Focus Issue on New Canon 135mm f2 L ?

Luxologist wrote:

A simple explanation would've been sufficient. However, read a few of the replies and you'll see, adding a tripod to the equation was not the implication. I'm not being over-sensitive, I'm annoyed at those who post holier-than-thou replies, or make insinuations that a person is ignorant, or on some level beneath them.

I read them and disagree, there were some that were a bit less than polite, but for an internet forum, it really isn't bad. When the train comes off the tracks it gets pretty horrible. People are far less polite on the net than they would be in person, sadly.

Ignorant isn't a bad word, it simply means uninformed about something. If you are here asking for advice it would follow that you might be ignorant about some of these things. No one here knows how much you know, etc...so I'm just pointing out that typically responses assume that you know nothing at all. I won't deny that there is an arrogant subculture on this (and every other) internet forum, but I still don't see it in many of the replies in this thread, personally.

I never once stated or implied that I was a perfect photographer and that I suspect my gear has a problem. Not even close. I expressed a concern over a brand new lens that is exhibiting a focus issue I've not seen on my other lenses. Now, that being said, with the exception of my 85mm, all my other lenses have been zooms.

Yeah, even zooms though can certainly have issues. I don't think it's an issue of zoom vs primes, more of an issue of thin depth of field and tolerance of accuracy. 135mm f2 has pretty thin DOF, so when there's a miss you know it! And if something is a little out of calibration you have more misses. But the same can happen at 200mm f2.8, for instance, at some distances, because the total DOF isn't a lot. So all kinds of things come into play that you wouldn't see at say, f4 or f5.6.

The test that I would recommend is on a tripod see if it behaves consistently at different distances, if so then micro-focus adjustment can resolve any issues. If not, then you'll need to talk with Canon about it.

So, if there is a technical issue that I need to learn or be aware of with prime lenses of this nature, then that's why came for advice. I have recently decided to switch to all primes so I get there will be a learning curve to some degree. I just thought this would be a good place to get it all sorted. Again, I seem to have been mistaken. Thank you for your input. I will look into micro-focus adjustments.

Certainly primes are a little different, and I personally find them more enjoyable when I have the choice. There are a lot of good members here from whom you could get some good information, but of course there are others as well...it's the internet.