I am new to the forums and have only posted a few pictures but now would like to draw on the collective wisdom here on Nature Photographers. I have recently purchased a new dSLR (Canon 40D) and a couple of lenses (70-300 IS USM, 28-135 IS USM)and am having some problems. Yesterday, I took a ride through a nearby game preserve to test out the new equipment. I took probably upwards of 150 photos. When I returned home and viewed the photos I noticed that every one of them was quite soft. All of the photos were taken with the Canon 70-300 IS USM and I am wondering if there is something wrong with the lens as all of the reviews I have read rave about this lenses sharpness and quality stating it is comparable to an L series lens. Mine so far is surely not. The attached picture is a pretty good representation of what I got out of all of the photos, it is a 100% crop at 250mm, f/7, 1/640, ISO 200, IS on, and it was shot from a tripod. This particular image was set on AF but the manual focus gives similar results. The lower range between 70-120 is somewhat better but still not as sharp as example photos I have seen attributed to this lens. Any insight would be greatly appreciated as I am pretty frustrated with the lens at this point. Sorry for the rant.
It is a little dark as there was a storm rolling in, the ones I took shortly before this one were brighter. If it does automatically shut off the IS when mounted on a tripod there is no indication of it, there is a switch on the lens to turn it off and on, I thought this was the only way to do so. This is new equipment to me so I may be wrong I am not sure. I still think the quality is a little low, which was my primary concern. Thanks for the comment.
Its funny that you ask, I put the camera on a tripod because I thought the softness was due to camera shake. The photos were very similar to the one above, almost no difference. I was disappointed to see the same result from a tripod taken photo.
I'd certainly try some with the IS off if mounted on a tripod (or if shooting at that speed). IS is really only helping you if your speed starts to drop below the reciprocal of your focal length (ie. shooting 1/250 at 300mm). At 1/640 you should be able to handhold a sharp image.
I believe (but do some more research) that newer Canon IS lenses will automatically shut off the IS if they sense they are mounted to a tripod. I'm not sure that the 70-300mm is new enough for that feature. Regardless you don't want to use IS with tripod use. The IS actually feels for small motions in the lens to activate the gyros (or whatever). If it doesn't fine any (for instance, when mounted on a tripod) the gyros can start spinning and soften your shot.
I know that this is the case with my 28-135mm IS bought about 2 years ago. I've ruined a lot of shots that way. Do some controlled stuff so that you know what results you'll get. Test shooting for problems out in the wild introduces too many variables to give you solid data for evaluating your lens if you think you have a problem.
Thanks for the pointers, I think I have tried all of that at one point or another the other day but I am going to go home and try some more controls on fixed subjects just to see if I can get any kind of quality out of it. Thanks for the comment.
Do you have another Canon body that you can try the lenses on to see where your problem is? How about taking them to a nearby dealer to see if you can try the lenses on one of their cameras?
Try reading this post Re; "A Desperate Plea!!, FINALLY a resolution!!! currently on page 4 of the forums. Someone else was having a similar problem on his Nikon gear.
Thanks for the pointers, I think I have tried all of that at one point or another the other day but I am going to go home and try some more controls on fixed subjects just to see if I can get any kind of quality out of it. Thanks for the comment.
Thank you everyone for all of your pointers and comments. I am still interested in comments if someone owns this particular lens and knows something that I dont. Alex: Thanks for the link to the forum. Hopefully, this is not the case for me, that poor guy had a pretty difficult time. Thanks again!
Well, I tried everything recommended above in addition to any other setting I could come up with all to no avail. The lens is still very soft over about 200mm. Also, A friend has just ordered the exact same kit and the lens performs exactly the same way on his 40D body whereas his 70-300 lens performs quite well at all focal lenths. To me that says there is something wrong with my lens. In addition my camera body performs quite well with my other lens (28-135). Now knowing all of this does my diagnosis seem accurate to everyone?
How about putting your friend's 70-300 on your body and his body on your lens?
I should add that I rented a Canon 500mm f/4.5L lens last weekend and had exactly the same frustration that you're experiencing... I shot about 200 images and there are exactly zero that I wouldn't call soft. I'm using a 5D body.
I'll be very interested to hear your final resolution!
Try the same settings on your street at home with good light. Focus on a street sign or something not moving. Use autofocus, a tripod and either a cable release or the timer.
If it's still soft, the lens is bad and you should send it in for maintenance.
I did try switching bodies and lenses all around with my friend, and his lens is noticeably different on my body and likewise on his body with my lens. His images are soft when using my lens as well. Lance: I tried just what you are talking about last night with a 10 second timer so I knew I would not influence it, it came out exactly as the others did, just a little over soft (or a lot over soft in my book). I set the focus on a license plate of my vehicle parked in the drive (about 40' I suppose) on 300mm and it came out with the same result. I also tried it on a billboard (nonreflective) with no improvement. I am calling B&H this morning for an RMA number. Thank you all again for the comments!
Mounted on a tripod, the IS definitely does not turn off. On some Canon lenses, i.e. super telephoto primes, the IS works just fine mounted on a tripod, but on the 28-135, and I presume also on the 70-300, you must turn the IS off when it is mounted on a tripod.
At the settings of your posted photo, 250mm at 1/640, you should be able to get a sharp photo without the IS being on, hand-held, or especially with the lens mounted on a tripod. Based on your testing it does seem that you're lens must be out of whack.
Thanks for the info on the lens, it is what I thought but was not too familiar with the equipment so was unsure. I have received an RMA for the lens which is good for 10 days so I am going to take a few photos over the weekend with it again to try it out and go from there. If I still am unable to produce anything sharp I will send it back for replacement. I have also rented a 100-400L series for a couple of weeks so I can compare results with that as I have read that the 70-300 is not the quality if the 100-400 but does take comparable pictures. I am doing so just to rule out the camera being the problem.
Has anyone ever heard of a Haze/UV filter causing this type of problem? Thanks!
Yes, I have heard of UV filters (cheap ones) killing image quality big time. Bottom line: If you want to test the lens' capabilities, NEVER use a filter on it. Once you know it's o.k., it's o.k. to use a filter (because then you know that the filter is the culprit if problems arise).
Discussion
19 repliesI am new to the forums and have only posted a few pictures but now would like to draw on the collective wisdom here on Nature Photographers. I have recently purchased a new dSLR (Canon 40D) and a couple of lenses (70-300 IS USM, 28-135 IS USM)and am having some problems. Yesterday, I took a ride through a nearby game preserve to test out the new equipment. I took probably upwards of 150 photos. When I returned home and viewed the photos I noticed that every one of them was quite soft. All of the photos were taken with the Canon 70-300 IS USM and I am wondering if there is something wrong with the lens as all of the reviews I have read rave about this lenses sharpness and quality stating it is comparable to an L series lens. Mine so far is surely not. The attached picture is a pretty good representation of what I got out of all of the photos, it is a 100% crop at 250mm, f/7, 1/640, ISO 200, IS on, and it was shot from a tripod. This particular image was set on AF but the manual focus gives similar results. The lower range between 70-120 is somewhat better but still not as sharp as example photos I have seen attributed to this lens. Any insight would be greatly appreciated as I am pretty frustrated with the lens at this point. Sorry for the rant.
And mounted on a tripod I believe that lens auto shuts off the IS?
I could be very wrong, I shoot with Nikons.
It is a little dark as there was a storm rolling in, the ones I took shortly before this one were brighter. If it does automatically shut off the IS when mounted on a tripod there is no indication of it, there is a switch on the lens to turn it off and on, I thought this was the only way to do so. This is new equipment to me so I may be wrong I am not sure. I still think the quality is a little low, which was my primary concern. Thanks for the comment.
I don't think you would be aware if the IS was shut off automatically.
I'd certainly try some with the IS off if mounted on a tripod (or if shooting at that speed). IS is really only helping you if your speed starts to drop below the reciprocal of your focal length (ie. shooting 1/250 at 300mm). At 1/640 you should be able to handhold a sharp image.
I believe (but do some more research) that newer Canon IS lenses will automatically shut off the IS if they sense they are mounted to a tripod. I'm not sure that the 70-300mm is new enough for that feature. Regardless you don't want to use IS with tripod use. The IS actually feels for small motions in the lens to activate the gyros (or whatever). If it doesn't fine any (for instance, when mounted on a tripod) the gyros can start spinning and soften your shot.
I know that this is the case with my 28-135mm IS bought about 2 years ago. I've ruined a lot of shots that way. Do some controlled stuff so that you know what results you'll get. Test shooting for problems out in the wild introduces too many variables to give you solid data for evaluating your lens if you think you have a problem.
Good luck
Thanks for the pointers, I think I have tried all of that at one point or another the other day but I am going to go home and try some more controls on fixed subjects just to see if I can get any kind of quality out of it. Thanks for the comment.
Do you have another Canon body that you can try the lenses on to see where your problem is? How about taking them to a nearby dealer to see if you can try the lenses on one of their cameras?
Try reading this post Re; "A Desperate Plea!!, FINALLY a resolution!!! currently on page 4 of the forums. Someone else was having a similar problem on his Nikon gear.
Thanks for the pointers, I think I have tried all of that at one point or another the other day but I am going to go home and try some more controls on fixed subjects just to see if I can get any kind of quality out of it. Thanks for the comment.
which forum is that in? I did not see it in the general discussion forum. Thanks!
or "Digital Imaging" on the first page.
I should add that I rented a Canon 500mm f/4.5L lens last weekend and had exactly the same frustration that you're experiencing... I shot about 200 images and there are exactly zero that I wouldn't call soft. I'm using a 5D body.
I'll be very interested to hear your final resolution!
Arlen
If it's still soft, the lens is bad and you should send it in for maintenance.
I did try switching bodies and lenses all around with my friend, and his lens is noticeably different on my body and likewise on his body with my lens. His images are soft when using my lens as well. Lance: I tried just what you are talking about last night with a 10 second timer so I knew I would not influence it, it came out exactly as the others did, just a little over soft (or a lot over soft in my book). I set the focus on a license plate of my vehicle parked in the drive (about 40' I suppose) on 300mm and it came out with the same result. I also tried it on a billboard (nonreflective) with no improvement. I am calling B&H this morning for an RMA number. Thank you all again for the comments!
At the settings of your posted photo, 250mm at 1/640, you should be able to get a sharp photo without the IS being on, hand-held, or especially with the lens mounted on a tripod. Based on your testing it does seem that you're lens must be out of whack.
Thanks for the info on the lens, it is what I thought but was not too familiar with the equipment so was unsure. I have received an RMA for the lens which is good for 10 days so I am going to take a few photos over the weekend with it again to try it out and go from there. If I still am unable to produce anything sharp I will send it back for replacement. I have also rented a 100-400L series for a couple of weeks so I can compare results with that as I have read that the 70-300 is not the quality if the 100-400 but does take comparable pictures. I am doing so just to rule out the camera being the problem.
Has anyone ever heard of a Haze/UV filter causing this type of problem? Thanks!
Basil