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MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

Started Dec 14, 2015 | Discussions
tvstaff
tvstaff Veteran Member • Posts: 3,264
MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

Hi, I'm having trouble getting my 2.8 300mm IS USM II back to tack sharp.

Using a 1DX on Case 6, AI SERVO, Single Point with a cross-point, Lens set to Mode 3. Focus set to +2 for Focus and Second shot.

I tried FOCAL and I'm getting mixed results from 0 to +3 to +7 so the results are erratic.

Here are 4-5 example of recent shoot and to be honest I'm not happy with the focus. No issue with other lenses including a f2.8 70-200 and f/2.8 400mm or even my 1.2 85mm

Any advice? Here are a few recent shots and one other when the lens was spot on... Thank you!!

This is when the lens was humming... Even at 2.8 the lens was spot on!!

Now at 4 or 4.5 I can't get the clarity I did before at 2.8

Now at 4 or 4.5 I can't get the clarity I did before at 2.8

Now at 4 or 4.5 I can't get the clarity I did before at 2.8

Now at 4 or 4.5 I can't get the clarity I did before at 2.8

Now at 4 or 4.5 I can't get the clarity I did before at 2.8

Now at 4 or 4.5 I can't get the clarity I did before at 2.8

Now at 4 or 4.5 I can't get the clarity I did before at 2.8

Now at 4 or 4.5 I can't get the clarity I did before at 2.8

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 tvstaff's gear list:tvstaff's gear list
Canon EOS-1D X Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Canon EOS-1D X Mark III Fujifilm GFX 100S Canon EF 35mm F1.4L USM +28 more
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM Canon EOS-1D Canon EOS-1D X
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salamander1 Senior Member • Posts: 1,427
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

god, she's beautiful.

tvstaff
OP tvstaff Veteran Member • Posts: 3,264
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

salamander1 wrote:

god, she's beautiful.

Yes, she is stunningly beautiful physically and an equally gorgeous person with a good soul

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 tvstaff's gear list:tvstaff's gear list
Canon EOS-1D X Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Canon EOS-1D X Mark III Fujifilm GFX 100S Canon EF 35mm F1.4L USM +28 more
riknash Veteran Member • Posts: 6,874
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

I can't observe clarity loss of the provided samples on my phone screen. I'd send in both the body and lens to have Canon check and clean. I recall you have two 1DX? Same results on both?

 riknash's gear list:riknash's gear list
Canon EOS 7D Mark II Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EF 24-70mm F4L IS USM Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x HTC One
Sports Shooter
Sports Shooter Senior Member • Posts: 1,648
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

tvstaff wrote:

salamander1 wrote:

god, she's beautiful.

Yes, she is stunningly beautiful physically and an equally gorgeous person with a good soul

Tvstaff, it's probably user error from your hand trembling while taking photos of this gorgeous young lady I suggest that you turn IS on!

When I compare your subjects to the rugby guys I take photos of brings tears to my eyes

On a serious note a trip to Canon of the 300 + 1Dx to calibrate them together should solve the problem

 Sports Shooter's gear list:Sports Shooter's gear list
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Canon EOS R6 Canon EF 85mm F1.8 USM Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS II USM +14 more
tvstaff
OP tvstaff Veteran Member • Posts: 3,264
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

tvstaff wrote:

salamander1 wrote:

god, she's beautiful.

Yes, she is stunningly beautiful physically and an equally gorgeous person with a good soul

Tvstaff, it's probably user error from your hand trembling while taking photos of this gorgeous young lady I suggest that you turn IS on!

When I compare your subjects to the rugby guys I take photos of brings tears to my eyes

On a serious note a trip to Canon of the 300 + 1Dx to calibrate them together should solve the problem

Good idea my friend... this is above my pay grade! Off to CPS my children go!
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 tvstaff's gear list:tvstaff's gear list
Canon EOS-1D X Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Canon EOS-1D X Mark III Fujifilm GFX 100S Canon EF 35mm F1.4L USM +28 more
tvstaff
OP tvstaff Veteran Member • Posts: 3,264
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

I can't observe clarity loss of the provided samples on my phone screen. I'd send in both the body and lens to have Canon check and clean. I recall you have two 1DX? Same results on both?

Yes, same on both. I'm taking yours and Sports Shooters advice. Just make a nice safe box for my children's journey to CPS.
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 tvstaff's gear list:tvstaff's gear list
Canon EOS-1D X Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Canon EOS-1D X Mark III Fujifilm GFX 100S Canon EF 35mm F1.4L USM +28 more
Sports Shooter
Sports Shooter Senior Member • Posts: 1,648
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

tvstaff wrote:

tvstaff wrote:

salamander1 wrote:

god, she's beautiful.

Yes, she is stunningly beautiful physically and an equally gorgeous person with a good soul

Tvstaff, it's probably user error from your hand trembling while taking photos of this gorgeous young lady I suggest that you turn IS on!

When I compare your subjects to the rugby guys I take photos of brings tears to my eyes

On a serious note a trip to Canon of the 300 + 1Dx to calibrate them together should solve the problem

Good idea my friend... this is above my pay grade! Off to CPS my children go!
--
Feel Always Humble - "FAH" - You'll Learn More
http://www.KissMyKite.com

Needless to say don't MA the lens to the body when you receive them and use the pair together all the time Post a few samples ( same model or better please ) after the calibration.

I sent my 400/2.8 L IS and 1D MKIV to Canon and the difference is sharpness and AF was significant.

 Sports Shooter's gear list:Sports Shooter's gear list
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Canon EOS R6 Canon EF 85mm F1.8 USM Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS II USM +14 more
Starkiller Regular Member • Posts: 204
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

Case 6 focuses on whatever is closest to the camera and allows phase detection. I would not use it unless your subject is more than three times the closest focusing distance away.

 Starkiller's gear list:Starkiller's gear list
Canon EOS-1D X Canon EOS 5D Mark III Canon EF 35mm F1.4L USM Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM +5 more
tvstaff
OP tvstaff Veteran Member • Posts: 3,264
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

Starkiller wrote:

Case 6 focuses on whatever is closest to the camera and allows phase detection. I would not use it unless your subject is more than three times the closest focusing distance away.

VERY INTERESTING!!!  What would you suggest for my Kitesurfing.... which case?

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 tvstaff's gear list:tvstaff's gear list
Canon EOS-1D X Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Canon EOS-1D X Mark III Fujifilm GFX 100S Canon EF 35mm F1.4L USM +28 more
BigBen08 Veteran Member • Posts: 7,473
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

tvstaff wrote:

Hi, I'm having trouble getting my 2.8 300mm IS USM II back to tack sharp.

I tried FOCAL and I'm getting mixed results from 0 to +3 to +7 so the results are erratic.

I've MFAed my 300 f2.8 IS II / 1D4 combo many times. I also get mixed results that seem to vary with distance to target. So I just leave MFA = 0 and get razor sharp images.

I'm interested to see how things work out when you send your lens/body to Canon.

BTW, you have a very attractive and well designed web site!

tvstaff
OP tvstaff Veteran Member • Posts: 3,264
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

BigBen08 wrote:

tvstaff wrote:

Hi, I'm having trouble getting my 2.8 300mm IS USM II back to tack sharp.

I tried FOCAL and I'm getting mixed results from 0 to +3 to +7 so the results are erratic.

I've MFAed my 300 f2.8 IS II / 1D4 combo many times. I also get mixed results that seem to vary with distance to target. So I just leave MFA = 0 and get razor sharp images.

I'm interested to see how things work out when you send your lens/body to Canon.

BTW, you have a very attractive and well designed web site!

Thank you BigBen  I also look forward to getting my 300 and other 1DX body back from CPS after Christmas. I'm just glad it's the Winter when I have 3 months off from shooting kitesurfing   Plenty of time now to edit and edit and edit......

I'm thinking of just having that 1DX body for the 300 and 400 2.8 primes, the other 1DX for everything else. And then seeing how the new 1DX MKII plays with each lens....

Me trying to MA even close to what Canon CPS can do with BODY / LENS mating is fruitless

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 tvstaff's gear list:tvstaff's gear list
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BlueRay2 Forum Pro • Posts: 14,816
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

tvstaff wrote:

salamander1 wrote:

god, she's beautiful.

Yes, she is stunningly beautiful physically and an equally gorgeous person with a good soul

dayem....she looks perrrrfectly clear to me

Neil Schofield Contributing Member • Posts: 744
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

Have you tried one shot focusing, it has been known to sometimes work on static subjects, and it's the only way to calibrate your lens using AFMA on a target

tvstaff
OP tvstaff Veteran Member • Posts: 3,264
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

Have you tried one shot focusing, it has been known to sometimes work on static subjects, and it's the only way to calibrate your lens using AFMA on a target

No I have not. Will you expand please? Thank you.
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Feel Always Humble - "FAH" - You'll Learn More
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 tvstaff's gear list:tvstaff's gear list
Canon EOS-1D X Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Canon EOS-1D X Mark III Fujifilm GFX 100S Canon EF 35mm F1.4L USM +28 more
Neil Schofield Contributing Member • Posts: 744
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

AI servo is designed to track moving subjects, one shot is designed for static subjects

If you try to AFMA lenses using using a target in AI servo you will find you get very inconsistent results, however if you do it in one shot you will get consistent results, so the same will apply when shooting normal subjects

tvstaff
OP tvstaff Veteran Member • Posts: 3,264
Re: MA on 2.8 300MM IS USM II - Any thoughts?

Neil Schofield wrote:

AI servo is designed to track moving subjects, one shot is designed for static subjects

If you try to AFMA lenses using using a target in AI servo you will find you get very inconsistent results, however if you do it in one shot you will get consistent results, so the same will apply when shooting normal subjects

Thank you! Yes. I do use Focal in Single Shot.  Thank you again that was nice of you!

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 tvstaff's gear list:tvstaff's gear list
Canon EOS-1D X Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Canon EOS-1D X Mark III Fujifilm GFX 100S Canon EF 35mm F1.4L USM +28 more
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