Lens gone soft?!

Phil Young

Phil Young

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My 55-200mm VR has appeared to have gone impotent! I was just wondering if it's normal for lenses to lose their sharpness?

I have tried everything I know and nothing gets it to what it used to be which was easily as sharp as any macro...

Has anyone had this problem before? Below is what I have tried.

-Turn VR off
-Ensure shutter speed is adequate
-Stop down (it's normally very sharp wide open)
-AF fine tune
-Expose whilst on a tripod (VR turned off)
-Single AF point
-Manual focus
-Cleaning the optics
-Remove UV filter

None of the above has helped and having shot with all my other lenses I can confirm is is definitely a lens fault.

Are cheaper lenses more likely to fail, if so what has most likely failed???

I'm clueless, one day it just went soft!
 
some lenses can get element misalignement over time. Canon 24-70mm is one. Photozone.de has a simple test to try if you are worried.

My quick test is to focus centre on something very distant (20m+) then recompose to all four corners. Naturally, centre should be marginally better, and the corners should be very similar all together. When it is really bad you will notice one side focused much closer or much softer...

the test should be done faster than 1/500s or more, handheld is obviously fine.

If it is just AF problem, focus with liveview to confirm that.

I hope it is NOT any of above.
 
It'll be worth getting a repair quote, surely?

Ring around and get some quotes, it may be a known issue with a known repair cost or there may be a standard repair cost or at worst you may have to send it away to get a quote. Once you have a quote you can then decide if it's worth fixing.
 
Has it had a knock?
It'll probably repair.
 
Phil Young said:
Seems like a lot of hassel for a lens I could get for a little over £100 used.

If it's a mechanical fault, which its looking like it is, I bet the labour alone will come to nearly the cost of the lens...
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Maybe, you could be right. I didn't realise they were so cheap but you won't know for sure if it's worth it or not until you get a quote, or try to get one.
 
I think.....

This could well be a lesson in build quality and why its important!

I guess if it is plastic then a knock could damage the internal elements or focusing motor etc.

Shame - it was my favourite lens!

I'm sure I got sharp shots from it at my last wedding...I'm going to have a wander through my shots and if any are sharp take a look at the exif.

I'll report back!
 
My 17-55 all of a sudden had no idea what focus was for anything over 3 feet - tracked down to a fall from a table:$. A service sorted it but it cost more than the 2nd hand value of your lens.:'(
 
Right.

It's not the lens, the focusing on my D7000 is out AGAIN.

Just had a look through all my recent stuff and images are soft with my 50mm f1.8 @ f5 & 1/1000s. Looks like another visit to fixation...

At least my newly purchased 18-200mm should be really sharp when it's fixed and my lens will work well again (although it's now surplus to requirements).

I did second guess myself earlier and think it could have been the body but because the prime is that much better I just took a look at an image on camera and brushed the idea to the side.
 
Phil Young said:
Right.

It's not the lens, the focusing on my D7000 is out AGAIN.

Just had a look through all my recent stuff and images are soft with my 50mm f1.8 @ f5 & 1/1000s. Looks like another visit to fixation...

At least my newly purchased 18-200mm should be really sharp when it's fixed and my lens will work well again (although it's now surplus to requirements).

I did second guess myself earlier and think it could have been the body but because the prime is that much better I just took a look at an image on camera and brushed the idea to the side.
Click to expand...

I had problems with AF on the d7000 but a fine tune sorted it out no problem at all then all lenses were tack sharp

Was a real shocker when I bought the d700 as no tuning was needed on any of the lenses!

Also I do weddings myself and you definitely need to invest in some sort of 2.8 zoom! You could pick up a decent sigma 70-200 non os for about 300 quid!
 
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TonyNI said:
I had problems with AF on the d7000 but a fine tune sorted it out no problem at all then all lenses were tack sharp

Was a real shocker when I bought the d700 as no tuning was needed on any of the lenses!

Also I do weddings myself and you definitely need to invest in some sort of 2.8 zoom! You could pick up a decent sigma 70-200 non os for about 300 quid!
Click to expand...

FT is no good - this is the second time my camera developed this problem. Last time they adjusted something or caliberated it...I've spent ages trying but its just not working for me.

Yes if I continue doing weddings definately. I've been getting away with my 50mm but the pictures start top all have the same perspective.

Anyhow I much prefer video so if anything I want to video weddings, then a 2.8 is not as neccesary...

I've been heavily researching the tamron recently. On paper that looks the best, competing with the Nikon vr 2 but lacking vr, if I were to get one I'd most likely go down that avenue, with a second D7000 and a 35mm attached to one...but as I said...video lol.
 
If it is still under warranty and this is the second time it has happened I'd be pushing for a replacement if the camera hasn't been knocked hard. It's clearly not up to scratch or fixation's repair didn't cure the reason for it drifting off.
 
Where did you buy it and how long ago? If fixation do warranty work for Nikon then potentially but normally it's the retailer that is asked.
 
Finally got my camera back! It turned out to be the printed circuit board that needed replacing!

So unfortunate I didn't know when doing my last wedding...

Anyhow, glad that it's not the lens after all...although....now I've seen the true potential of the 18-200mm...I don't think I need the 55-200mm anymore!! Great to have sharpness and detail once again :)
 
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