I have a four month old MKII that just will not produce a nice sharp, crisp image on par with my other L lenses. Not at 1.2,2.8 or f4. It does not seem to be front or rear focusing. Its just soft. Do you think this is some thing Canon can fix or do I just have a bum lens?

are you using focus + recompose or specific focal points?

an full image along with exif data may go a long way to help answer.

Post an example....

It's usually user error... Crazy shallow DOF requires VERY steady hands. Try to do the same with MF & a tripod to compare against the AF on the same tripod. Make sure that you're using a remote cord or a timer and that you and/or your subject do not move. The 85 f1.2 has a bit of a learning curve to master.

If it is not sharp at f/4 you really have a problem

Having said that... Is MF giving you the same results as AF? On what cameras do you use the lens?

Agreed, posting an image with EXIF will really help.

camera? is it soft with any camera, work other lenses fine on the body, also soft on a tripod?
since I am a "shaky" guy ;-) I try to have a shutter speed of 1/100 or better (1/160 is ok for me). below that I use a tripod.
Keep in mind the DOF at apertures of 1.2 to 4.0 is veeery thin... how do you focus? do you move your camera after focusing?

without examples and exifs it's hard to tell....

send it to Canon for calibration that's all I can say without images and further informations.

Post the pics

Let me take a couple of days to do a good photo evaluation and then I'll post the results here for a more informative example. Thank you for you replys........Max

EF85/1.2 should be sharp even wide open, at least in the center. Even a little stopped down in becomes razor sharp in the center.

My 85L II is razor sharp, even at f/1.2

I tend to use in servo mode and get a very high keeper rate.

The biggest barriers to sharp photos for me is motion and dof and the noise from high ISO that I usually use in conjunction with the lens

On Tripod at ISO 100, the sharpness is amazing Not tack sharp like it is stopped down but still "sharp" (in my opinion)

I hope it all works out, although my keep rate is really low it's the most fun lens I have to shoot with, it just oozes class

When testing use a tripod. The only way to eliminate movement out of the focal plane.

Have you tested it in any way to eliminate the possibility of user error?

BTW, here is my experience with a 35/1.4 which was "not sharp".

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/607298

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

mordicai wrote:
I have a four month old MKII that just will not produce a nice sharp, crisp image on par with my other L lenses. Not at 1.2,2.8 or f4. It does not seem to be front or rear focusing. Its just soft. Do you think this is some thing Canon can fix or do I just have a bum lens?

Post a sample. There are many things that could be going on: technique, unrealistic expectations, front/back focusing, etc.

If it really is out of adjustment Canon can fix it. If the issue is something else there may be other remedies.

Dan

I think the problem with these very fast primes is that many people want to use it wide open all the time, even when they are so close to their subject that they end up with too narrow a dof. If you find yourself being challenged by the dof, either back up, or stop down. Some will disagree, but these primes are not about shooting only wide open.



Ruy

There is difference between sharp optics and OOF AF. When I shoot people at F1.2/1.4 I only expect one eye in focus (must use MF for glassess wearers for get focus on a pupil). I shoot bursts of shots and either rock my body or the MF.

Do NOT focus and recompose, especially wider open. You will be disappointed. Select your AF point specifically. Also realize that at f/1.2 the DoF is ridiculously thin. Finally, this lens is sharp from wide open all the way down; if yours isn't in light of the above, get it fixed.

Doesn't this answer the question

mordicai wrote:
Let me take a couple of days to do a good photo evaluation and then I'll post the results here for a more informative example. Thank you for you replys........Max

I did a little experiment tonight. Had my 85 L on a tripod with spot metering at 200 ISO. I did my experiment a little differently though. I took a shot using AF (center focus point on the middle of the label) and then another shot using Live View and MF. One thing I found out is that in Live View, the exposure was much better. Look at the shuter speed!! What's up??

I shot 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0

In all series Shot A is with AF, Shot B is Live View with MF.

Edited by pawlowski6132 on Aug 25, 2008 at 09:37 PM GMT

Edited by pawlowski6132 on Aug 26, 2008 at 10:08 AM GMT

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8