Canon 70d and 400mm f5.6 lens results awful.

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IJN

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IJN
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First post on here so here goes.
I recently treated myself to a new lens (Canon 400mm f5.6) for my modest Canon 1100d. I'm please with what I require to get the best from the lens and have had much pleasure in photographing birds. Two weeks ago I decided to upgrade to a Canon 70d. The results are horrific. I was out yesterday and took around 500 shots (easy done with 7fps shooting, etc). I don't think I produced one pin sharp shot. This includes shots of a static perched Goldfinch 5 metres away and a duck paddling past me on a canal 10 metres away. Not exactly challenging exercises. Not one pin sharp shot. Is there something I need to know? Camera set-up for aperture priority with ISO set to 400 or higher to get shutter speed beyond 1000th/sec, sometimes even beyond 2000th/sec. I tried all autofocus settings (single point, 9 point, 19 point). Tried single photo and multi fps settings. I never moved away from aperture priority mode. Files in RAW format. Tried AI Servo and all other options. With image files of 23 mb I should be getting some very detailed shots using modest cropping. My smartphone camera is producing better photos.

Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks.
 
Camera shake or OOF???
 
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I'm reviewing my shots. Some are 3000th/sec and 4000th/sec on not too distant standing birds at ISO 400. Very poor quality, no feather detail at all.
 
Now I'm in trouble. Need to see how to put some photos up.
 
Not sure if the 70d does micro adjustment but if it does and assuming magic lantern is compatible then it has a great automatic micro adjustment option...
 
Have you got the camera in AF mode ............... sure you have not got it set to MF mode

what settings do you have the lens on?

from what you describe forget micro focus
 
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I changed some RAW photos to jpg format but upload rejected as file too big. What is max file size? Sorry for being a buerk.
 
Having used a 70d and 400 f5.6 combo in the past ,there should be nothing wrong with that ,your settings sound as if you have a basic knowledge of what your doing ,although you omit your aperture ,there are various answers here it could be user error ,I.e camera shake ,it could be but not likely a settings problem or it could be a dodgy camera .i sold the 70D I owned due to a/f problems and at the photos how a canon rep admitted to me there had been problems with them ,the new 80D is a different ball game entirely .
So is the camera new or used if used get in touch with seller if new Get in touch with canon
Btw where are you as someone local might be able to help .
 
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IJN said:
I changed some RAW photos to jpg format but upload rejected as file too big. What is max file size? Sorry for being a buerk.
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If you have a Flickr account put it on there, share using the BB code at 1200px. There's a tutorial somewhere. Or save at a small size (think it's ~500kb) and upload to TP.
 
Hi and welcome to TP [emoji3]

Okay, so a few quick checks to try.

If you shoot something now, outside (anything really) - check and set the camera to Green square auto and ensure the lens is set to AF and take a shot - if you have a tripod, even better, if not ensure you're stable and either resting on / against something.

This will give you a shot in JPEG, with the camera doing all the work re settings - taking any user error out of it (apart from camera shake or missing the focal point).

Ensure you have the object you are shooting in focus - take a shot as above and then another shot with the lens set to MF - is one better than the other ???

If this gives you a great shot then you know it was user error yesterday - either a setting in the camera (which you can then look at) or movement etc. If these are still not sharp as you'd like, then some adjustment maybe required as said in previous posts...

Hope this helps
A
 
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Shoot a static shot from a tripod using live-view. Use as many means as you can to avoid shake such as mirror-up, remote release and/or timer delay. Shoot a second shot with normal AF and compare the two. If there is no difference and they are both unsharp get onto Canon. If the live-view shot is ok but the normal AF is unsharp you need to tweak the micro-adjustment setting. If micfro-adjustment doesn't have sufficient range to sharpen it up then again get onto Canon. The 400mm F5.6L is a decently sharp lens.
 
IJN said:
I changed some RAW photos to jpg format but upload rejected as file too big. What is max file size? Sorry for being a buerk.
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You sound like your shooting raw but haven't processed the photos? Sorry if I'm stating the obvious but raw files will need processing to get the most out of them.

The 70d and 400mm combo will outshine your phone camera immeasurably!
 
Gents, lots of good advice here. I tried the 70d on live view with no change in performance. I don't have a tripod or access to one. I switched back to my old 1100d body and it all performs well with the same configuration (iso, aperture, speed etc). So, today I have returned the camera to the retailer who was good enough to give me a full refund.

Haven't decided what to do just yet as by 400mm f5.6 Canon Prime lens deserves an upgraded camera.

Thanks for your help.
 
But - it should still deliver great results with the 70d and 1100d.
 
tayloss said:
I have the D70 and am aware of an issue that supposedly affected focus on lenses f2.8 or wider but seems to have gone quiet lately.. Just wondered if the lenses needed some more mfa to get right?
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D70 or 70d? Very different cameras!

But it should still provide awesome images in the 1100d, or any body for that matter.
 
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tayloss said:
Sorry! 70d ;-) but you quite correct ... Would have been nice to see the issue the OP had by seeing the pictures.. Oh well...
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I've edited the last part of my quote though as I mis interpreted the last bit (and it's an f/5.6 anyway not an f/4!)
 
OP we can only guess what the issue is without seeing example shots. There's several possibilities, most if not all have already been mentioned.

1. Faulty camera
2. Needs micro adjusting
3. User error including the possibility of having it set up wrong.

Do you shoot RAW with your 1100d too? The reason I ask is that SOOC RAW files are soft compared to SOOC JPEG.
 
As I said it was most likely a faulty body ,glad you got a refund though .i have the new 80D and it's a totally different beast to the 70 ,well worth looking at unless your limited on funding ,if that's the case the 760d might suit. I get a feeling your in the second hand market though so perhaps a good 7dmk1 would do the job
 
odd jim said:
D70 or 70d? Very different cameras!

But it should still provide awesome images in the 1100d, or any body for that matter.
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Quite correct. Great shots from my 1100d. I upgraded to take advantage of better iso performance (less grainy at higher iso) plus the benefits of increased sensor size (12mp to 20 mp) which will help with inevitable image cropping. Throw in the different autofocus options and it all made sense. Alas, was not to be.

Stuck with what to do next. I have as an aside ordered a manfrotto monopod which will hopefully increase my 'keep' ratio.
 
IJN said:
Quite correct. Great shots from my 1100d. I upgraded to take advantage of better iso performance (less grainy at higher iso) plus the benefits of increased sensor size (12mp to 20 mp) which will help with inevitable image cropping. Throw in the different autofocus options and it all made sense. Alas, was not to be.

Stuck with what to do next. I have as an aside ordered a manfrotto monopod which will hopefully increase my 'keep' ratio.
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Maybe go for the 80d, that's supposed to be very good. Or if you can stretch to a used 7d2?
 
i'm not convinced that buying cameras isd the way forward - - unless the 70D is actually faulty this is more likely to be down to operator error - the focus system on the 70D is more complex than on most starter cameras , so if i had to guess i'd put my money on not having the right focus point selectedor the right focussing mode or both
 
big soft moose said:
i'm not convinced that buying cameras isd the way forward - - unless the 70D is actually faulty this is more likely to be down to operator error - the focus system on the 70D is more complex than on most starter cameras , so if i had to guess i'd put my money on not having the right focus point selectedor the right focussing mode or both
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Yes, that's certainly my thoughts.
 
I have a 70D,with some of my lenses it did need a touch of focus adjustment,my Sigma 150-500 only needed -2 notches at the long end but my old 200 f 2.8 needed +17 to sort it out,was a bit frustrating but all fine now.
 
Was the issue ever confirmed tho? I've seen all of the videos and blog entries, but I've heard more positives about the 70D than negative.. Surely if it were a real problem, Canon would have been all over it?
 
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