Need advice on Micro adjustment on 5D2

I have noticed that when I shoot with the 100-400 lens that sometimes my images are OOF.
So I tried the micro adjustment and I am not sure what to conclude.

Here is a pic taken with the 100-400 at 400mm f5.6 ISO 800, 1/400sec on a tripod. IS off

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

Your last shot is the sharpest of them all in my opinion. If you have the option to take it back, take it back and get another one and test it to see if it works better for you.

Well the store doesn`t have the 5D2 in stock now so that is not an option.
I just got off the phone with canon and they want to see some samples.

Any advise of what kind of samples I can send them.
I don`t have a second body to compare to but I know my 5D was sharper with every lens.

Should I give the focus chart a shot and see how things turn out?

At this point, you've got too many variables in the air to be sure of anything.

Put a prime lens on the camera to test it at one distance.

Use something other than a box and see what you get. Use the focus chart thats floating around or a ruler.

Kris, why are you adjusting for closeups? Is that all you plan to shoot?

Canon recommends testing/adjusting at 50X the focal length of the lens. For your lens at 100 mm that'd be 5 meters, or about 16 feet.

As it happens, I just finished posting on this subject in another thread: https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=7305290&po​stcount=16

-js

number six wrote in post #7305331
Kris, why are you adjusting for closeups? Is that all you plan to shoot?

Canon recommends testing/adjusting at 50X the focal length of the lens. For your lens at 100 mm that'd be 5 meters, or about 16 feet.

As it happens, I just finished posting on this subject in another thread: https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=7305290&po​stcount=16

-js

Well I started adjusting because when I used the 100-400 at 400mm some shots wre quite out of focus even though the focus was dead on the subject and at fast shutter speed

Here are the test chart results.

Canon 35L at f1.4, iso 100, 1/2500sec

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

I gave up using that chart - found the best thing to test relatively close up focus was a wooden ruler... and then something else with sharp contrast and texture for a distance focus test. I also tested at both the longest focal range and the one i most commonly use for the particular lens.

Setup...
good even lighting
tripod
longest focal length
widest aperture
one shot
centre focus point
mirror lockup
tethered to Canon EOS-Utiluty
focus set to infinity prior to each shot
take 2-3 pictures at each adjustment and choose the best
copy into photoshop and align each shot as layer in order to compare

Made a significant autofocus improvement in my camera: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=644203

Kris,
When you take the picture w/ the 100-400 at fastest f-stop and performing the micro-adjust, do you start at -20 and work thru the entire range by steps of 5?
I also move the focus out of focus manually so the lens/camera has to adjust every step.

I know you are thinking the body is acting weird - but i did not see how you stepped thru the micro-adjust.
If it helps - you can tape the target on a wall to help get further back and still achieve the 45-ish angle.

Rai33 has a good step thru....

Maybe I'm less picky than you, but the chart shots all seem fine to me. Sharpest on the line, what more can one ask?

But as already pointed out, the real world test should be done a lot further from the camera.

I used the info in this post and found it easy and accurate. -- John

John's linked post is the same method I used to mico adjust my 1D III. Worked fine for me with all my zooms.

You also have to keep in mind that some of the lenses you used, although sharp, are not primes and cannot be compared to such.

Microfocus be damned, I'd take the camera over to Canon and get the thing adjusted for free and then I'd play with the microfocus if need would arise.

This microfocus feature Canon's introduced, while fine in principle, is causing a lot of grief to many people who are looking for that razor-super-duper sharpness that may be impossible to achieve (depending on the lens) and it's not mean to replace a good calibration by Canon's own lab methods. Microadjust is but a quick fix.

That said, don't worry too much about the pixel-peeping sharpness, go out and take photos in the real world. Go out and enjoy your camera.

Were you hand holding when you used the chart since the IS was on?