Forum Opinion Please

[Mike Engles]

Hello

I would appreciate the opinion of Canon 100-400 users.
Is this image as good as it gets? I am using it with a 5D2.
One is a screen grab fron DPP and the other is a 100% section









Thanks
Mike Engles

 

[carlk]

No you should be able to do much better than that.

 

[jimbrobb]

Hi, I agree ... not much fine detail. Should be better, even at ISO 800.

I see you are using micro adjust, maybe that needs adjusting?

A good way is focusing on a coke can in a grassy area ... when you sharpen you see the in focus line really easy.

But, yeah should be a bit sharper.

Jim

 

[Mike Engles]

Hello

Thanks for the replies.

I have been through many hoops with this lens and a previous one. This lens replaced the previous one at the beginning of March after it went back and forth to Canon UK over 5 times in the last 3 years. It has all the electronics replaced, but it still was very unreliable.

This replacement seems if anything worse. Initially I could not calibrate it (it seemed to need +25) and then Canon did a calibration to the body. The combination still front focussed and after many test images I settled on +5. The results are just very soft. It is possible that Camera AF module is unreliable.
These are some more images













The one of the cloth seems pretty good and it looks like the calibration is correct.
I guess I will just have to take it back again.

Mike Engles

 

[jimbrobb]

Hi,

The cloth looks ok to me.

I use DPP using RAW files and get best results sharpening to +7 for this lens.

Also I've heard that this lens suffers a bit in poor light (pigeon shot?).

Here's a shot the other day. It is acceptably sharp 1:1 (printing to smaller would be really sharp)



Jim

 

[dswtan]

Your pigeon looks like my albatross, Mike.

I'm finding these results are typical on autofocus with the 100-400 on my 7D, even with microfocus adjustment.

Is yours taken on a tripod? Mine's handheld, and about as good as it gets for me personally -- muddy in the feathers. (This is after some processing too.)

These days I am trying more to use manual focus (albatross is auto servo or AI) and always a tripod/remote release if I can. That needs a more static subject though, so...

The snowy owl is done using the latter -- but unfortunately not really close enough to compare feather detail. I need another albatross!

 

[Mike Engles]

Hello
Thanks for your reply.

Yes that does look very good. I find that all is pretty well fine in good light, but very variable in dullish light. Having said that I have also had bad focussing in light that is contrasty and bright like in your picture. I only use the centre point with the invisible points enabled and have a feeling that the AF on the 5D2 is not doing as much as it should be able to. I know that the 5D2 has a bad reputation in this regard. I also find that having calibrated the lens pretty well at +4 to+6,for single shot AF, I still get excessive front focus in Servo mode.

This seems to happen 7 times out of 10. I do use 6 or 7 for sharpening but wanted to show the default quality. The Pigeon picture was taken at 10m away, but it still should be better than it is. I have some in full sun that are pretty good, but still amongst them unexplained out of focus ones. All the pictures are handheld.









This last is a pigeon taken in full sun and is very good.





Mike Engles

 

[haywire]

This is handheld with sharpening x2

 

[suboc]

Mike,

Your image (to me) looks like classic camera shake under less than ideal conditions. If you just got this lens, it's going to take a little time to get good with it. Ideally, a tripod is reccomended but in cases where one cannot be used, brace yourself on or against something. Handheld shoot no less than 1/1250th sec and shoot multiple shots (continuous). The reasons explained below.

I have been a firearms instructor for many years and one of the most common mistakes shooters make when shooting pistols unsupported is slamming the trigger when they beleive they are lined up with the target. This usually results in low shot placement or worse, erratic (all over the target) placement.

I figured out after years of photography, the same thing happens to many photographers. While trying to shoot photos (especially wildlife), many photographers, including myself, can actually see the movement of the subject matter through the lens when handheld. In an effort to get the best photo, photographers (like shooters) "slam" or "jam" the shutter button when they have what they beleive is the best composure or when they have a moving subject best alligned within the frame. What shooters don't realize is that in doing this (just like shooting pistols) it causes a very minute amount of shake. At 400mm+ the slightest amount of shake causes a blurry photo. I was giving a photogrpahy class a couple of years ago and discovered that the easiest way to compensate for this until you learn SMOOTH shutter actuation is to shoot high rate continuous shots in multiples of three or more. The theory behind this is that the first shot might suffer from the "slam" of the shutter and each subsequent shot less so. I have several in-flight bird shots that the first shot is a bit fuzzy, the second, less so, the third better and the fourth is sharp. Fortunately after thousands and thousands of shots, I've learned through muscle memory to "press"the shutter rather than "slam" it although I still get excited on occasion and find myself hitting it harder than I should resulting in fuzzy shots. With the 400mm there's definately a learning curve. Just like shooting, it takes practice. Hope this helps...
--
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