Blurry Images with 75-300mm Lens

Hermeto wrote in post #4432208
...

To the OP: Get rid of 75-300 and start saving for 70-200 f/4.
Difference will be like night and day.

Hermeto wrote in post #4432569
…which I never mentioned in any of my posts.

I mentioned 70-200 f/4 only for the comparison of quality, but I never suggested buying it.
OP didn’t ask for the advice for replacing the existing lenses, and purchasing advice was not given.

???

anyways, that's beside the point. We will need to see some sample images to properly help the OP.

Attached is a sample pic I took on the weekend. Note the little guy seems to be a bit soft, and this was consistent in all the pics I took.

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Below are some shots I took using the focus test I found in another thread. One is with the Canon 75-300 and the other with my Tamron 28-300.

These were taken in low light, using a flash, and a bit (okay very) rushed so I realise they won't be that accurate. BUT they seem consistent with other pics I took which point to the Canon front focussing. However I'm a complete newbie so maybe it's user error.

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I have the 90-300mm canon non-IS lens and I like it, sometimes better than the 70-200 2.8 L I also have. The L doesn't handle filters very well, to get a good shot from it I have to take them off (just leave them on for protection) or use manual focus.

Mike

Here's another sample pic. The rock in the foreground seems to be more in focus than the lion.

I'm not imagining this, am I?

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Hermeto wrote in post #4432208
To the OP: Get rid of 75-300 and start saving for 70-200 f/4.
Difference will be like night and day.

Pardon my ignorance, but how much of a difference is there in terms of zoom between the 200 and 300? I mean, is it simply only 66% or are there other factors to consider?

The reason I ask is I like the 300's ability to zoom in real close to the subject. The same pics using a focal length of 200 would require more cropping to get the same composition, no?

Yes they'd need more cropping, if you couldn't get closer. Use your lens at 200mm and then 300mm to see the difference.

Based on the focus chart and the shots you've taken with the lens thus far, I think it's pretty clear your 75-300 is frontfocusing. Objects which are slightly closer to you than the target are in perfect focus while the target is slightly soft.

The focus test chart shows your Tamron to be focusing correctly.

Do you have another lens you can test focus with? Preferably a fast prime or something. If not, you may be able to go to a camera shop and test your camera there. The idea behind doing another test with a different lens is to determine whether the frontfocusing is due to a problem with the body or with the 75-300. I suspect the latter, but it's the only way to be sure.

EDIT: as an alternative, you can send both your 75-300 lens and your camera body to Canon to have them calibrated. Your gear is second hand so they might charge for that, but it might be worth doing anyway.

blackcap,
Judging by the photos you posted, ex the little guy, a little software USM (unsharp mask) made it look sharp. Good capture with his tongue out
ex2. the photo of the lions, the rock seems to throw off vision, because the rock behind the lion is sharp also, so is the lions ear and the back lions rear leg. Maybe caused by animal movement?

Just my guess

If you need to do a little sharping in PP, that is fine. The shots are not awful. I PP every shot I take.

And just to justify comments above, user error is a real problem for newbies. I know the weight of the lenses and the DSLR's is something to work with. Get used to holding the camera securely. I shoot Tv a lot and that way, I'm able to control blur just little bit more. I brace my left arm on my side because the camera and lenses I use now are considerable. Keep working at it. The 70-300 IS is not a bad lens. But like anything worth learning about, it takes time.

kinda hard to tell in web size, but that lion looks pretty nice. Try shooting at F/9 and things will come out better.

As for the focus chart, perhaps you do have a front focuser.

Look like good shots to me! You cannot expect too much from this lens. Its cheap, and the optics are not the greatest. Stop down and that will help the sharpness (at the expense of shutter speed, and perhaps noise due to the increased ISO to keep the shutter above focal length * 1.6). PP the shots a little and if you don't like the quality start saving for a better lens

It looks like you have a front focus issue, Canon can fix that for you.

nice captures.

kcbrown wrote in post #4437173
Based on the focus chart and the shots you've taken with the lens thus far, I think it's pretty clear your 75-300 is frontfocusing. Objects which are slightly closer to you than the target are in perfect focus while the target is slightly soft.

The focus test chart shows your Tamron to be focusing correctly.

Do you have another lens you can test focus with? Preferably a fast prime or something.

Thanks for your comments, and to everyone else as well.

The only other lens I have is the kit EF-S 18-55. I might try the focus test with that today.... but I've already sent the 75-300 to Canon to inspect so I hope it doesn't turn out to be the body at fault!

dfoo wrote in post #4438333
Look like good shots to me! You cannot expect too much from this lens. Its cheap, and the optics are not the greatest. Stop down and that will help the sharpness (at the expense of shutter speed, and perhaps noise due to the increased ISO to keep the shutter above focal length * 1.6). PP the shots a little and if you don't like the quality start saving for a better lens

I have been comparing my shots to some others on Flickr using the same lens, which is why I noticed the blur in the first place. I guess it's possible the other pics have been sharpened in Photoshop or something, but given the focus test it does look like a bit of front focus.

Also I like to keep the aperture as wide as possible to maximize background
blur and I'm aware that will contribute to some blurring on the subject. But as long as the area I'm focusing on is sharp then I can live with that.

Anyway the lens is with Canon now so I'll see what they say.