Canon Community

Fay · ‎11-23-2014

After a long wait my brother and I got our hands on a couple of Mark IIs. Problem is after a week of work we still feel like pictures are soft. I originally started trying to adjust with some of the methods on the web. I finally said @#$ with that and bought a LensAlign MKII and then the Focus Tune V3. Over the weekend we got the system set up and learned the basics of the software. Adjustments were made after doing 5 shots in steps of five. Then when we had the general area we shot 10 images in steps of 1 around the indicated best spot. Several times we did an even tighter refinement again using 10 shots for the software to scan. This was done with the 100-400 at both ends of the zoom and the 600 with and without the 1.4 extender. I think I got the 100-400 zeroed in, but brother is still frustrated. Neither of us like the results with the 600 after micro adjustments.

One thing we did notice is that when the lens was locked down on the tripod and we pushed the TC-80N3 remote controller button half way the focus point tended to drift down. The image stablization was on with all lens. I usually don't tripod my 100-400 and when using the 600 the tripod is typically not locked down so I was told the IS being on was okay.

So any suggestions or words of wisdom would be appreciated. To be truthful I am a very short way from taking the camera back and replacing it with a different body.

Thank you. Fay and Robert

Fay · ‎12-01-2014

Okay it isn't the camera. In fact it was the lens that was the problerm. I talked to Canon Tech Support we attempted several things including manual focusing the equipment. One thing the tech asked is how long the lens was on the previous camera. Short answer was almost constantly for the last several years with occassional change. We were left with the suggestion that we send the lens and camera to the service center. His question regarding the length the lens was on the question brought the thought up about the condition of the contacts. After some research I bought Deoxit Gold and cleaned the lens contacts.

We also got a better system down working with the LensAlign target and the Focus Tune v3 software. While running these new test we made sure that the IS was off. The bottom line is that our problem is resolved. Yahoo! But, weather is crapping. Boo. So looking forward to some shooting weather.

Thank you for all of your comments and I am sorry it took me time to get back here to tell you "the rest of the story."

Fay

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ebiggs1 · ‎01-21-2015

"I only shoot in Raw using the AdobeRGB color space and process with ACR."

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Skirball · ‎11-24-2014

@KeithR wrote:
Isn't it safe to assume that there's a reason why Canon explicitly recommends turning off IS on tripods; and that there's a reason why it has actually developed tripod-sensing IS on some of the big Whites?

Actually, I looked it up just for grins. For the 24-105L IS and 24-70 f/4 IS it recommends turning off IS while on a tripod to save battery. The 70-200 II, 300mm 2.8 II, 400mm 2.8 II, 200-400mm f/4 1.4x, 800mm 5.6, says "depending on the tripod and conditions sometimes it may be better to turn IS off". A non-commital statement if I've ever read one. Only the old 100-400 says not to use it; the new manual isn't up yet.

The link you provided was of course from Canon EU. I perused Canon USA's extensive webpage on IS and couldn't find any mention of it. My point simply: the situation isn't as clear cut as you make it out to be.

SDRoadster · ‎01-30-2017

In manual mode my 7D Mark II main dial does not adjust the aperture, the LCD displays "L". I have to go into the quick settings menu to change.

Waddizzle · ‎01-18-2019

SDRoadster is seeing “L” because his buttons are LOCKED. Check the [LOCK] switch on the rear panel.

Seed,
Testing depth of field can be a test of your skills as a photographer. In fact, I will say that it is a test.

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"The right mouse button is your friend."