24-70mm F2.8

i have this lens and it is VERY blurred on the edges and even the centre doesn't seem tack sharp. i know it

is a zoom but...can someone help suggest a replacement lens for this range?

thanks

Canon 24-70/2.8 L. It is a zoom. It is sharp. Worth the money you pay for it.

It is meant to be a very good performer, perhaps you have an AF accuracy problem, either through user error or because the lens needs adjustment.

 

Mount the lens on a tripod with some news print spread out flat and parallel to the sensor, set to centre AF only, mirror lockup and shoot the target at f2.8 and f5.6. See how the sharpness is then, compare the four corners and the centre.

 

To see if the lens has a front or back focus adjustment issue try this test target:

 

http://www.canon-dslr.com/Canon_Jan05/Canon_SLR_Focus_Test.htm

If it's VERY blurred, I would suggest taking it. and your camera, to a local camera store and

trying it, side by side, with another sample. You can then pixel peep right in the store and

compare the same subject, distance, zoom setting and apertures - you'll be able to tell

very quickly if you have a dud. It happens. I would then send it off for exchange,

recalibration or whatever you can wrangle under the warranty. (Keep the comparison files

and EXIF data to document your findings).

 

If, and hopefully when, you get it back you will be rewarded with an extremely sharp mid

range zoom lens that is the workhorse of many professionals, which is definitely worth the

money and deserves its stellar reputation.

this is a very good lens so it should not have the focus problem. this lens can focus close subjects so try autofocusing one so you can even see in the viewfinder whether it is focusing well or not.

Previously Russell, you wrote, "i have a eos 1ds mark 2. what should i do to maximize the speed of the motordrive and also the recording speed as i shoot alot of sports." [motordrive?]

 

I suspect (with 99.5% certainty) the issue with your 24-70 is user error. Slow down, try manually focusing on static objects and report back.

"Spray and pray" shooting tends to miss focus, lead to camera shake, etc. Might explain why one of the sharpest zooms Canon makes is not working out for you.

 

I agree, check the focus. If that's okay, time to work on your shooting techniques.

One day I set the lens at manual focus. Did not realize that the view finder was not showing

red focus point. My pictures were blurry. I thought my 24-70 was broken. Well it is in

excellent shape and very sharp. Focuses almost instantly in AF mode. Check out

Great lens very sharp. You might have a lemon. The only problem, is that it is very HEAVY. I didn't realize how heavy it was until I decided to carry it in my bag all day under 98 degree heat.

A filter will do this as well. If you are useing one, remove it and see if it improves.

 

Jason

"A filter will do this as well."

 

Only the very cheapest filter would cause something like that, any filter with good optical glass by Hoya, B+W or Heliopan will be fine; but yes he may as well eliminate variables. 99% of these things do turn out to be user error.

This lens is the most commonly one mentioned for focus problems on every Canon camera, and especially the 20D. The best solution is to send back a bad lens to the reseller and get a new on and keep doing that until you get a good copy. Or do like a lot of pros do and get either a Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 or the Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens.

 

A wedding pro has been trying to get a good copy of the Canon 16-35mm f2.8 II lens and after getting 4 bad copies from Canon he sent the 4th lens to Canon's service center hoping they could adjust the lens.

 

It is far easier to keep sending bad copies back to the reseller than to attempt to get a Canon lens re-calibrated by their service center.

Check all the posts about people sending in the same Canon 24-70mm or 17-55mm f2.8 IS lens multiple times.

 

There are lens test charts that people have posted for download after all the publicity about the AF problems with the Mark III when using long telephoto lenses. Find one and test your lens.

 

I have decided the best way to get a pro quality 24-70mm f2.8 lens for my wedding work is to buy the new one from Nikon (along with a D3).

"This lens is the most commonly one mentioned for focus problems on every Canon camera, and especially the 20D"

 

BS it's user error and so are you at that point. Get your D3 and find the forum for that.

Reguardless or how cheap or expensive you think a filter needs to be, it should ALWAYS be removed to check sharpness of a lens. Even the most expensive filter have some effect. The question is if it is enough to tell with the eye in normal shooting. Again, unless you remove it, you are not giveing the lens a fare shake no matter how good of a filter it is. It is just like you should never handhold to test lens sharpness.

 

I guess that is all I am trying to say. He has probably already removed it or does not use one. But I know for me, I tend to put them on and sort of forget it. So it is easy to not think about it in a situation like this. ;0)

 

thanks

 

Jason

"Even the most expensive filter have some effect"

 

Not a measurable one, I have checked on this quite carefully, any effect of a good filter is several orders of magnitude below the shot-to-shot- variation in AF. I like to try and debunk some the general paranoia about filters and IQ.

 

But yes always simplify the variables, but at this point I doubt he using reasonable test target.

 

If, like many tests one sees on the net, he is just shooting a 3D view like a backyard then there will be many more uncontrolled variables than just a filter, ie AF plane, lens flatness of field, etc.

Good point Lester