Is my 70-200 f4 L Lens sharp enough?

Just making sure it is sharp enough to save me sending it back to canon, i always thought they were sharper than that.

Shot was taken at F8 200mm, on a tripod and this is a 100% crop.

Any honest advice appreciated!

Link to the pic in question http://www.deviantart.com/view/35489737/​

 

That picture looks pretty soft to me. What shutter speed did you use? Did you press the button, or use the self timer? If you pressed the button, you might try using the self timer (assuming your camera has that feature) to see if motion blur from vibration is causing the problem.

Also, were you using manual or auto focus? It might just be that the picture isn't focused well. Are all your pictures turning out like this?

 

yeah they are to be honest, what can i do?

 

I was using a tripod and standing well away

 

Sometimes with long focal lengths the operation of the shutter can cause enough vibration to distort the image even on a tripod, could your tripod be a little lightweight too, most amateurs buy tripods that are pretty useless for the job, try again with a faster SS and see what happens. If the results are garbage return the lens as the result posted was pretty mediocre.

 

Thanks, I live near a Canon service centre so would i just be able to drop it off rather than post?

 

Thats so soft it looks out of focus......there is a serious problem here somewhere....

 

well that doesnt sound too healthy

 

New Sample up, still looks a duff unfortunately http://www.deviantart.com/view/35495701/

 

Does the 350D have mirror lock-up? If you have a flimsy tripod, that can be the main culprit. Try using mirror lock-up and the self-timer.

 

You should not need to use a tripod or mirror lockup to avoid softness; the lower shutter speed is a possible reason, but you’re still having the problem with the higher speed so that does not seem likely ether.

It may well be the lens but there are a few other things to look at too.
1) What resolutions and size did you shoot these in?
2) How where they resized the file?
3) What focusing mode where you using?
4) How is the sharpness with other lenses?