new 70-200 AF issues??

Actually, just send it back. You're convinced the lens is bad, so it really doesn't matter if it is or not. It doesn't help that you have people here assuming its bad without seeing any samples that prove it to be so.

I'm really not saying that to be a jerk, its just the only thing that will remedy the situation.

Shakes head

DDCSD wrote in post #7621649
Actually, just send it back. You're convinced the lens is bad, so it really doesn't matter if it is or not. It doesn't help that you have people here assuming its bad without seeing any samples that prove it to be so.

I'm really not saying that to be a jerk, its just the only thing that will remedy the situation.

He should be able to put the camera on full auto and shoot all day and get some amazing shots with that lens... Sure, some would be a little under or over exposed... but the problem he's having is very extreme... those focus levels are rediculously bad.

OK guys I am not 100% convinced it is the lens (yet), I did do a tripod test and it WILL focus on a still object. I do not have the Tamron anymore I sold everything I had to BUY THIS LENS plus the 17-55 2.8 IS.
I have posted all of that, but I didn't pay that kinda money to take STILL shots. I wanted a lens that I can take great candid shots and shots of my son playing sports. I am having problems with the AF. It seeks in low light and I cant get a shot while panning with a car going 25 MPR, how is this thing going to stop or at least focus while my son is hitting a baseball?

So I want help I am here asking for it, IT WILL take a focused shot while sitting perfectly still on a tripod, if I am sitting on the couch and I want to take a picture of my guitar in the corner of the room and I remain very, very, still and hold my breath it will take the shot, but I can not stage every candid shot in this manner, I really, really, thought this was a fast enough lens to do what I needed, if 500th of a sec is going to get me a shot of my kids playing in the yard then I think you would be a little deflated too.
So please if everyone here agrees I need to ran some test or learn how to use this lens better I will do so.

Just to mention I have more then a few shots where the focus is behind my subject, yes it will focus fine on a tripod but it just freaks me out when I take a shot at 640th of a sec and the focus point is dead on and the picture come out two foot to the left and behind my subject.
It could be all this is a normal learning curve with an L series, I will play with it some more today and if I am not 1000% it not the lens I will call B&H tomorrow.

I'm done with this thread... evenyually he'll figure out out how the focus system works, how IS works, how to track a moving subject, how aperture affects DOF with a longer lens and what's required as far as shutter speed to freeze a moving subject.

He needs someone else to actually test the lens out, first.

I just went back to my shots from yesterday trying to find more proof it's all my fault, and I came across two picture of my daughter outside, af point dead on, and the two shutter speeds were, 500th and 1000th of a sec. one was f4 the other f2.8. I know my shooting abilities and I honestly feel that those two shots should have been in the bag.
I do appreciate your help bohdank, why this thread got so personal I don't understand, I did the tripod test, now you tell me I don't know how to use a camera more or less. If 1000th shutter speed doesn't grab my girl outside with my best camera skill face on then what else can I do?

There is more to getting good action shots than shutter speed and aperature. Shutter speed is a biggy on moving objects, but there are other variables like was IS on, was IS in panning mode, were you using AI Servo, etc.

AI Servo is tricky because focus will go in and out quickly as you pan if you are not directly on the object. I would try with AI Servo and shoot a burst of images with continuous shooting. Out of a burst of 5 or 6 images, see if any of them are sharp. If they are, you probably need to work on technique.

Truthfully, you should probably send it back. You are not happy with it and probably never will be. It could be something with the lens. It is unlikely, but possible. Most complaints of focusing problems or front and back focusing are blown out of proportion. However, there could be a problem. You can return it and get your money back or send it back to Canon for calibration. If it comes back with the same problem, then it is you. You will need to send your camera with the lens to be sure on the calibration.

I have a 40D and the 70-200mm F2.8L IS. I got it after having both versions of the 70-200mm F4L. I had been shooting with the F4L versions for about 3 years. The 70-200mm F2.8L IS is my favorite lens. My first shots with it were not as good as my F4L versions. After shooting a couple of soccer games, my shots were as good or better than the F4Ls. However, the 2.8L IS could get shots in the early evening that the F4Ls could not get close too. The times I miss a shot are if the ref or another player moves through the frame.

What kind of filter are you shooting with? Brand, type etc.

I don't understand why it's so hard for some to believe that the lens could be at fault. I think even the most basic of camera users would have to try pretty hard to go through an afternoon session and get zero good shot from a 70-200 lens.
Now factor in a person that is familiar with shooting with a DSLR already, and one that is familiar with telephotos and familiar with IS lenses. If they go an afternoon without getting a single good shot under those circumstances, then the lens is no good.

Great, you can pick apart every shot he posts and describe how its his fault; he could post all day long and you could keep doing the same thing. I'm not going to make him post all fifty of his shots to see that they are out of focus, I'll take him at his word as I've got nothing to loose or gain from what he is saying.
And at the same time I will believe his is a reasonably capable shooter that would be able to get some good results from a 70-200 f2.8 IS lens. My 70-200's have been fantastic in terms of grabbing AF, even on areas that were crap conditions; and the times that were way off were usually due to a chain link fence or similar between me and the subject.

I think he said he got some good shots, just very few. He finally did a controlled test on a tripod and I believe he indicted that the images were sharp. I can assure you that a basic camera user could take a 70-200mm for an afternoon of shooting moving images in low light and come up empty handed.

Looks like you got a lemon to me and no one wants to admit it !

Send it back.

No one is saying that there is nothing wrong with the lens. What we are saying is that nothing that has been shown to prove anything one way or the other.

I would expect to get a low number of keepers shooting moving targets at 1/160s. I would also expect to get a low number when shooting moving targets with the AF on "one-shot". I would also expect to get a low number in AI Focus. The same goes for shooting right at the edge of the lens' MFD.

Combine all of these factors together, and it would be easy to assume a faulty lens when that may or may not be the case.

bohdank wrote in post #7622356
He needs someone else to actually test the lens out, first.

yep

After owning a 70-200 2.8 IS for about a year and a half now, and always having tack sharp images. The other day I was hand holding the thing for a whole day of shooting, and realized I was getting OOF shots. I was a little puzzled.

Problem solved: This is a heavy lens especially after a few hours of shooting. I was cupping the base of my palm on the zoom ring, and this was enough to move it a bit just before the shot.

I would suspect you might be doing the same thing, especially since you are getting sharp photos on the tripod.

Take note of your hand position on the lens.

Hope this helps.