Canon EF 400mm f/4L IS DO II USM

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #17946158

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/EFpa​di Sandhill portrait by MedicineMan4040, on Flickr

Proof positive of the sharpness of a DO lens.

advaitin wrote in post #17949278
Proof positive of the sharpness of a DO lens.

An image that small can't prove sharpness. Any lens can make a small image that is sharp, even if slightly out of focus.

Although the MFD of 3.3m is less than ideal for close and small subjects you still can get some decent images... One example, showing one of the first spring flowers in Switzerland, taken in the last rays of the setting sun - Leucojum vernum.

Great Blue Heron
Canon EOS 7D Mark II | f/7.1| 1/1600 |ISO 500 @400mm

That Gannet is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now where do I have to go to see one???????????????

Gannets are moving North in large numbers now. This was taken from island 1 of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) near Virginia Beach, VA . Most were far offshore but a few passed close by.

^CR we'll be in Iceland in 6 weeks and last night I googled where/if any there.
There are two huge colonies but it looks like one is an island and the other is the cliff face of
a giant sea stack---neither will be within my reach but but but maybe one will give me a fly by
on the mainland across from the sea stack...that will entail a bit of a walk but that's ok.
I'm not taking any big EOS stuff though....if I get a Gannet it will have to be with my little
GX8.

John Sheehy wrote in post #17949511
An image that small can't prove sharpness. Any lens can make a small image that is sharp, even if slightly out of focus.

Here, are these big enough?

Photo from advaitin's gallery.
Image hosted by forum (711546)

Photo from advaitin's gallery.
Image hosted by forum (710240)

Very nice.

Theory versus real world. I'd say in the real world the 400DO I or II is quite sharp.

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #17951352
Theory versus real world. I'd say in the real world the 400DO I or II is quite sharp.

Yeah, I cheated, bringing up images from my lens. Having a Version I copy that meets and exceeds my expectations means I'm unlikely to ever switch to the version II.

Haha Charlie, you don't need to switch.

Yes we know, too small, not sharp, out of focus, horrible bokeh, blown out highlights, no catch light, etc.
No C/C please.
Either you like it or you don't.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Ft9P​RC

I like it!

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #17951352
Theory versus real world. I'd say in the real world the 400DO I or II is quite sharp.

It's more a matter of illusion vs reality.

Sharpness has more to do with processing than optics for the size of images allowed here. It is no challenge to put up a 1MP image that is sharp on a web page, even with a basic lens, and even if focus is slightly off. Take any image here from someone, downsample to a sharp 1MP, then upsample to 20 to 50MP, and stick it on their HD, and they will delete it immediately when they see it at 100% or even 50%.

Now, if you're showing a 100% crop and tell us what sensor was used, then we might tell if the lens is sharp or not.

I don't know why this has to keep being repeated. One of the first things a person should learn IMO, being a digital photographer, is how processing affects results.