Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM + EOS 6D Focusing Issues

I recently got this lens (used), and it seems to be performing well when taking pictures of relatively close subjects. I walked around the city, taking many photos, and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Here is an example:

The focusing problem, however, became evident when I tried to shoot far away subjects such as mountains. No matter how I focus, using AF or manually, the focus plane is always considerably closer to the camera:

All of these were shot with f/2.8 or even f/11 in some cases, using Canon EOS 6D.

Did I get a bad lens? Or am I doing something wrong? I haven't had this issue with an EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Try shooting in "Live View" and see if there are any differences.
Put the camera on a tripod and shoot the same scene, once in "normal" view and again in "Live view."
Examine the photos critically for focus accuracy.
If there is a difference you need to carry out Micro Focus Adjustment to the camera.

Got mine more than 10 years ago, excellent results on 5D and 6D. Love this lens.

Steve Balcombe wrote:

Onky wrote:

No matter how I focus, using AF or manually, the focus plane is always considerably closer to the camera:

There are actually three distinct ways to focus - AF when using the viewfinder, MF when using the viewfinder, and Live View focusing.

Viewfinder AF uses the autofocus sensors in the bottom of the mirror box, and this can require calibration.

Manual focus using the viewfinder relies on the focusing screen at the top of the mirror box below the viewfinder. On rare occasions this can be misaligned.

Live View focusing uses the image which falls on the sensor, so it requires no calibration and is essentially guaranteed to be correct. There is no fundamental difference between Live View AF and Live View manual focusing which is why I've lumped them together.

As I said, Live View focusing is guaranteed to be correct so the first thing to do is give that a try. Manual or AF should give exactly the same results (if not, it's operator error!).

Then try conventional manual focus through the viewfinder. This should also work - if not (and barring operator error again) you have a problem with your focusing screen which is not user-serviceable.

Then, irrespective of the viewfinder MF result, try viewfinder AF. If this gives a result which is different from the Live View result, it is possible that AF microadjustment could help.

Thanks, everyone! I did the adjustments today (+13 or so), and that helped noticeably. Manual focus gives somewhat better results, though.

kodakrome wrote:

A few years ago, I bought the 200L for use on the 6D. When I first got it, the images looked a little soft, but it just needed an afma. After an adjustment, the images were nice and sharp, exactly as they should be.

Dis you settle on the same AFMA value for all distances?