Do you send your lenses to Canon for calibration?

How many of you have sent your lenses in for calibration to Canon? I'm getting a couple new lenses in the next month or so and want to make sure they're the sharpest they can be. Should I send them to Canon right away? Should I send them there at all?

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when i buy a lens new, i will use it as it comes unless there is something noticably wrong. in general i tend to wait until the last week, send it in for cleaning before the warranty expires.

I have had no reason to.

Use it, do a real world test!!
Out of all the lenses I have in my Sig the only one that needed to be sent in was the 300f4 on the 5D, it worked great on the 1D body.
My 500f4 will focus right in the middle of the focus range with full micro adj, slight front focus. I may take it in if I get to LA.

Believe me you do not want to send your lens anywhere unless absolutely necessary. It will go through someone's hands and while I am sure most technician know their job very well no one will be as careful with your gear as yourself. I say this because I saw how a lady at the front desk packed my gear without lens caps on both the camera and the lens. When after I managed to compose myself after the shock when I saw this, she just said "Don't worry we will clean it later".

If you're happy with them, just send it at the end of the warranty so you can get free service (just in case there's a tiny thing you don't notice). In the mean time, just use them... I know maniacs who send them right away when they buy them. It,s stupid.

beachbum2277 wrote in post #7986467
and want to make sure they're the sharpest they can be.

well you're able to look and see if they're faulty, right?
use that information to decide if you send them or not

kinda logical

I sent my 24-70 to Irvine for service.

I just couldn't seem to consistently nail focus with it. Canon replaced the chassis, recalibrated the lens and now it is sharp as a tack even wide open.

Shipped it to them on a Monday, received it back that Friday.

All my other lenses are fine.

I don't send them since 5DII is equiped of micro-ajustment !

cherrymoon wrote in post #7989459
I don't send them since 5DII is equiped of micro-ajustment !

Thats fine when you only have one body, my 300 was of by +18 so haw do you think that performed on my mk2? it was crap.

Out of the dozens of lenses I've ever owned, I can only remember ever sending in two. One was a 24-70 because the AF quit, and one was a 50 f/1.4 because it was very soft below f/2, and it didn't come back much better.

Personally I wouldn't send it in unless you know there is a problem.

If you have a 5D2, 50D, etc. that has Liveview, when you get the lens:

- mount lens and camera on a tripod, switch on Liveview, lens to MF and AV at the largest aperture, magnify 5x or 10x, manually focus the lens to the most focused image possible, take three shots of a colorful, contrasty object at a distance you would use the lens at, refocusing in between shots if you wish. Look at the images on your computer at 100%. If the shots are focused and sharp, there is nothing wrong with the lens.

- without moving the camera and tripod at all, lens still set in AV for the largest aperture, change the lens setting to AF, turn off Liveview and take three normal AF shots. If when viewed at 100% on your computer the shots are in focus and sharp, your lens is fine. If they are OOF, front or back, you need to try MA or send the lens in for calibration.

If you can't get a sharp, in focus image with either of the above, perhaps the lens should be replaced or repaired by Canon. If over time you are having inconsistencies with focus and sharpness and you have made sure it is not your error, you can always send the lens in to Canon for adjustment or repair.

It's all simple and logical. Automatically sending a new lens in to Canon, just in case, is a waste of everybody's time and money, and a reason why legitimate adjustments and repairs will take longer for others.

Suggesting that micro-adjustment is equivalent to calibration is not very smart.

You want to make sure that the lens is flawless in abstracto... NOT only in relationship with one given body. Maybe you'll sell it in a few years. You don't wanna explain to the buyer that it needs adjustment. Maybe you'll get a 2nd body for back-up which is older, cheaper, and doesn't have that feature. Calibration makes the lens flawless as per factory specs ensuring that it'll work with any body.

never had a reason to , todate

Rodinal wrote in post #7990094
Suggesting that micro-adjustment is equivalent to calibration is not very smart.

You want to make sure that the lens is flawless in abstracto... NOT only in relationship with one given body. Maybe you'll sell it in a few years. You don't wanna explain to the buyer that it needs adjustment. Maybe you'll get a 2nd body for back-up which is older, cheaper, and doesn't have that feature. Calibration makes the lens flawless as per factory specs ensuring that it'll work with any body.

...I think you would be a lot smarter if you informed yourself as to factory calibration standards that do not necessarily reflect the full capabilities of a lens. By no means is there any requirement that a lens be calibrated to a flawless standard, rather to an "acceptable standard" that you may have the pleasure of finding out for yourself.