p.1 #1 · Lenses With Least /Most Amount of Decentering Issues?
Most of us have run into the dreaded decentering issue at one point or another. Constantly having to return a decentered lens is a painful process. I personally have had to return several lenses that were decentered. Interestingly enough, most of them were Sony lenses. The Sony FE 40mm f2.5 was the most notorious for me; it took 3 samples before I finally got a good one.
So far I've been a bit lucky with Tamron and Canon RF lenses.
So, my questions to you are:
1. Which brand of lenses have had the least amount of decentering issues in your personal experience?
2. Which lenses have you used that have had decentering issues?
p.1 #2 · Lenses With Least /Most Amount of Decentering Issues?
Fortunately, production tolerances for de-centering have really improved in recent years across manufacturers. In years past, I had to exchange many lenses due to de-centering (Sony, Canon & Nikon). The worst lens I ever had was the Canon EF 35mm f1.4 II from a few years back. It took five exchanges to get an acceptable one. Thankfully, such severity was not a common circumstance.
I rarely need to exchange lenses, nowadays, but the last lens I purchased that had significant de-centering was the GM 16-35mm f2.8 II I purchased three years ago. Thankfully, the exchange lens solved the problem. There were a few complaints about this lens, relative to de-centering, on the forums.
As a note, even the best lenses can exhibit a slight amount of de-centering if scrutinized thoroughly.
p.1 #3 · Lenses With Least /Most Amount of Decentering Issues?
I had a number of occurrences of this with EF lenses, but so far, no RF lenses I have acquired have suffered from this. (To this day, I always test a new lens for obvious decentering.) I think that perhaps manufacturing tolerances have been improved.
p.1 #4 · Lenses With Least /Most Amount of Decentering Issues?
It's less related to brand than the type of lens. Zooms with extending barrels are notorious. Cheap lenses are worse than lenses with heavier, more robust construction. Prime lenses are better, but some are also not quite right.
I've had issues with each of Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Sigma centering/tilt/piston. I haven't used a Tamron since the '80s so not meaningful.
The most important thing is to test every lens carefully and immediately. Return it if not up to par.
