I have a Canon 100-400L IS that is soft. I suspected the problem was the photographer (me) but after 2 years of trying I'm realizing this is just another bad copy of this lens.
So my question is, would I be better off sending it to Canon to be calibrated, or just sell it and start fresh with a new copy (that I would immediately test and return if it's bad)?
So you are going to sell someone a known bad lens? That's not the way to treat fellow photographers! If you state it is bad copy and price accordingly it may be ok but If you like the100-400 lens get it fix'd.
If I sell it, of course I would price it for what it's worth. But I'm not going to just throw out/recycle a $1300 lens. I would donate it to a local high school photography class if I couldn't sell it.
I think part of my question is whether or not sending it into Canon is really going to fix the problem. Reading this forum and others it seems that may or may not be the case. So I want to get some advice from others before sending good money after bad.
Define soft? How big are the subjects in the frame? are you using it for bird photography? Landscapes? Something else?
IF you are going to go through the hassle of selling, repurchasing, testing, etc. simply send the one you have in, and let Canon fix it. They will fix it.
I vote for get it fixed. If you buy another one, you still take the chance of getting a "soft copy". I think your odds are better, and less expensive by sending it to Canon for calibration.
were these handheld? is there any exif data. it almost looks like a bit of motion blur in some. The waxwing is soft throughthe entire picture while the fly catcher isn't that bad.
wow is that a horrible photo web server. Some pop up came up and there was no way to close it or get around it to click on any of your photos. Try google picasa, way better.
Send it into Canon.
If you sell it, the person is just going to send it into Canon and have it calibrated to kick ass.
Think about it, you put it on the market, have to wait for it to sell. Then you sell it, so you buy your new one, you have to wait for it to get there, and then you have to test it.
This way you eliminate a few steps. Keep it, send it to Canon and see what happens.
