Re: Soft results with the R5? Check your lens filter first.
highdesertmesa wrote:
Testing 200mm for infinity sharpness doesn’t give me much choice. If I focus closer than infinity, then it’s almost impossible to find a hill/ridge parallel to the sensor plane. At least here if I shoot early morning or right at sunset, the air is pretty stable: 5,500’ elevation, low humidity, clear air.
Then focus on something else. One good target is the side of a tall building. If you are in a rural area, perhaps you can find a barn. If in an urban area, one good option is to photograph a multistory building from another multistory building. (Offering up "test results" that damn the performance of a lens when you know that you don't have decent test targets is a questionable approach.)
Aso, low humidity, elevation, "clear" air, and even low temperatures do not eliminate the distortions from disturbances in the atmosphere. I've observed them with using long lenses in such supposedly idea situations.
Finally, never test a lens with a filter attached unless your purpose is to test the filter itself — in which case you would first test the lens alone to develop a performance baseline and then add the filter in order to check for variations. Filters, even good filters, can never have a beneficial effect on sharpness, and there are any number of situations in which they can degrade the overall optical performance. (And if you are are extremely critical about sharpness/resolution in your photography in general, do not leave UV/clear filters on your lenses — add them only if and when they might be necessary.
Nov 04, 2020 at 10:30 AM
Previous versions of gdanmitchell's message #15395405 « Sharpness issues on RF 70-200 f/2.8 – far left side is blurred »
