Soft as hell on one side Canon 10-22mm

[andy_fozzy]

Guys, had my 10-2mm for a little while, and I thought it was because I was using the wrong hood on it (which I was!), but even now I'm not using a hood at all, it's VERY soft down the left hand side of the shot.

It's not all the time, just randomly some shots.

Here's an example:

(Click for bigger)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3461/3978102452_045aefdfd8.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_foster/3978102452/sizes/l/)

And ignore the fact that it's a HDR! It happens before I even tonemap it.....

The rest of the shot is as sharp as it will ever get. So wtf???

[maarten.dhaese]

Can you let us know what is the f/stop that you used and what you focused on?

Nice shot by the way.

[andy_fozzy]

:D Thanks.

F5.6 and focussed right on the front of the church.......

[aligibbs]

Can you post a none HDR shot ?

[Uneducated_Rick]

click for bigger doesn't work - private page error

[andy_fozzy]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3461/3978102452_045aefdfd8.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3461/3978102452_045aefdfd8_b.jpg)

Try that!

And I could post a non-HDR shot, but trust me, it's exactly the same!

[maarten.dhaese]

One explanation could be that the tree and the gravestones on the left are simply not in focus. Also look at the plants on the right; they don't look like they are in perfect focus either.

Even though wide angle lenses have a large depth of field, you can't expect them to render everything from the nearest object in the frame to the furthest one in perfect focus.

If you stopped down to f/11 or even f/16 (tripod needed), you would have achieved a larger depth of field and the tree on the left wouldn't be as blurred as it is now. Having said that, it probably still wouldn't have been in perfect focus.

To make sure there is nothing wrong with your lens, you could set up a test where you take a picture of a newspaper page. Make sure the camera is perfectly parallel to the page and take a picture at f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, and f/16. At f/4 you're likely to see more sharpness in the centre than in the corners. By f/8, it should be more even, and by f/16 it should be more even still (although at f/16 you will lose some centre sharpness due to diffraction).

In my experience the EF-S 10-22 is very sharp across the entire frame. If you don't see this in the newspaper test, there is likely to be something wrong with your lens. However, from the picture you posted it could simply be that there was not enough depth of field to get everything in perfect focus.

Hope this helps.

[andy_fozzy]

One explanation could be that the tree and the gravestones on the left are simply not in focus. Also look at the plants on the right; they don't look like they are in perfect focus either.

Even though wide angle lenses have a large depth of field, you can't expect them to render everything from the nearest object in the frame to the furthest one in perfect focus.

If you stopped down to f/11 or even f/16 (tripod needed), you would have achieved a larger depth of field and the tree on the left wouldn't be as blurred as it is now. Having said that, it probably still wouldn't have been in perfect focus.

To make sure there is nothing wrong with your lens, you could set up a test where you take a picture of a newspaper page. Make sure the camera is perfectly parallel to the page and take a picture at f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, and f/16. At f/4 you're likely to see more sharpness in the centre than in the corners. By f/8, it should be more even, and by f/16 it should be more even still (although at f/16 you will lose some centre sharpness due to diffraction).

In my experience the EF-S 10-22 is very sharp across the entire frame. If you don't see this in the newspaper test, there is likely to be something wrong with your lens. However, from the picture you posted it could simply be that there was not enough depth of field to get everything in perfect focus.

Hope this helps.

That is very helpful, and does make sense.
I'll give it a try tomorrow.

Huge thanks for the advice :thumbs:

[HoppyUK]

That doesn't look right at all.

Try this test, as detailed in post #2 here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=163142 A flat newspaper will likely show soft corners even with a good lens.

I'm reluctant to draw to many conclusion from just one pic, but that image doesn't look right at all. Tons of CA in the top left as well. Summat is out of kilter in there, have you dropped it?

Good luck and let us know how you get on. It would be very interesting to see your pics from the above test :)