Posted by Rohn B. McKee on March 31, 2010 at 4:20 PM
I own a Canon 500mm f4 lens, used on a 7D. I don't get the sharpness achieved by others on the avian gallery. I shoot in raw and boost sharpness in Camera Raw and Aperture. I use a tripod and turn off the stabilizer, use stabilizer when resting on the window on my truck. Could my lens be faulty? Is there a test I could perform, to find out?
Rohn, When I first got the same lens I had exactly the concerns you mentioned. Freaked me out so much after spending that much money that I called my dealer in a panic. He invited me to bring it into his shop to have it tested. He spent about an hour doing so, (he didn't charge me for the service and I was there through the whole process) and in the end it was fine. Turns out that I just needed better long lens technique and sharpening technique. I have the stabilizer turned on virtually all the time, tripod or not. I suppose it's possible that it's a problem with the lens but I'd be surprised...
Posted by Brian Gatlin on March 31, 2010 at 5:39 PM
Rohn, I'd set it up on a tripod or a table or something very sturdy and shoot a detailed target at a high shutter speed using the timer shutter release to remove any possible causes of motion that might cause softness. Evaluate the results and go from there.
Posted by Dan Borzynski on March 31, 2010 at 6:08 PM
Or repeat Brian's test using full flash and a minimal enough manual exposure to completely eliminate any ambient light in the exposure.
Also, what are you using for a tripod and head?
Posted by David Bostedo on March 31, 2010 at 6:40 PM
This is pretty old, but still pretty relevant I think :
Posted by Nate Chappell on March 31, 2010 at 8:38 PM
Have you used the 7D with other lenses and do you get sharp images with the 7D on those lenses?
The reason I ask is that I tried a 7D and the images were very soft compared to my 1DMarkIII and compared to my 50D and 20D. I tried the supposed fixes and they didn't work. I sent it back for a refund. There are quite a few other people who have had the same experience or sent back the first 7D because they were having trouble with it and then received a 7D that worked really well. Obviously a lot of 7D's are very good as well as evidenced by photos posted on this site. But I think it's safe to say there are a fair amount of "lemon" 7D's out there. My guess is that this will eventually play out like the 1DMarkIII where there are certain serial numbers that Canon identifies the AF system needs to be fixed.
I recently purchased the same lens. It is worthwhile googleing long lens technique. Pay attention the the small items. It worked wonders for me. I wound up buying a good carbon fiber tripod and a bean bag. Once I embraced all the techniques my sharpness when up exponentially. The devil is in the details with the long lens.
This said also rule out the camera body. When using correct technique for non moving targets the viewfinder will appear rock steady.
Hi Rohn, I too am interested if you have any better luck with other lense on you 7D? I just purchased a 7D and the photos I"ve taken with a longer lense (300mm) haven't turned out the best ( the lighting and shooting conditions haven't been the best though.) For standard range shooting with the kit lense-18-135mm- I have been pleased and today I will try macro and see what kind of results I get. Are you pleased with the 7D body with other lense? If so I would take the advice from the others here and learn some 500mm techniques for they have proven to have great photos. Also if you have a camera shop nearby I would take it in for some testing to ease your mind. A large puchase like this can make a person sick if they can't have any confidence in it. Good luck and I look forward to seeing some of your results.
Posted by David Haynes on April 5, 2010 at 6:09 PM
Rohn,
I believe this happens to nearly everyone who first fires off some shots with their new LONG lense. In addition to everything listed above try the following.....for moving subjects I recommend shutter speeds way in excess of 1000. That's the starting point. Bump up the ISO which helps you get the extra shutter speed needed for crisp shots. Don't be afraid, 800-1000 is not that high with the new Nikon and Cannon bodies. Your lense is sharp wide open so shoot wide open if possible. Closing down will only slow your shutter speed. If not hand held you MUST have a really good tripod and I recommend a whimberly type head. You can absolutely forget a ball head. Set your camera to continuous shooting mode.
If shooting a still target close down a couple of stops to get more depth of field. Your subject is not moving so a really fast shutter speed is not as critical. Shoot from a tripod as well. Practice panning techniques. If your panning faster or slower than your moving subject you are creating motion blur. To IS or not to IS. I'm a Nikon shooter but this probably applies to all. Using image stabilization for shots of moving targets where you have a shutter speed in excess of the focal length of the lense wont help and might actually hurt. This is what I've heard from a couple of pro birders in the San Diego area. If you are shooting with a shutter speed of 1000 or higher I don't think IS will be helpful. Play around and see what works by changing things up. Good luck!!
Discussion
9 repliesAlso, what are you using for a tripod and head?
NPN Article On Long Lens Technique
The reason I ask is that I tried a 7D and the images were very soft compared to my 1DMarkIII and compared to my 50D and 20D. I tried the supposed fixes and they didn't work. I sent it back for a refund. There are quite a few other people who have had the same experience or sent back the first 7D because they were having trouble with it and then received a 7D that worked really well. Obviously a lot of 7D's are very good as well as evidenced by photos posted on this site. But I think it's safe to say there are a fair amount of "lemon" 7D's out there. My guess is that this will eventually play out like the 1DMarkIII where there are certain serial numbers that Canon identifies the AF system needs to be fixed.
This said also rule out the camera body. When using correct technique for non moving targets the viewfinder will appear rock steady.
I believe this happens to nearly everyone who first fires off some shots with their new LONG lense. In addition to everything listed above try the following.....for moving subjects I recommend shutter speeds way in excess of 1000. That's the starting point. Bump up the ISO which helps you get the extra shutter speed needed for crisp shots. Don't be afraid, 800-1000 is not that high with the new Nikon and Cannon bodies. Your lense is sharp wide open so shoot wide open if possible. Closing down will only slow your shutter speed. If not hand held you MUST have a really good tripod and I recommend a whimberly type head. You can absolutely forget a ball head. Set your camera to continuous shooting mode.
If shooting a still target close down a couple of stops to get more depth of field. Your subject is not moving so a really fast shutter speed is not as critical. Shoot from a tripod as well. Practice panning techniques. If your panning faster or slower than your moving subject you are creating motion blur. To IS or not to IS. I'm a Nikon shooter but this probably applies to all. Using image stabilization for shots of moving targets where you have a shutter speed in excess of the focal length of the lense wont help and might actually hurt. This is what I've heard from a couple of pro birders in the San Diego area. If you are shooting with a shutter speed of 1000 or higher I don't think IS will be helpful. Play around and see what works by changing things up. Good luck!!