70 200mm f4 usm non is Not sharp

Discussion in 'Canon Lens Discussion' started by NayB, May 11, 2020.

  1. NayB

    NayB New Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2020
    Messages:
    2
    Equipment:
    Canon 700d kit lens
    70 200mm fr usm non is
    I seem to be having a focus issus of some sort or so I think I am my photos don't seem to be very sharp and I know this lens should give very sharp photos I'm using a 700d body I'm trying to keep my Iso between 400 to 800 shutter hight as poss and also trying all kinds of F numbers I'm going to upload a photo if anybody with this lens could help me out I need to know what steps I can take to fix this thank you IMG_6885.JPG
     

  2. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2017
    Messages:
    2,327
    Location:
    Fargo, ND
    Equipment:
    5dMk4, 5dsR, 5dMk2, 20D, 70-200 2.8L IS, 100mm 2.8 Macro USM, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 17-40mm 4.0L, TS-E 24mm 3.5L II, Rokinon 14mm 2.8; Pixma Pro-100
    First and primary question: Were did the camera lock focus on? Can I assume the shutter is 1/200 or faster? You have a long heavy lens to stop lens travel motion blur.

    A quick glance it seems like looking at the shirt as it approaches the front arm the focus is here somewhere as I do see edge detail here. You have a pretty shallow depth of field here (f4 i take it?) as you can see the drop off within a few inches, which is why you see a good portion of her get soft quickly. It looks like the image may be focused just a little in front of her.

    Have you tested the lens against a chart,? You can can google how to do lens testing/calibration. To see if your lens need some micro adjustment. Also the key to sharpness is contrast, and portraits it is a best practice to focus on the eyes as the key point.

    If you kicked some bounce light back at the face and use a focus point to grab the catch light in the eyes then even with the shallower DOF of f2.8 or f4 you would get the nose in focus and most of the face and hair.

    Did you shoot raw? Raw images by nature will not have any processing applied, so they tend to be muted and slightly soft to gather ever bit of information possible by the sensor. When you shoot JPG the camera manufacture will do some processing to that compressed file, not the case with a raw file, they will let you season to taste the contrast, saturation, sharpness, etc... It similar to being a chef and starting with a unseasoned tomato sauce base to build your seasoning on for your pasta dish.
    Also you probably will not feel like a lens is sharp at 100% zoom if you are doing that, back out to print or screen size for your editing, and you can use an unsharpen mask to bump the edge contrast just a bit and add a hair of sharpness.
     
  3. NayB

    NayB New Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2020
    Messages:
    2
    Equipment:
    Canon 700d kit lens
    70 200mm fr usm non is
    WOW. 1st thank you for your reply and a very good one at that yes this was at f4 and I'm not 100% but I'm sure I did try focus the eye as I do always with any photo of a person and yes you got it in 1 I'm talking about her face is kind of slightly soft but then other bits are sharper I'm woundering if it may need some work on the lens my 1st time owning one so wasn't sure if it is me or the lens or body for that matter I'll keep shooting and see if things get better agen thanks for your reply buddy
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 12, 2020

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