blue max
17-06-2009, 16:33
Long story, but I'm over the moon!
I've always had crop bodies (10/20/30d) and have always been reasonably happy with my two lenses (24-70L and 135L).
So I fancied trying a full frame sensor as I had heard so much about them over the years - although the were always so expensive. However, with the 5dII arriving, I was able to purchase a mint 'classic' and grip for a relatively modest amount.
So, I tried out my lenses with it and... disappointment.
I did some focus testing and all was not well. I did expect a learning curve with such shallow depth of field, so didn't immediately want to blame the equipment. I reasoned that the body was the newcomer and must be the culprit, so what to do. With the mirror fix including a recalibration of the body, I hatched a plan to take it to Elstree and effectively have it calibrated for free.
I got the camera back and no better. So, decided the only thing was to have the lenses calibrated. Just to be sure, I sent the body in too.
Meanwhile, my glasses had almost fallen to bits, so I bought some frames on Ebay and ordered some varifocals from the opticians.
Today I heard the camera was ready and so were my new glasses. Flipping heck, I can now see!
And the best part of this tale - my camera is bang on focus with both lenses. I am not a dud photographer and my lenses are not sub-standard.
All my stuff is second hand from various sources, so having it all calibrated by the manufacturer was a very worthwhile thing to do. I highly recommend anyone thinking of having a lens calibrated and would certainly go to Elstree again. They actually quoted me £75 plus vat for the work (I took them in at the same time as the mirror fix, but decided to see if the body made a difference first). Not an insignificant amount, but well worth it for the difference it made.
There can be nothing more frustrating for a photographer to have things constantly out of focus. Especially if you are lugging heavy kit around and getting poor results.
I've always had crop bodies (10/20/30d) and have always been reasonably happy with my two lenses (24-70L and 135L).
So I fancied trying a full frame sensor as I had heard so much about them over the years - although the were always so expensive. However, with the 5dII arriving, I was able to purchase a mint 'classic' and grip for a relatively modest amount.
So, I tried out my lenses with it and... disappointment.
I did some focus testing and all was not well. I did expect a learning curve with such shallow depth of field, so didn't immediately want to blame the equipment. I reasoned that the body was the newcomer and must be the culprit, so what to do. With the mirror fix including a recalibration of the body, I hatched a plan to take it to Elstree and effectively have it calibrated for free.
I got the camera back and no better. So, decided the only thing was to have the lenses calibrated. Just to be sure, I sent the body in too.
Meanwhile, my glasses had almost fallen to bits, so I bought some frames on Ebay and ordered some varifocals from the opticians.
Today I heard the camera was ready and so were my new glasses. Flipping heck, I can now see!
And the best part of this tale - my camera is bang on focus with both lenses. I am not a dud photographer and my lenses are not sub-standard.
All my stuff is second hand from various sources, so having it all calibrated by the manufacturer was a very worthwhile thing to do. I highly recommend anyone thinking of having a lens calibrated and would certainly go to Elstree again. They actually quoted me £75 plus vat for the work (I took them in at the same time as the mirror fix, but decided to see if the body made a difference first). Not an insignificant amount, but well worth it for the difference it made.
There can be nothing more frustrating for a photographer to have things constantly out of focus. Especially if you are lugging heavy kit around and getting poor results.