Canon 24-70L very soft!

I just received my new sexy 24-70mm f/2.8L and I am very disappointed. This lens is so soft.

It would have been my softest lens, but its going back to B&H. I have heard that there are some soft

models out there but for over a "G" note there shouldn't be any soft ones. My 17-40L is so much sharper!

And the 17-40L is my softest lens! Now, should I take a chance and get another one or just buy some

medium range primes? I bought this lens for an everday lens. I thought this would be as sharp as my

70-200mm f/2.8L, not even close. Now I wish this was as sharp as my 70-200mmL then I would surely

keep and adore it! Maybe I should just get a 85mm f/1.8, and a 100mm macro and still have some cash

left over.

Sounds like you should try another. My 24-70L is as sharp or more sharp than my 17-40L and 70-200 L IS.

My 24-70mm wasn't overly soft, but it was nowhere near as vivid as the 70-200. In its defense, I don't think anything is as sharp as the 70-200.

 

I found that a little creative use of the unsharpening mask in Photoshop usually made a bit of difference.

Hi,

 

I bought the 24-70/2.8 a few months ago and am quite pleased with it. Image quality rivals 70-200/2.8 IS, 28/1.8, 50/1.4 and 85/18 that I use as well.

 

Something is wrong with the copy you got. It could have been damaged in shipping (things get tossed about pretty madly during the holiday rush), or perhaps just a bad copy of the lens.

You may have just gotten a bad copy of the lens. I was suprised as to how tact sharp mine is.<div></div>

"I just received my new sexy 24-70mm f/2.8L and I am very disappointed. This lens is so

soft."

 

My ex used to complain about that all the time. You juz needs to fully extend it before use.

Actually Will, I'd be dissapointed w/the sample you posted. I don't know what camera you're using, but samples of the 24-70 that I've rented for use on my 5D performed much better.

Sometimes the auto focus calibration can be off on new (and used) Canon lenses. Are your pictures any sharper when manual focused? Canon service can recalibrate the lens and does so for free under warranty. Of course, you will be using up any any return period you might have.

I agree with Ron, have you even tried manually focussing?, Just contact canon and have the lens calibrated to the camera to get a better result (nice one puppy)

 

have fun

That was just dirty, Mr. Puppy face. On a serious and more useful note to Richie, you must have gotten a bad copy, exchange it. There are many out there that consider it to be Canon's sharpest zoom, but L quality control is a little iffy, so hopefully your next copy will be a good one.

I don't know what your expectations are, but I have the lens and it's very sharp. What camera are you using?

thanks for the replies.

I am using a 20d. Can someone post a sharp image @ 100 percent?

thank you.

When I fist viewed images from my 70-200, I was like wow! With the 24-70, I was like

WHAT! more likeWTF!

thanks.

My only problem with ordering another lens if what if its not sharp? now I out $ on

shipping 4 ways. the only local shop that carries this lens is like $160-200 more than B&H.

where the heck is the quality, my other L series lenss are right on, why doe this lens have

so much trouble.

thanks again.

Is that from the 24-70? Is that supposed to be soft!? That looks just fine.

Why not get the 17-55mm f2,8 IS? Then you could return both your 24-70mm and your 17-40mm, get IS, sharp photos and plenty of money left.

I've never found the 24-70 to be soft. Usually I chalk up such reports to technique.<div></div>

And here is the entire frame shot at 24mm with the 24-70 (and 10D).<div></div>

Send it to Canon to be calibrated and it will be your favorite lens. I know we shouldn't have to do this but that's the way it is. I bought a 24-105 L and is wasn't the sharpest tack in the box "so to speak" but one trip to Canon and It is now the sharpest thing in my arsenal. The 24-70 is every bit of the same quality and I know how great they can be also. Either that or go back and forth with new ones to try from where ever you got it from and eventually you will get one that does not need post sale calibration.

My 24-70 is sharp. Make sure you are not mistaking depth of field issues with softness.

The 24-70 Canon is one of the sharpest lenses I ever tried, all brands considered. Something HAS to be wrong with yours.

I have the same problem with this lens. Using it on a 5D, I'm a bit disappointed. After a bit of research, it seems that this lens is not designed for digital cameras, and there's a back focus problem. I've talked to a few pros and they all say send it in, and Canon will fix it up.

Hello,

 

My shiny new 24-70 2.8L is extremely soft. it's been back to the very helpful Canon repair

agent in London and they've spent hours on it. They can now say that there's something

wrong with the lens, but they don't know exactly what as it's a perculiar problem. They're

now sending it back to Canon for even closer analysis.

 

Almost every shot i take with it at the wide end with 2.8-5.0 or more is soft. Nothing in

the image is in focus. At the 70mm end it's exceptional!

 

Compared to the plasticy 18-55mm that came with my 350D (Rebel XT), this $1100 Pro L

lens fails miserably!

 

So we'll see... (just so you know you're not the only one!)

<p>I bought a 24-70L in the hope it would be a good general lens to go with a new(ish) 7D. Not so! The lens was very soft - tried autofocus, manual focus, stopping down, etc but it just didn't cut the mustard. I did a quick comparison using a resolution target with an EFS17-200IS and a VERY old EF28-70 at 28mm and both "inferior" lenses were much better than the 24-70L. Needless to say the lens went back to the supplier for a refund!</p>