fully micro adjusted. What works for one focal length is unlikely to be the exact same adjustment needed for any other focal length.
8. Do your tests with inanimate subjects, on a tripod, trying to elminate all variables other than focus.
9. Stop testing and pixel peeping.... Go shoot. In particular, portraits such as these don't need to be razor sharp and show every little detail.

For AI Servo shots, these really don't look bad. It's the wrong focus mode to be testing focus and expecting perfection, tho. One Shot would have been a better choice, since the subjects weren't moving.

Images look a little underexposed to me, maybe 1/3 or 1/2 stop. That could be computer monitor and ambient light variation, though. Subjects are low contrast... too. As might be expected, shade also is a little cool colored light, images might benefit from a little warming up (but the mottled sunlight in the background might get overly warm). This has nothing to do with focus accuracy tho...

how do you focus recompose with AI servo?