70-200MM F4 L lens blurry/soft images

Danniorn

Danniorn

Suspended / Banned
Messages
48
Name
Daníel Örn Smárason
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi guys, i've noticed that my 70-200mm f4 is very soft when needed to focus far away
I got a picture taken at 200mm, f4, 1/2000, iso 400, IS off. focused on the mountain. i was trying to get a sharp image for half an hour and no luck,
Drive link to the raw image

Is this normal image quality for this lens?
what could be wrong?
 
On my phone now so no way to 'look' at the image.

But by your description......I could surmise you could be experiencing the effect of atmospheric distortion. Due to heat haze distant objects/subjects can look 'fuzzy'.
 
Box Brownie said:
On my phone now so no way to 'look' at the image.

But by your description......I could surmise you could be experiencing the effect of atmospheric distortion. Due to heat haze distant objects/subjects can look 'fuzzy'.
Click to expand...
It is also when i take a picture of a rock that is around 50m away, looks like it is out of focus, but when i try to focus on a object that is close, then it looks decent, ill add a picture in the drive folder of the rock im talking about, i tried everything to make it look sharp
 
Have you tried using a tripod & what aperture\shutter speeds are you using?
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
Have you tried taking the picture by focusing on live view? If that works then use the focus adjustment settings.
 
redsnappa said:
Have you tried using a tripod & what aperture\shutter speeds are you using?
Click to expand...
Shot at f4, shutterspeed 1/2000 so I wouldn't think a tripod would be needed
checkmate91 said:
Doing any of what you're reporting at f4 isn't really going to get the result you're looking for. The 70-200 is good for landscapes but you'd need to stop it down. Close up the 70-200 is great at f4...
https://flic.kr/p/H2FDyH
View: https://flic.kr/p/H2FDyH

but for landscapes best to stop down, as described here https://www.canon.co.uk/pro/stories/telephoto-lens-landscape-photography/

All IMHO...
Click to expand...
Yeah I also tried stopping down to f8 and the same results :/ even my close up shots aren't as sharp as that pic
TimHughes said:
Have you tried taking the picture by focusing on live view? If that works then use the focus adjustment settings.
Click to expand...
Yeah I tried, felt like it wouldn't focus any better always ended up kind of blurry
 
This image was taken at a distance of about 20 ft, the depth of field is tiny
https://flic.kr/p/2kTzdCQ
View: https://flic.kr/p/2kTzdCQ

You've mentioned rocks at 50m, that's a long way away relatively speaking and if there's any front or back focusing issues with your kit you'll have issues. What camera body are you using and have you calibrated the lens to it (if the functionality exists)?

Oh and has the lens been fine before or has it always been like this? Atmo like Box Brownie mentioned is another factor
 
It can and should be pretty much pin sharp wide open on 5ds. 70-135 is almost perfect, and 200mm is very very close with just a tiny bit loss in the extreme corners. It's probably the sharpest canon zoom from experience
 
Danniorn said:
I got a picture taken at 200mm, f4, 1/2000, iso 400, IS off. focused on the mountain. i was trying to get a sharp image for half an hour and no luck,
Drive link to the raw image
Click to expand...
That looks horribly out of focus or something terribly messed up inside. Not a bit but really a lot. No haze can explain that at just 200mm (more like at 600mm you can start really seeing those) and that's not even hazy conditions.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
That looks horribly out of focus or something terribly messed up inside. Not a bit but really a lot. No haze can explain that at just 200mm (more like at 600mm you can start really seeing those) and that's not even hazy conditions.
Click to expand...
Okay thats what i thought, so what can i do? send it off to repair? Is there some test i could do to get more of an idea what is wrong?

I've always felt like this lens is not sharp at all, i can get fine photos but its usually at the 70mm range that its "decent" but since i posted another thread about if i should upgrade the camera or new lens somone said that the 70-200 was the sharpest lens i own and that didnt make any sense to me so i decided to check it the focus was wrong but after using the live view on a tripod and trying to get the focus right i noticed it was impossible, it was always blurry in the 200mm range

here is another picture i tried focusing on a rock thats not so far away (i thought i had already sent the link)
picture of a blurry rock
for me it looks like the rock is blurry but i made sure this was the best focus i could get on the rock
 
Last edited:
Assuming you've ruled out shutter shake, try taking a photo of a tape measure at a distance. Note exactly the marking where you focused when taking the shot then check the picture. If the image is all blurry the lens probably needs repair. If a marking behind or in front of where you focused is sharp you can use this correct with autofocus microadjustment. It can take a while, it's a bit of trial and error.
 
Danniorn said:
Okay thats what i thought, so what can i do? send it off to repair? Is there some test i could do to get more of an idea what is wrong?
Click to expand...
Simple things first. Stick on stable tripod, live view, focus in live view and use timer delay. IS obvsiously OFF in these conditions. If you can't get it pin sharp I would send it to Canon at that point.

Just a small selection of 1:1 handheld shot at 200mm f/6.3 on 5Ds and that's not even in the centre. f/4 would change little. Don't forget it is compressed to death and only default LR sharpening applied.

Clipboard02.jpg
 
Last edited:
TimHughes said:
shutter shake
Click to expand...
at 1/2000s you would need to try really hard. It looks like uniform gaussian blur rather than a directional movement. Only at ridiculously slow speeds you can blur like this. A misbehaving IS unit could probably cause something more like it. Or good old failed lens collar.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Oh, please tell me you shot this without any fiter or at least a CHEAP FILTER? If not get them OFF ASAP and don't use over 70mm+
Click to expand...
No Filter used
Here is a video of me focusing on live view, it looked weird to me so I took a video of it. Not really using a tripod and the car was turned off so should be no vibrations
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top