Some help with my new 10-18mm IS STM please?

Hello everyone,

I recently bought into the Canon system with a 760D and 55-250mm IS STM & 10-18mm IS STM.

I have had some really great photo opportunities recently, but have a concern about my 10-18mm. I have shot several photos on it now, but none of them seem as sharp as other images I've seen online shot with the same lens. To emphasise, I can't seem to find any point on the photo that is sharp, as I zoom in on the photos it all seems a little out of focus.

I'd like for you guys to critically look at the following photos, and honestly tell me if it seems like user error, a genuine issue with the lens or me just having high expectations.

As a side note, these JPEGs are straight out of the camera. I have focused either using 10x magnification in live view on MF, or auto AF (both on aperture priority).

I must admit that because I have recently purchased this lens, I'm almost looking for problems because it's a lot of money to spend.

But if it is just me, I'll be more than happy to accept that with you guys' opinions.

I have really enjoyed using this lens and am really happy with the images, it's just that I'm disheartened when I zoom in to check if they can be printed large.

Thank you everyone, I appreciate your comments.

I'm going to guess it's diffraction. f/11 is not going to result in the sharpest images with a wide angle focal length and the small pixels of the T6s.

Diffraction starts setting in on this sensor at apertures smaller than 5.9 according to some charts I've seem.  You can go smaller apertures with longer focal lengths because diffrection is a function of actual aperture size and f/8 on a 300mm lens is much larger than on a 10mm lens.

Can i ask if you are comparing this lens to your other lens, shooting the exact same thing, or just expecting to see more sharpness?

Those images look quite low in contrast and id expect that, coupled with a lower end crop sensor wont have the sharpness a shot in good light with a better sensor will give at 100% viewing.

Also as stated f/11 will not be giving you the sharpest image quality.

Also if you are comparing your straight out of camera shots with posted shots you need to be aware that a lot of people will process their shots before posting, and this can make a huge difference in the final image quality.

I love mine and its one of the sharpen EF-S lenses ive owned on my 80D, but of course at this price point there can be more sample variation.

These images are not straight out of the camera with this resolution:
1,920 × 1,280
Your Eos 760 AND this lens can do better.
Learn software, shoot RAW, shoot f8-f10 and all will be fine.
BTW beautiful landscapes !!

Thank you for your input.

trulandphoto & dave_bass5, I used f/11 because I read that landscape photos will be at their best between f/11 and f/16, so that a lot of the photo can be in focus. If I went to an aperture of <f/6, would this not mean that my depth of field decreases, causing some parts of the image to be out of focus?

dave_bass5, I think I was just expecting more sharpness. When you say 'sample variation', does this mean I may be better off returning my current 10-18mm for another? This is really the question I am asking on this thread: Whether or not the lens is faulty.

FD - thank you, it is a lovely landscape (shame I couldn't do it justice!). You made a good point about the pixels. When I say 'out of the camera', I used the Canon direct WiFi connection to my iPad, and uploaded the JPEGs from there. I have now had the opportunity to upload the full res JPEGs onto my laptop. I won't upload all the images again, but here are a couple:

ispyej wrote:

Hello everyone,

I recently bought into the Canon system with a 760D and 55-250mm IS STM & 10-18mm IS STM.

I have had some really great photo opportunities recently, but have a concern about my 10-18mm. I have shot several photos on it now, but none of them seem as sharp as other images I've seen online shot with the same lens. To emphasise, I can't seem to find any point on the photo that is sharp, as I zoom in on the photos it all seems a little out of focus.

I'd like for you guys to critically look at the following photos, and honestly tell me if it seems like user error, a genuine issue with the lens or me just having high expectations.

As a side note, these JPEGs are straight out of the camera. I have focused either using 10x magnification in live view on MF, or auto AF (both on aperture priority). ...

A couple thoughts:

1. Appears to be a lot of atmospheric haze that will severely limit the reslolution you can get in the distance.
2. On what did you focus? They all seem to be focused very close rather than to the hyperfocal distance.
3. The image below seems to have flare on at least two axes instead of one. If you're using a "protective" filter, don't. www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Lens-Flare.aspx?Lens=950&Camera=736&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0&LensComp=0&CameraComp=0&FLI=0&API=3

IMHO, YMMV

It's a matter of sharpening.
When using RAW you can add it later.

I had some problems with my 10-18 at my 100D with focus through the FV.
In LiveView all is oké.
Using (Canon) DPP and lens correction in RAW will help.
Have Fun with this great lens and enjoy the landscapes !

bent christian wrote:

Looking at the two full-resolution photos, I can't find anything in focus. Absolutely nothing. The issue appears to be something other than than diffraction at f/11. Diffraction would be minimal at this aperture in a crop sensor.

Like I said, diffraction starts on this sensor at f/5.9 at normal focal lengths. super wide like this would be even larger aperture.

Some areas would still show focus.

"focus" and softness are different things but can be confused. Diffraction results in softness. At 10mm and f/11 on a crop sensor you could almost focus anywhere and the entire shot is "in focus."

The fact that you don't see anything "in focus" indicates it's not a focus issue.

I can't help but wonder whether there's atmospheric haze or something of the sort. Sometimes cameras sees it better than human eyes do.

bent christian, I'm very much leaning towards what you said. Even when I try to MF in live view, I can never get to that point where it is tack sharp. I think that after taking 50+ photos with not one being in focus, I might just return the lens for peace of mind.

trulandphoto I appreciate your opinion on this, and it's given me a lot to think about. It's hard to judge who is saying the right thing and what the real solution is to the issues I'm having. My logic is that if I do have any hint of doubt, the best thing I can do is give myself peace of mind and return the lens while I still can.

Lemming51 - 1) I seem to remember the conditions weren't overly severe for a good photo. I may be wrong, though. 2) The camera focused in the centre of the photo, so the large mountain ridge. 3) I used no filter. I accept that flare will happen on this kind of lens. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

FD - I understand what you're saying about the photo needing sharpening in post processing. But after bent christian's comment, my gut feel is that there is something wrong.. I don't understand how every JPEG is out of focus.

bent christian wrote:

trulandphoto wrote:

bent christian wrote:

Looking at the two full-resolution photos, I can't find anything in focus. Absolutely nothing. The issue appears to be something other than than diffraction at f/11. Diffraction would be minimal at this aperture in a crop sensor.

Like I said, diffraction starts on this sensor at f/5.9 at normal focal lengths. super wide like this would be even larger aperture.]

Diffraction does not present itself like this in crop sensors at f/11.

Some areas would still show focus.

"focus" and softness are different things but can be confused. Diffraction results in softness. At 10mm and f/11 on a crop sensor you could almost focus anywhere and the entire shot is "in focus."

Even if I defocus my lens?

The fact that you don't see anything "in focus" indicates it's not a focus issue.

Ummm....no. It does not indicate that definitively at all. If the lens isn't focusing correctly or the user is in error, it would be entirely possible to capture nothing in focus.

No it wouldn't be. The range of focus for a crop at 10mm and f/11 is like from 18 inches to infinity. If you can manage to get nothing in focus in that range you're special indeed.

G'night.

Dareshooter, I have sharp photos from my 55-250mm IS STM which I'm glad about. Did you get a third replacement with any better results?

Although this doesn't help much ive just taken a distance shot at f/11 with mine on my 80D. I know its not quite the same thing but 100% inLR shows very, very acceptable sharpness. This is what i would expect of this lens so i suggest you get yours replaced and try again.

Before that though i'd try more shots, in good light shooting something with more contrast (if you haven't already). Even if focus was off in those shots something should be in focus somewhere if its just a focusing issues.

I'd say the lens is heavily de centered but i find it hard to tell with these shots.

This may not make any difference but I see all of the photos are at ISO 200. Does your camera have highlight tone priority? If so, is it turned on? If it is, you might try turning it off and seeing if that makes any difference. HTP will enhance the dynamic range; I don't know if it can affect overall sharpness.

I said I didn't know if HTP would have any negative impact on sharpness but wondered if it could. ISO 200 in all of the OP's samples leads me to think he might be using HTP.