Hi to all,
From the off I've been very disapointed with the sharpness of my lense , both with and without the 1.4t/c the sharpness is lacking, I'd put this down to my technique not being up to scrath when using such a large piece of kit.
The 500 is always mounted on my Gitzo 1325 with the Wimberley v2 but the results still arn't pin sharp , I've seen handheld shots posted here that are far sharper than I can produce using a tripod.
Another possible problem is that when autofocus locks on to a subject the autofocus points will drop down and to the right , could this be a fault with the IS ???
The lense settings are as follows
4.5m to infinity
AF on
Focus preset off
Image Stabilizer on
Image Stabilizer mode 1
I've included my sharpest shot to date with this lense as a reference.
Advice needed as I don't want to send it back to Canon unless I have to.
if i was you id do a controled test set up a object to photograph use the centre point focus only make sure your shutterspeed is above 350-400 sec and use a remote cord or selftimer
if your pics are still soft it could be your lens.
when i first used my 3002.8is with a x2 extender my pics were rubish but now iv masterd it its all systems go.
I had some trouble getting sharp shots with my 400 when it was tripod mounted and IS was switched on. Turned out the problem was that I wasn't letting the tripod sensor have time to detect that it was on a tripod. Johnstones in Glasgow told me that if I was using IS on a rock solid platform with high shutter speeds I needed to hold the shutter button down for at least a second to let the tripod sensing work, otherwise the shout would be much like yours.
Try it out on a static subject at various shutter speeds and apertures. I find a Coke can is superb for testing sharpness, if you can read all the small print on it there's not much wrong with the lens or the IS
Handholding large lenses can take a bit of practice and you shouldn't judge yourself against others with more experience. A lot of folks coming from smaller lighter lenses complain that they are not getting the best from their kit, but after a while they soon realise that there's a different approach needed
I'm not experienced in many lenses but I do know that it took me some time to get used to the 500mm and I'm still learning to use it to be honest. I'm not very versatile with it and don't use half the features except the IS and autofocus range limiters. It should be pin sharp for that money so I understand your frustrations totally.
Personally, I only ever use the central focus point and generally I use AIServo mode. I always have IS on mode 1 and I always use a tripod, even for flight shots (must practice hand held more!). I agree that you have to do some tests. You could even use the 2second timer release to rule out any bad technique if you feel it's you. Do your raw images look sharp? Even RAW files should be showing excellent detail that further processing enhances. I don;t know if your images are cropped at all? I expected to see huge detail in images I was viewing at 100% and was disappointed in the quality unless the subject was filling the frame. Not sure if that makes sense?
Bottom line, do some static tests on motionless subjects with decent light. Good luck. Can't think of anything worse than not being happy with what should be a great bit of kit
I like the discussion here, its great to read you blokes sharing knowledge with each other, myself as a FILM user am interested in your talks about what you are doing with your digi gear as the day is coming that will see me into the world of Digi gear too. All your discussions are taken note of for future reference.
Charles.
Another thing which maybe worth testing on a static target, to see if the lens is picking up the tripod, would be to try turning off the IS.
If you have good conditions to test, you dont always need IS anyway, and this would be a way to find out.
I have had my lens for nearly 3 years now, and I much prefer the "all points focus" for 80% of my work. I also find that I am using IS a lot less than I used to, with better reults when switched off.
Best wishes
Phil
Which body are you using, try a static test (usually a ruler set at 45 degrees or so next to a high contrast target) to see if the body is front/backfocussing
Hi guys,
Thanks for the advice , I think the problem may be that I'm not waiting the 1 second for the lense to detect that it's on a tripod which is probably causing the IS to become confused ( patience is a virtue I don't possess ) , I'll give the static test a go and see what results I get.
I'll be photographing dippers in the morning so I'll give IS mode 2 a try and see how that effects the quality of the image.
I'm using a 20D and I tend to use One-Shot and the central focus point most of the time.
Would AI-Servo give me sharper results ???
Nothing in the image is sharp, so you can discount a back/front focusing problem. This means either, that your technique isn't good enough, or the lens is faulty. If you live anywhere in the south-east I would be happy to swap lenses with you (on a temporary basis of course) to check whether its the lens or the technique that is at fault. Let me know if you want to try this and maybe we could fix something up for Sunday.
I agree with Dean, I have found that I obtain sharper shots by leaving my 500mm set to IS mode 2 all the time.
either on a tripod or using a bean bag.
Gary
Discussion
11 repliesFrom the off I've been very disapointed with the sharpness of my lense , both with and without the 1.4t/c the sharpness is lacking, I'd put this down to my technique not being up to scrath when using such a large piece of kit.
The 500 is always mounted on my Gitzo 1325 with the Wimberley v2 but the results still arn't pin sharp , I've seen handheld shots posted here that are far sharper than I can produce using a tripod.
Another possible problem is that when autofocus locks on to a subject the autofocus points will drop down and to the right , could this be a fault with the IS ???
The lense settings are as follows
4.5m to infinity
AF on
Focus preset off
Image Stabilizer on
Image Stabilizer mode 1
I've included my sharpest shot to date with this lense as a reference.
Advice needed as I don't want to send it back to Canon unless I have to.
Regards to all
Andy...
if your pics are still soft it could be your lens.
when i first used my 3002.8is with a x2 extender my pics were rubish but now iv masterd it its all systems go.
Try it out on a static subject at various shutter speeds and apertures. I find a Coke can is superb for testing sharpness, if you can read all the small print on it there's not much wrong with the lens or the IS
Handholding large lenses can take a bit of practice and you shouldn't judge yourself against others with more experience. A lot of folks coming from smaller lighter lenses complain that they are not getting the best from their kit, but after a while they soon realise that there's a different approach needed
I'm not experienced in many lenses but I do know that it took me some time to get used to the 500mm and I'm still learning to use it to be honest. I'm not very versatile with it and don't use half the features except the IS and autofocus range limiters. It should be pin sharp for that money so I understand your frustrations totally.
Personally, I only ever use the central focus point and generally I use AIServo mode. I always have IS on mode 1 and I always use a tripod, even for flight shots (must practice hand held more!). I agree that you have to do some tests. You could even use the 2second timer release to rule out any bad technique if you feel it's you. Do your raw images look sharp? Even RAW files should be showing excellent detail that further processing enhances. I don;t know if your images are cropped at all? I expected to see huge detail in images I was viewing at 100% and was disappointed in the quality unless the subject was filling the frame. Not sure if that makes sense?
Bottom line, do some static tests on motionless subjects with decent light. Good luck. Can't think of anything worse than not being happy with what should be a great bit of kit
Graeme
Charles.
If you have good conditions to test, you dont always need IS anyway, and this would be a way to find out.
Best wishes
Phil
Thanks for the advice , I think the problem may be that I'm not waiting the 1 second for the lense to detect that it's on a tripod which is probably causing the IS to become confused ( patience is a virtue I don't possess ) , I'll give the static test a go and see what results I get.
I'll be photographing dippers in the morning so I'll give IS mode 2 a try and see how that effects the quality of the image.
I'm using a 20D and I tend to use One-Shot and the central focus point most of the time.
Would AI-Servo give me sharper results ???
Thanks again for the advice
Kind regards
Andy...
either on a tripod or using a bean bag.
Gary