Just got my 70-200 2.8 v2

Just got my 70-200 and on the whole it lives up to expectations.
I do have a couple of questions for seasoned users.

(a) It appears that sharpness declines (with my copy) after 170mm and on to 200mm. I'm not saying the images are soft but noticeably not as crisp.

(b) The I.S. works well at low shutter speeds (sub 1/30) although it never seems perfect but, at higher shutter speeds it actually seems to degrade the image. Granted I should probably switch I.S. off after about 1/400 but is this normal?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I mostly leave the IS on... you could just have a fluke of a copy. sometimes though you will get some kinda wierdness going on with IS on and shutters in the 2000+ range.

I tested one of these lenses last week and found that as with the 70-200 f4 IS, at 200mm wide open and close distances (near MFD) it is definitely softer. I can't say I noticed a substantial difference between 150 and 200mm at longer distances though.

ejenner wrote in post #17540901
I tested one of these lenses last week and found that as with the 70-200 f4 IS, at 200mm wide open and close distances (near MFD) it is definitely softer. I can't say I noticed a substantial difference between 150 and 200mm at longer distances though.

exactly that

thought my copy was dud when I first got it, near or at MFD sharpness noticeably declines as you move away from the image centre, turns out it's just the way the lens is (confirmed with a few other copies amongst friend and a forum member)

funny it's not something that's mentioned when you read reviews, granted it's not often you'll be using the lens in that circumstance but only saw one working photog who did a review on the lens noticed it and brought it up

I don't notice degradation throughout longer focal lengths either, perhaps lens is actually misfocusing just a tiny bit that's not being picked up at shorter focal lengths due to bigger dof?

Have you performed a micro-focus adjust on the lens? Most lenses tend to exhibit a trend toward the focal length extremes wherein they don't focus at the same point as in the middle. Part of that is optical and part is mechanical; in either case, MFA might be the answer.

I'm thinking mfd might help a bit but I find it difficult on long lenses due to my crappy tripod.

Try the Dot-Tune method (http://www.fredmiranda​.com/forum/topic/11872​47), it's less dependent on tripod stability than taking images and comparing sharpness.

Having played some more I'm begining to think most of the problems are my own fault.

I am surprised at how thin the DOF is at 200mm 2.8 and now think me swaying or subject motion has more to do with non focused images than calibration errors.
I do a lot of wandering around with my 85mm at 1.2 and assumed 2.8 would give considerably more depth.
I may have got that wrong.

Can anyone recommend the best AF setting for subjects that most likely will move?
I have it set to one shot at the moment.

fordmondeo wrote in post #17542624
Can anyone recommend the best AF setting for subjects that most likely will move?
I have it set to one shot at the moment.

Seems like AI Servo would be the answer to that?

I'll give that a go then.