Disappointed!

[Mitica100]

OK, I decided a while ago to sell my Canon 28-135 IS lens and get me a Canon 24-105 L IS lens. Find one on Amazon.com (pre-owned and in 'like new' condition). The guy sends it to the wrong address on his first attempt, I contact him and he says he made a stupid mistake, sending it to a wrong address. So he sends it to me, to the correct address. It arrives and I put it on to try a few shots. Well... This lens is supposed to be a knock @$$ lens, sharp and all, except that all hand held pictures came out soft at ISO 100 and f/4 (wide open). Now I know this is one of the sharpest lenses out there (Canon) at wide open so I decide to shoot it again from a tripod. Next day I get out, put the lens on the camera and take a series of shots, at 24mm, then I switch to my old, reliable Tamron 17-35 Di DL Aspherical and shoot the same pictures at 24mm as well. Same apertures (f/22) and careful focusing (manual). Lo and behold, the 'L' lens does not fare much better than the Tamron! I was disappointed...

Then it occurred to me that the lens spent quite a little time in transit, bouncing from address to address until it reached me and I wonder if that did a number on lens cell alignment or anything internal for that matter. I've seen shots taken with the 24-105 and they're tack sharp, not so with this pre-owned one. I returned it and asked for my money back. I guess I'll go get a new one for a few hundred more, buying piece of mind. As they say, 'Caveat Emptor'...

I am just disappointed, that's all. Bit***ing off now! LOL

 

[Derrel]

Quality used lens!!! Not! Bummer...

 

[bentcountershaft]

What are you shooting with f/22? The sun?

 

[ghache]

what is the shutter speed of these shots?

 

[Mitica100]

What are you shooting with f/22? The sun?

It was a test shot, I used both lenses at f/22 to shoot my house front during a sunny day. Camera on tripod. Does this make sense now? LOL

 

[Mitica100]

what is the shutter speed of these shots?

The Tamron shot (at 24mm) was 1/60 at f/22.

The Canon shot (at 24mm) was 1/20 at f/22.

Both shot in Av, camera on tripod and remote trigger.

 

[bentcountershaft]

What are you shooting with f/22? The sun?

It was a test shot, I used both lenses at f/22 to shoot my house front during a sunny day. Camera on tripod. Does this make sense now? LOL

Being that most lenses start losing sharpness beyond f/13-f/16 or so, no. I only go beyond those for when I really want a long duration shutter and sharpness isn't absolutely critical, like twilight sun rises for instance.

 

[ghache]

that is not how you test "sharpness" of a lens.

 

[Mitica100]

OK guys, I'll leave it to you to explain how to test for sharpness. I have used the 24-105 at various apertures yet it was still quite soft. The test at f/22 was done to test both lenses and see what difference I get.

Lemme hear your advice, please...

 

[Overread]

For lens testing the approach I've used is the following (based on my macro work but works for regular lenses too).

1) set the camera on a tripod with the lens attached - make sure to use the lens collar if it comes with one

2) set the aperture to wide open - ISO to base for the camera (generally either 100 or 200 for some models/brands) - shutter speed should be free to be what it wants, but try to keep it reasonably fast - use flash if you need more light

2b) if using flash, ideally, tripod mount it as well to keep it still (makes things easier)

3) enable mirror lock up on the camera and use a remote release or the timer in the camera

3b) don't shoot on carpet or old wooden floors - hard wood, concrete, slate, tiles - anything hard that won't shift or move as you move around yourself

4) Having removed all motion problems position the camera at a roughly 45degree angle to the intended test subject (this allows that the depth of field will always show one part of the subject in focus and sharp - shooting head on can give problems if its a little bit out)

5) Take the shot - repeat the steps at one aperture increments through the regular used range - this allows you to see the spread of the lenses performance through his aperture range from wide open to closed down.

6) If wanted repeat the process for the lens to be compared - try to keep the subject frame the same if at all possible


That should give you a good sharpness comparison between the two lenses

 

[Mitica100]

For lens testing the approach I've used is the following (based on my macro work but works for regular lenses too).

1) set the camera on a tripod with the lens attached - make sure to use the lens collar if it comes with one OK, done that...

2) set the aperture to wide open - ISO to base for the camera (generally either 100 or 200 for some models/brands) - shutter speed should be free to be what it wants, but try to keep it reasonably fast - use flash if you need more light Daylight shooting, no flash needed, 100 ISO, however shot at f/22

2b) if using flash, ideally, tripod mount it as well to keep it still (makes things easier) N/A

3) enable mirror lock up on the camera and use a remote release or the timer in the camera Used only remote release, I'll try with mirror lock up.

3b) don't shoot on carpet or old wooden floors - hard wood, concrete, slate, tiles - anything hard that won't shift or move as you move around yourself Tripod was on pavement (concrete)

4) Having removed all motion problems position the camera at a roughly 45degree angle to the intended test subject (this allows that the depth of field will always show one part of the subject in focus and sharp - shooting head on can give problems if its a little bit out) OK

5) Take the shot - repeat the steps at one aperture increments through the regular used range - this allows you to see the spread of the lenses performance through his aperture range from wide open to closed down. OK

6) If wanted repeat the process for the lens to be compared - try to keep the subject frame the same if at all possible Did that.


That should give you a good sharpness comparison between the two lenses

Thanks Over...

 

[Overread]

Yep f22 probably skewed your result somewhat then, extremes can be iffy areas so try comparing the more regular aperture ranges - if the L lens is still showing up soft then there are 2 possibilities:

1) The lens itself is defective

2) The lens is within tolerances, but is at one extreme end whilst your camera body is at the other - the combined result giving you a less than ideal performance whilst neither has a fixable fault. This is not totally uncommon and is why some people keep returning lenses to "get a sharp copy" - a better approach is a calibration by canon for which they need lens and camera body to tune them to each other

 

[Mitica100]

I should've been more informative about the test. The Canon lens, even at f/22, did not have the DOF that I expected from a WA lens. I shot in hyperfocal, BTW. That's what bothered me the most.

Thanks y'all for replies...

 

[Derrel]

Yep f22 probably skewed your result somewhat then, extremes can be iffy areas so try comparing the more regular aperture ranges - if the L lens is still showing up soft then there are 2 possibilities:

1) The lens itself is defective

2) The lens is within tolerances, but is at one extreme end whilst your camera body is at the other - the combined result giving you a less than ideal performance whilst neither has a fixable fault. This is not totally uncommon and is why some people keep returning lenses to "get a sharp copy" - a better approach is a calibration by canon for which they need lens and camera body to tune them to each other

or 3) It's a Canon 24-105-L....jack of all trades, master of none. BTW, I own BOTH lenses in question, the Tamron 17-35 Di AND the 24-105-L, both bought new, both used very carefully...the Tamron 17-35 is an excellent wide zoom, with a short 2:1 ratio, wide-to-wide; the 24-105 is a wide to normal to telephoto, crossing three different ranges in one design...the people at Tamron have considerable lens design experience...Tamron's 24-135 for example might just be the BEST walkabout lens ever designed...that a 24-105-L could not match up against the Tamron 17-35 Di is absolutely no surprise to me, since I own both lenses and have for several years...the Tamron is a SOLID lens design.