topic Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp in EF & RF Lenses

Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

scapilot — Fri, 08 May 2020 19:45:54 GMT

I've had this lens for many years and tried everything from diffrent bodies (eos Rebel and t5) and still all of my shots (Near or Far) are not clear. I have to photoshop everyone of them to get them clear. Is it the lens or something else?

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

Tronhard — Fri, 08 May 2020 22:22:06 GMT

The Canon 75-300 is a cheap kit lens and is arguably Canon's worst telephoto effort optically. If you really want some decent images, get a replacement.

If you want something with the same reach then there are alternatives: read my review:

https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/Lenses/Non-L-70-300-Canon-Lenses/m-p/262318#M14886

You could pick up a MkI version (which is stil way better than the 75-300) for a song most likely, but the MkII is definitely a great lens and you could probably get one refurbished from Canon if you check their website.

Do you still shoot with the T5 and Rebel (which model)? I have a fair range, so I am pretty confident I can find a comparible one and put the EF 70-300 MkII version on that. Also what subjects do you shoot - I'll see what I can find that might be similar and will post a couple of images to this thread for your consideration.

In the meantime I will take a Canon EOS 80D with me - that should be more demanding than the bodies you referred to.

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

scapilot — Sat, 09 May 2020 00:21:04 GMT

I'm using my T5 solely and I have a very slim budget due to to coronavirus issue and no work 😞 .. I'll definitely look into an alternative lens.. thanks

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

Tronhard — Sat, 09 May 2020 02:35:49 GMT

Right.. so, I went for a walk in the fall sunshine this morning, visiting a local graveyard that has some lovely walks and the Pacifica graves are amazingly colourful and unique, so I thought they might prove interesting subjects. I have tried to take a selection of images covering focal length, distance, aperture etc. All images were brought into Photoshop to make them small enough to be able to post here, but I did very little apart from that - one image I cropped quite a bit to make a point.

Canon EOS 80D, EF-70-300 IS USM 4-5.6 MkII, 278mm, f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO-100

Canon EOS 80D, EF-70-300 IS USM 4-5.6 MkII, 79mm, f/5, 1/40sec, ISO-100

Canon EOS 80D, EF-70-300 IS USM 4-5.6 MkII, 113mm, f/5, 1/500 sec, ISO-100

Canon EOS 80D, EF-70-300 IS USM 4-5.6 MkII, 300mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec, ISO-100

Canon EOS 80D, EF-70-300 IS USM 4-5.6 MkII,135mm, f/18, 1/40 sec, ISO-100

Canon EOS 80D, EF-70-300 IS USM 4-5.6 MkII, 300mm, f/11, 1/320 sec, ISO-200

(Previous Image Cropped)

Canon EOS 80D, EF-70-300 IS USM 4-5.6 MkII, 238mm, f/8, 1/25 sec, ISO-100

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

Tronhard — Sat, 09 May 2020 02:34:41 GMT

@scapilot wrote:
I'm using my T5 solely and I have a very slim budget due to to coronavirus issue and no work 😞 .. I'll definitely look into an alternative lens.. thanks

Ah, sorry. I had been posting the samples when you made this reply.

Well, if the budget is slim and you prefer not to wait, then I would recomment the MkI version of this lens too. In my post reviewing the Non-L lenses, you will have seen the sample of the seagull taken with that lens. Not likely to be available new, but you could get a used, or preferably refurbished one for a fairly low price.

I just looked at the Canon USA refurb site and there is a Mk II available for $359, if that is of any interest - I would suggest selling your old 75-300 lens. Otherwise, try a second-hand website...

https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/lenses-flashes/refurbished-lenses#facet:-8109841011081011121041111161113290111111109,-811269703276101110115101115&productBeginIndex:0&orderBy:&pageView:grid&pageSize:&

Good luck and my condolances on your trying times. The world has changed a lot, very quickly, and I fear there will be a new reality afterwards. I cannot express how luck I feel to live where I do.

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

Tronhard — Sat, 09 May 2020 08:32:00 GMT

As another thought. The Canon EF-S 55-250 IS STM lens could be an economical alternative. They are generally significantly cheaper and though they have a shorter reach, depending up on what you are trying to photograph, they coud give you what you seek. NOTE get the latest STM version and not the earlier IS or IS II ones.

Being a kit lens there are tons of them around on the market and you could likely pick up an STM version for not a great investment. On the same Canon Refurb site there is a STM version for $216.

I have this lens and for most purposes it does a great job and should be a great partner to your T5. (not sure if that is the T5 or T5i...

Canon EOS 60D, EF-S 55-250 IS STM, 89mm, f/8, 1/1600 Sec, ISO-200

Canon EOS 650D (Rebel T4i), EF-S 55-250 IS STM, 57mm, f/8, 1/200 sec, ISO-200

Canon EOS 60D, EF-S 55-250 IS STM, 109mm, f/11, 1/200sec, ISO-200

Canon EOS 80D, EF-S 55-250 IS STM, 105mm, f/7.1, 1/250 sec, ISO-800

Canon EOS 7DMkII, EF-S 55-250 IS STM, 140mm, f/7.1, 1/1600 sec, ISO-200

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

scapilot — Sat, 09 May 2020 11:08:44 GMT

Wow.. beautiful shots ! That's exactly what I was looking for. Clear sharp photos. I looked at a few lenses online last night and I found a couple of them for around 400.00 and that's something I can work with. I'll get one once my stimulus check gets here.. lol. Thanks for sharing. Keep the photos coming.

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

ebiggs1 — Sat, 09 May 2020 13:29:05 GMT

"I have to photoshop everyone of them to get them clear."

It is tough to impossible to make a soft picture sharp with PS. I am curious to exactly what you do to make a soft photo have better IQ. Can you post with steps you use? BTW, adding clarity doesn't sharpen a photo. It simply defines edges.

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

Tronhard — Sat, 09 May 2020 18:26:19 GMT

@scapilot wrote:
Wow.. beautiful shots ! That's exactly what I was looking for. Clear sharp photos. I looked at a few lenses online last night and I found a couple of them for around 400.00 and that's something I can work with. I'll get one once my stimulus check gets here.. lol. Thanks for sharing. Keep the photos coming.

If funds are an issue, and I would assume they are, then DO consider getting a refurb unit from Canon. They come with a warranty and they have been fully serviced by their specialists, so they are just as good as new, but for less money. About the only thing you will miss is that the lenses may come in a white box instead of the normal livery.

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

scapilot — Tue, 12 May 2020 13:56:01 GMT

Sorry it took so long getting back.

Using Corel After Shot Pro. I select the sharpening option and slide the amount to desired sharping.

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

ebiggs1 — Tue, 12 May 2020 14:09:11 GMT

OK, that doesn't actually sharpen or improve the IQ of a lens. It finds edges and increases contrast between them. This gives an appearance of a sharper photo. If used judiciously it can help. I hope it does the job for you. Most post editors have a function like that. And, a lot of people over use, abuse, it.

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

scapilot — Wed, 13 May 2020 18:52:20 GMT

I started my love of photography when I was in the 6th grade with my Canon A1 35mm and when I got older I went to the AE1 and a motor drive. That was when you could shoot at anything and get great shots. Oh Well I'll get a differnt lens and give it another try. Thank's for the help.

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

ebiggs1 — Wed, 13 May 2020 20:11:10 GMT

I came from the A1 school, too. I still have mine. I also still have my F1n. I occasionally use it for fun. It was my constant companion for years. There wasn't a day gone by that I didn't use it. It is a real friend.

Re: Canon Early Canon Gear

Tronhard — Wed, 13 May 2020 20:15:25 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
I came from the A1 school, too. I still have mine. I also still have my F1n. I occasionally use it for fun. It was my constant companion for years. There wasn't a day gone by that I didn't use it. It is a real friend.

I started my photographic career with 2x Nikon F3's and 2 Canon A-1's, using Tamrom Adaptall SP lenses as I was on the road or in the wild a lot. I still have one of each, but just the one Canon 50mm f/1.4.

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

scapilot — Fri, 15 May 2020 19:27:18 GMT

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

ebiggs1 — Sat, 16 May 2020 14:17:55 GMT

Nice!

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

scapilot — Sat, 16 May 2020 15:44:48 GMT

Thank you!

Re: Canon 75-300mm III Lens not sharp

wq9nsc — Sat, 16 May 2020 18:18:06 GMT

Nice photo scapilot!

Quite often, a lack of contrast is as big of an issue as sharpness with IQ and this often makes the use of teleconverers (especially the 2X) far less desirable. I have found glass and glass/teleconverter combinations that don't perform well in some lighting situations are decent when the lighting results in good scene contrast.

And depending upon you aperture and shooting distance, focus calibration (and also any lens aberrations such as astigmatism) become extremely critical. I shot these this morning while checking AF calibration of a 5DS R and EF 800 f5.6 lens and at this shooting distance, ~30 feet, with wide open aperture the depth of field is under 2 inches leaving almost no margin for error. Pushing a lens like this either when desiring shallow DoF or because of lighting constraints will push a lens to its capabilities and choosing a little friendlier shooting setup is often helpful.

The little bird building its nest was a bonus, I set the camera and tripod up in a comfortable location and thought the twigs in the old hand pump would make a good calibration target and as I was doing the initial setup the little bird landed and continued her construction work 🙂 I don't think the EF 800 is quite as sharp as its incredible 400, 300, and 200 brothers but with decent lighting its extra reach works very nicely.

Rodger