70-200 f2.8 IS USM II w/7D at 2.8 have soft focus isuues

[tvstaff]

Hi All!

Did a shoot this weekend indoors under three different lighting conditions and distances and at 2.8 using a 7D at varied ISO's 100 - 1600 and Shutter Speeds I'm getting consistent soft pictures at 2.8. NO other issues above 2.8

I'm wondering if anyone here can give some advice as the lens has been TACK sharp at the F 5 - 7 ranges for me outdoors.

Am I missing anything here when we start to get into 2.8 indoors

1 . florescent lighting - could it affect focus beam?

2. Combination of sun, florescent and incandescent at the same time, could this affect focus beams with a mix of blue, green, orange light?

3. Could the 7D - 70-200 combination at 2.8 require any special attention

Using on static objects for portraits, good contrast, single point focus, need exceptional DOF effects at low light and 7D set to max at 1600 ISO. 2.8 outdoors still tack sharp.

Thank you.



TVSTAFF

 

[Gearóid Ó Laoi Garry Lee]

[No message]

 

[tvstaff]

Gearóid Ó Laoi, Garry Lee wrote:

--
Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh (Irish Gaelic)
A good word never broke a tooth.

I've had MUCH better results for the 70-200 f2.8 USM IS II. I rally think as in my first post I'm doing something VERY wrong. Any advice is MUCH needed.

Sincerely and thank you

 

[billorg]

I have had 2 copies of this lens and have sent them both back for front focusing at 2.8. I am waiting on the third. If no good, I am giving up on the lens. I am using it on a 5DMIII. The first 2 came from the big NY store and I could tell they had been opened and returned (probably for the same reason). I threw in the towel with them and ordered elsewhere for the 3rd, so we will see if any better. I tried micro AF with no consistent results, but you could try adjusting into + numbers on MFA to see if things start coming into focus. Bill

 

[tvstaff]

billorg wrote:

I have had 2 copies of this lens and have sent them both back for front focusing at 2.8. I am waiting on the third. If no good, I am giving up on the lens. I am using it on a 5DMIII. The first 2 came from the big NY store and I could tell they had been opened and returned (probably for the same reason). I threw in the towel with them and ordered elsewhere for the 3rd, so we will see if any better. I tried micro AF with no consistent results, but you could try adjusting into + numbers on MFA to see if things start coming into focus. Bill

Bill,



Thanks for your reply. I've found that playing with MFA when a lens is soft at just one F stop NEVER has worked for me. I tried that with another lens I now LOVE!!! And Canon made it right.

My concern is that it's me. So I'm open to hearing from others before I send back a lens I REALLY need this time of year even if I lose a full f-Stop as at 4.0 the issue stops

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the same lens with me and looking my at my shots. Enjoy the 5DMIII, it's a great and piece of equipment.

Best regards,



TVSTAFF

 

[vander]

Something that I learned quickly with this lens was the way I was focusing and then composing. I didn't have a lot of experiences with a zoom and a lens this fast.

I tend to use the center AF point, will lock onto a subjects eyes and then recompose, which was causing issues because at 200mm, f2.8 there is a fraction of an area in focus. Simply me altering the plane of the camera was creating mis-focused shots which was frustrating me until someone else pointed that out. I never thought about it and they were so correct. I now start using other AF points when shooting that long and that wide open.

Maybe this contributes to some of the problems?

 

[tvstaff]

vander wrote:

Something that I learned quickly with this lens was the way I was focusing and then composing. I didn't have a lot of experiences with a zoom and a lens this fast.

I tend to use the center AF point, will lock onto a subjects eyes and then recompose, which was causing issues because at 200mm, f2.8 there is a fraction of an area in focus. Simply me altering the plane of the camera was creating mis-focused shots which was frustrating me until someone else pointed that out. I never thought about it and they were so correct. I now start using other AF points when shooting that long and that wide open.

Maybe this contributes to some of the problems?

 

[LordofTheFlies]

tvstaff wrote:

Gearóid Ó Laoi, Garry Lee wrote:

--
Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh (Irish Gaelic)
A good word never broke a tooth.

I've had MUCH better results for the 70-200 f2.8 USM IS II. I rally think as in my first post I'm doing something VERY wrong. Any advice is MUCH needed.

Sincerely and thank you

Same issue!

 

[vander]

Hmm. Likely out of my range of knowledge, sorry. That does sound weird.

 

[billorg]

Can you explain this more? I also use the center point and I have the "pinpoint" spot also turned on so I can get a very small area to focus on (think rows of whisker holes on the muzzle of a dog). I need to be able top repeatedly focus on an area like that and not have it pull forward or back. How would using other points help in this case? I am pretty sure the 2 lenses have been off, bit I want to make sure there is not something I am missing. Thanks, Bill

 

[LordofTheFlies]

billorg wrote:

Can you explain this more? I also use the center point and I have the "pinpoint" spot also turned on so I can get a very small area to focus on (think rows of whisker holes on the muzzle of a dog). I need to be able top repeatedly focus on an area like that and not have it pull forward or back. How would using other points help in this case? I am pretty sure the 2 lenses have been off, bit I want to make sure there is not something I am missing. Thanks, Bill

Vander,



You can use the joystick below your "Start Stop" button on the right hand back side to move the focus point around so you can frame out any way you want.



Under C Fn III 3. you should be on 0 if youre shooting still or solid objects this way your camera won't keep searching

Under C Fn III 9. you should be on 1. This way you'll see all your option for the focus point you want

If shooting with IS on turn it off if your camera is braced or on a tripod.

Based on your distance make sure that the 70-200 is set for long or short distances.

If using your LCD don't forget that you can also increase your ability to zoom in even more than the lens to see those tiny hairs by using the plus and minus buttons upper right. Good for minute detail on tripod best.

I THINK this is what you're asking??? <ROFL>

As for TVSTAFF's pictures. I'd be happy if mine came out that way and he thinks they should be better? My 70-200 is no where as crisp as his. But his pictures are beautiful.

 

[Apewithacamera]

What iso are you using in these photos?

 

[tvstaff]

Apewithacamera wrote:

What iso are you using in these photos?

Ape,

I'm marking them in my OP. Sorry!

TVSTAFF

 

[tvstaff]

Sorry the info was not in each. They were too big to upload. Any help is very much a BIG thanks! Shot 7 is not an issue as I wanted this effect. 1-6 show the lack of TACK-SHARP results I'm used to with this lens. Trying to find out why this issue is ONLY at 2.8. Thank you

1. ISO 125 – 1/125 – 70mm – f2.8
2. Same – Same – Same – Same
3. ISO 125 – 1/100 – 70mm – f2.8
4. ISO 160 – 1/100 - 70mm – f2.8
5. ISO 640 – 1/125 – 200mm – f2.8
6. ISO 250 – 1/250 – 135mm – f2.8
7. ISO 1600 – 1/4000 - - 200mm – f2.8

 

[vander]

This may help you. It's an article that explains what I've referring too. Hope it helps a little.

The Problem With The Focus-Recompose Method

This post was written as a follow up to my last article on using Single Point AF. In the comment section of that article there was a bit of debate over which focus point to use and when. One camp was stating that there was really no point in using anything other than the center […]

digital-photography-school.com

 

[billythek]

Those statues don't appear to have a lot of high contrast horizontal or vertical lines for the phase-detect AF to key on. If you happened to put your focus point in the middle of a big white area with low contrast, I could see that the AF might have a problem. Were you trying to focus on an edge? You don't mention your focus procedure, which is why I ask.

This seems like a good place to use either live view AF (contrast-detect), or live view manual focus with 10X zoom. The statues aren't going anywhere. Are you able to use a tripod? That would help.

Finally, if these are RAW captures, sharpening in post, or increasing clarity could make a large difference.

 

[tvstaff]

billythek wrote:

Those statues don't appear to have a lot of high contrast horizontal or vertical lines for the phase-detect AF to key on. If you happened to put your focus point in the middle of a big white area with low contrast, I could see that the AF might have a problem. Were you trying to focus on an edge? You don't mention your focus procedure, which is why I ask.

This seems like a good place to use either live view AF (contrast-detect), or live view manual focus with 10X zoom. The statues aren't going anywhere. Are you able to use a tripod? That would help.

Finally, if these are RAW captures, sharpening in post, or increasing clarity could make a large difference.

 

[tvstaff]

vander wrote:

This may help you. It's an article that explains what I've referring too. Hope it helps a little.

http://digital-photography-school.com/the-problem-with-the-focus-recompose-method

 

[billythek]

tvstaff wrote:

billythek wrote:

Those statues don't appear to have a lot of high contrast horizontal or vertical lines for the phase-detect AF to key on. If you happened to put your focus point in the middle of a big white area with low contrast, I could see that the AF might have a problem. Were you trying to focus on an edge? You don't mention your focus procedure, which is why I ask.

This seems like a good place to use either live view AF (contrast-detect), or live view manual focus with 10X zoom. The statues aren't going anywhere. Are you able to use a tripod? That would help.

Finally, if these are RAW captures, sharpening in post, or increasing clarity could make a large difference.