Canon 100-400 quality

tdodd said:
Now that would not be a keeper!
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Oh I don't know, it looks in better nick than the chimney I was shooting! haha.

I had thought that it might be heat haze but it really isn't that warm (but I guess those slates may have been soaking it up all day), bit of an odd one I think.

That aside, comparing your bricks with mine, do you think I should get this lens swapped? Or rather, would you get it swapped if it was yours?
 
tdodd said:
...The different brick texture and light quality is making comparison tough, but I think me lens does have the edge. What do you think?

EDIT - actually, it is interesting to note that we both shot at 1/200, f/5.6, 100 ISO, so maybe the light levels are similar, but your light appears flat and even, while mine is clearly coming in at an angle and creating micro-shadows in the brickwork, which enhances the impression of detail/sharpness.
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Tough call :thinking:

I've just picked up on your edit and you've said what I was going to say.

TBH, if I was a gambling man, I would say there's nothing wrong with Jon's lens on the basis of that test. Put it another way, I would certainly not want to exchange it on this evidence alone.
 
In truth, yes, I would certainly try. You are clearly not happy with it and I agree it looks suspect, given you have done everything by the book to try to get a sharp image. There is no reason to accept unsatisfactory quality from a £1000+ L grade lens. At the very least, if you bought it in a bricks 'n' mortar store I would go back and ask to perform a back to back test with your lens against another copy. Alternatively, you could send it to Canon under warranty and have them fix it. You can always point to this thread as evidence of its performance.

Best of luck,
Tim.
 
HoppyUK said:
Tough call :thinking:

I've just picked up on your edit and you've said what I was going to say.

TBH, if I was a gambling man, I would say there's nothing wrong with Jon's lens on the basis of that test. Put it another way, I would certainly not want to exchange it on this evidence alone.
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Have you seen this weird shimmering thing Hoppy? What do you make of my images above? I might do what Tim suggests and take a few shots and pick the sharpest of them too.
 
tdodd said:
In truth, yes, I would certainly try. You are clearly not happy with it and I agree it looks suspect, given you have done everything by the book to try to get a sharp image. There is no reason to accept unsatisfactory quality from a £1000+ L grade lens. At the very least, if you bought it in a bricks 'n' mortar store I would go back and ask to perform a back to back test with your lens against another copy. Alternatively, you could send it to Canon under warranty and have them fix it. You can always point to this thread as evidence of its performance.

Best of luck,
Tim.
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Hmmm. I bought it from Warehouse Express. I wonder if Jessops would be interested in doing a test for me? haha.

Thanks for your help Tim, much appreciated! :thumbs:
 
jontucker said:
Have you seen this weird shimmering thing Hoppy? What do you make of my images above? I might do what Tim suggests and take a few shots and pick the sharpest of them too.
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Yes, shimmering is common. So too is just moisture in the atmosphere. You obviously can't avoid it if shootiong at long distance. Not to mention camera shake, small focus errors (either from camera or lens) that go unnoticed during shooting and you only spot them in processing.

TBH I am skeptical of alleged problems with this lens. It is not always easy to use. Mine is tack sharp at 400mm f/5.6, when I get it right. I tested two side by side when I bought it, and they were both identical. If you have a chance to do that with another lens, go for it. My guess is that you will be pleasantly surprised :)
 
HoppyUK said:
Yes, shimmering is common. So too is just moisture in the atmosphere. You obviously can't avoid it if shootiong at long distance. Not to mention camera shake, small focus errors (either from camera or lens) that go unnoticed during shooting and you only spot them in processing.

TBH I am skeptical of alleged problems with this lens. It is not always easy to use. Mine is tack sharp at 400mm f/5.6, when I get it right. I tested two side by side when I bought it, and they were both identical. If you have a chance to do that with another lens, go for it. My guess is that you will be pleasantly surprised :)
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Well thanks for your input! :thumbs: I think I might test it in the real world for a week or so and see if I can make it work.

The trouble is if I compare it to another one and they're the same, that will mean that it's ME and that's no pleasant surprise! :shake:
 
jontucker said:
Yes yours definitely looks sharper but as you say it could be the light.

What do you make of my last post? It's really strange. Here are the images that show what I'm talking about....

This is the JPEG straight from the camera



And this is a screen grab of the 100% Live View in EOS Util



Could the problem lie with the camera and not with the lens?
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To me the top Jpg look blurred how are you taking the photos Tripod, cable release, mirror lock up?
AS the screen grab you will not be doing any thing to the camera I am thinking some how you’re moving the camera, as there is no EXIF on the jpeg hard to say what might be doing it.
How good is you tripod? Is lens mounted to it and not your camera?
Need to know more about how you are taking your photos
 
jontucker said:
I have taken some shots, out of my bedroom window, (from inside, so zero breeze) of a chimney pot across the street.
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Can I just clarify, a really stupid question I am sure, but you are not shooting through the glass of the window are you?
 
jontucker said:
Hmm I did wonder although I would have thought 1/250 with IS would be enough to freeze it. I think I'll reserve judgement until I can try it out properly in better light.
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check the water droplets for similar sharpness...
 
coldpenguin said:
Can I just clarify, a really stupid question I am sure, but you are not shooting through the glass of the window are you?
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I thought exactly the same thing. There has been a wealth of great advice on this thread but I want to see a pic taken in the real world and not measuring tapes and bricks. Has the op taken any 'real' photos yet?
 
Glenn Surtees said:
I thought exactly the same thing. There has been a wealth of great advice on this thread but I want to see a pic taken in the real world and not measuring tapes and bricks. Has the op taken any 'real' photos yet?
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Indeed I have and after receiving some great help and advice from the people who've replied in this thread, I have decided that the lens is fine and the problem is me, both my technique and my expectations of the kit.

I am going to try and find someone local with the same lens at some point, or maybe pop in to Jessops to see if I can do a side-by-side comparision just out of interest though.

I did some tests against a couple of my other lenses and the 100-400 proved to be significantly better than them so that kind of cemented what HoppyUK, CT and tdodd were telling me.

Anyway... the pudding....





 
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