XF 16-55mm - Do I have a bad copy?

canetsbe wrote:

Rod McD wrote:

Hi,

The f2.8 image looks awful to me, even if it wasn't the ideal aperture. Nothing seems to be in focus anywhere in the image. Which leaves various possibilities.....

• Was it focused too far (beyond infinity, if that is possible on the 16-55 - it is on many AF lenses). And how/why?
• Was it focused too near? Seems unlikely.
• Was it on a tripod with the IBIS left on?

Other than those ideas, I'm stumped I'm afraid. A suggestion.... Put the lens on a tripod, IBIS off, and re-shoot using manual focus assisted by 10X magnified view. Try several shots refocused between each. If you get the same results, it's probably the lens optics, if you nail sharp focus, it's not the optics and you may have an issue with your camera's AF accuracy at that distance.

Then try it (still on the tripod) with the IBIS on, and see if that re-induces the loss of sharpness. If it does, it's the IBIS generating movement and it will confirm that you need to turn it off when using a tripod.

You could also repeat these tests at closer distances and see what results you get.

Regards, Rod

Thanks for the suggestions, Rod. Those are good ideas for troubleshooting. The photos above were shot hand held with IBIS enabled. I am inclined to believe that this is indeed a problem with the lens itself, as I get the same results when shot using my X-Pro 2. And other lenses seem to focus just fine on these bodies, without any issues focusing at distant landscape subjects.

Hi again,

You're right that there's clearly something wrong, and the fact that you're getting good result with other lenses suggests that it's something with that camera / lens combination. Remember that they are a system working together - it's the system that's giving you the results and it's not the same system with other lenses.  However, if you're thinking of returning it to Fuji and arguing that it should be replaced when their service response is that it tests OK, you'll probably need to be able to demonstrate more than belief.

I'd still advocate the process of elimination that I suggested above.  To which I would add, for landscapes, an additional test of shooting it slightly closer than infinity and at a distance well beyond the hyperfocal distance for 55mm and each of your selected apertures.  That test should nail whether it's focusing too far (beyond infinity).  If a lens manually focused beyond the hyperfocal distance for the FL and aperture doesn't produce a reasonably sharp infinity, there's something else wrong.  (That's with a standard default COC in the DOF calculator.  If you're going to pixel peep, print large, or otherwise be very particular, halve the COC in your DOF calculator when you calculate the hyperfocal distance you use for the test.)

All tests on a solid tripod of course.  With IBIS off.  Record notes carefully and post the images to tell us what results you get, and we'll help if we can.

Hope that helps,

Cheers, Rod