Help! Can't get sharp images unless fully zoomed in

Hi
I have been struggling with getting sharp images at the low and medium ends of my two zoom lenses- fully zoomed images are usually sharp. I have a canon 24-70 2.8 and a 70-200 IS 2.8.

I realize this may be elementary but I can't for the life of me figure out why I can't get sharp images unless I am fully zoomed in. Doesn't seem right! Does it have to do with lighting, speed?

If anyone has time, might you please try to help me with this issue? It's driving me nuts and is affecting my shooting style.

Thanks!

post sample pics with exif, thanks

Would help if you could post a sample or 2 with the exif data intact (perhaps one sharp, and one not sharp)

OK... fair enough! Here are two images, one is tack sharp (the close up) and the other at a distance is out of focus and the best way to explain it when looking at it enlarged is flat, one dimensional, muddy, and pixelated. I can't enlarge them past a 5x7- they look horrible!

Could this be an issue with my UV filter? Please offer any tips or advice. I need to nail my shots for my clients- not just the close up ones!

Image 1 close up
Lens- 70-200 L 2.8 IS USM
1/320 @2.8
no flash
Aperture Priority
Metering: pattern
ISO 250
focal length- 153mm

Image 2 - at a distance
Lens- 70-200 L 2.8 IS USM
1/200 @ 5.6
no flash
Aperture Priority
Metering: pattern
ISO 250
focal length- 78mm

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No one will be able to tell from the small versions uploaded and compressed. The one on the right looks fine considering the lighting of the shot and size of the image.

Can you upload the full size images somewhere?

Are you saying that from the same spot 2 pix taken with 2 diff. focal lengths have different sharpness?

There are a lot less pixels covering the detail for the closeup shot, so it is difficult to compare. You have a head fillling say 10MP in the first, and there might be 0.10MP covering a head in the second.

Are you sure you are focusing properly? There are certainly more wrong places to focus in a shot like the second one.

And finally, if you are having IQ issues, a filter is usually one of the first variables to eliminate. Try a few shots with and without.

slqc@comcast.net wrote in post #9023752
Could this be an issue with my UV filter? Please offer any tips or advice.

Remove the filter and try again?

I wonder if the OP is trying to Zoom In, Focus, Shoot and Zoom Out without re-focusing?

Canon Still Lenses are not "Parfocal" and will not retain focus throughout the zoom range...

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #9025308
I wonder if the OP is trying to Zoom In, Focus, Shoot and Zoom Out without re-focusing?

Canon Still Lenses are not "Parfocal" and will not retain focus throughout the zoom range...

Obviously coming from someone who has zoomed in a studio TV camera to focus and then zoomed out... nice call, good possibility.

TheHoff wrote in post #9025314
Obviously coming from someone who has zoomed in a studio TV camera to focus and then zoomed out... nice call, good possibility.

Oh, Three or Four along the way, yeah...

Ok- so do you mean that I shouldn't move the zoom in and out while in continuous burst mode?

I get that and I'll try a test BUT this even happens when I take my first image of anyone at any distance. I've had this problem since day one- I'm convinced it is my user error somehow- I just need to figure out what the error is to fix it!

One responder asked if I was focusing correctly? I use auto focus and generally work with one focus point (usually on the eyes if close or face if at a distance).

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? It's driving me crazy. I don't think I've ever gotten an in focus shot at a distance. They look fine at 4x6 or on the web but when someone wants one enlarged I find myself in a ton of trouble! I shoot in RAW and expect some loss of contrast but the majority of my images have barely any contrast...

Please... any settings on your camera you care to share? Do you use a UV lense? (I do but mainly for protection) ... Is there something totally elementary that I am forgetting here?

Thanks in advance!

anyone?

Can you post 100% crops of each photo so we can see just how much of a problem you're having?