How do you test lens sharpness? Tamron 70-300mm VC.

Ok, here is the story.

I just finished doing the controlled shoot, comparing two Canon cameras, my 60D and wife's T2i. The culprit is... my camera. I tried three different lenses on both cameras, from the tripod, remote shutter release, controlled lighting, etc. The shots by the T2i are sharp. The shots by the 60D are really poor. While it is not noticeable when shooting landscapes and looking on the screen, when I tried to do heavy cropping, like a bird on a tree, and using a long telephoto - this is when it looked ugly.

Coincidentally, I noticed recently that I could not get sharp photos using my Sigma 17-70 OS. I decided that I did not like the Sigma, sold it, and bought the Canon 15-85. While it was a tad better, I still had my reservations. Finally, I understand why.

Now, I will have to deal with Canon. Too bad, the camera is out of warranty. Let's see if my credit card will extend it...

A body causing unsharp photos? Never heard of that.

are you positive that all your settings were exactly the same between the two bodies?

Both bodies set up for large JPGs. Made sure that both are set for Av, F/8, 400 ISO. Of course the subject (a doll), the tripod position, and the lighting are the same. Anything that I could have missed?

And the results are consistent over three lenses.

Lbsimon wrote in post #15947955
Both bodies set up for large JPGs. Made sure that both are set for Av, F/8, 400 ISO. Of course the subject (a doll), the tripod position, and the lighting are the same. Anything that I could have missed?

And the results are consistent over three lenses.

AF mode

Thanks. The AF mode in each of the bodies were set for single shot. The lenses had AF on, IS - off (shot from the tripod). Picture Style - standard, even though normally I shoot raw.

I am going to do some more testing tomorrow night, with more lenses.

My visa card adds an extra year of warranty. It expired last week!

"How do I test lens sharpness?"

I don't! I shoot the image and let the results speak for themselves.

can you MF the lenses on your 60D at attain the same look as the images from your t2i?

Naturalist wrote in post #15948006
"How do I test lens sharpness?"

I don't! I shoot the image and let the results speak for themselves.

You probably read the title of the thread, but did not bother to read the content.

DreDaze wrote in post #15948013
can you MF the lenses on your 60D at attain the same look as the images from your t2i?

That's a very good point. I will try to do it tomorrow using liveview and manual focus. Thanks.

Very odd results indeed. I have the lens too and find it totally remarkable for the price. It's the only lens I use now.

It's totally sharp in every aspect. Your results seem to me like the focus is not even on the subject. Are you accidentally moving the focus ring when you are holding it? It's very easy to do with this lens and because you have full time manual focus you might be. I did it to begin with, but it seems a natural placement for your hands.

At longer reaches even the slightest mm of movement will be enough to throw it out of focus.

Worth a try.

If shooting jpg, make sure your picture style is not somehow causing the problem

That said, the photo of the robin almost looks to be focused behind the bird.

You may know this but zoom in on the live view preview to focus better

I had that same problem with my 100-400 on my 60D. it wasn't focusing forward.. or backward, it just seemed to always be soft no matter what. I fixed it. I went and got a 1D MK lll.. lol same lens I did have to micro adjust it a little to the negative side but was a world of difference. But that might not help you. I could never get that lens to look the way it should on my 60D, and other lenses were fine.

I did some more testing last night, again, making sure that both cameras are set identically. Remember, both the 60D and the T2i have the same sensor and the same processor. Again the tripod, the remote shutter release, the controlled lighting, etc. But this time I did AF using the live view with 10x magnification, and manual focus, also with the 10x magnification. The latter was not easy at 300mm!

The results are still the same. The shots done by the T2i are tack sharp. The shots by the 60D are blurry. It was late, and I did not have time to get the shots uploaded here, will do it tonight.

I think that I need to start a new thread, with the subject of poor camera IQ, since it has nothing to do with the Tamron lens.

Lbsimon wrote in post #15949255
I did some more testing last night, again, making sure that both cameras are set identically. Remember, both the 60D and the T2i have the same sensor and the same processor. Again the tripod, the remote shutter release, the controlled lighting, etc. But this time I did AF using the live view with 10x magnification, and manual focus, also with the 10x magnification. The latter was not easy at 300mm!

The results are still the same. The shots done by the T2i are tack sharp. The shots by the 60D are blurry. It was late, and I did not have time to get the shots uploaded here, will do it tonight.

I think that I need to start a new thread, with the subject of poor camera IQ, since it has nothing to do with the Tamron lens.

I reckon this has to do with the T2i sharpening the picture to give a more pleasing image to a consumer. A 7D and 550D were put together and the IQ of the 550D was better on the same settings and lenses.

I think if you are zooming 1:1 then you will notice it more, but I think this is what's going on. Use the Faithful picture style and dial in a couple of notches of sharpness to see if there is a difference. You could always do a reset of the settings on your 60D. maybe something has been changed that is effecting the IQ.