Anyone got a pointer to a test card - think my 400L is bust

[graham@edinburgh]

Took about 50 shots of some deer this afternoon up at Glen Etive, decently heavy outdoor tripod (Manf 055ProB) and cable release and not ONE of them is sharp. It was a bit blustery admittedly, but I took a fair percentage in between gusts.

They were far enough away to be at infinity too and nothing in the shots is sharp, so it's not a case of mis-focusing.

So I want to try some test shots, to double check. Anyone know where I can find/print some from and if there are any other things to try that people can suggest, I'd be grateful.

(Other shots with the 24-105 are fine, so it's not the body)

[Andy M]

Are you going to place the test card in the neighbours house across the road, or do you have a ridiculously long table?

[graham@edinburgh]

The flat I'm currently dossing in is long enough from the front door, down the hall and to the end of the sitting room at the far end to manage it. Just

[graham@edinburgh]

And I've just discovered a crack in my 24-105

Tiny and right on the edge but still.....

[stuart b]

Not sure if it's suitable for your purposes, but...
www.focustestchart.com/chart.html

Stuart

[Rednut05]

Bet that'll hurt the wallet.

[graham@edinburgh]

stuart b said:

Not sure if it's suitable for your purposes, but...
www.focustestchart.com/chart.html

Stuart

That's exactly the kind of thing I was after

[graham@edinburgh]

Rednut05 said:

Bet that'll hurt the wallet.

I know. Well, the 400 will, the 24-105 technically belongs to the company

Depending on the outcome, I might switch to a 100-400 IS L instead.

Just no one tell Watkinson

Edited by graham@edinburgh on Sunday 21st January 23:30

[graham@edinburgh]

Just tried it out on a label on a box of brake bits. 42 feet away, give or take, f/9, 1.3sec, ISO 100, tripod and 2sec shutter delay. Label's 6"x4" or so. 100% crop:



No sharpening in camera, during RAW conversion or in Photoshop.

Guess I was being crap up at Glen Etive then

Edited by graham@edinburgh on Tuesday 23 January 12:31

[TonyHetherington]

'kin ell! 42 ft?

"deer" eh, Graham? "deer", hey?

Looks like it was just mega windy for you?!

[graham@edinburgh]

Yeah, tripod technique I reckon. I rarely use that big lens on a tripod, ironically as I use it mainly for airshows and the odd trackday/motorsport event. In which case it's handheld (tripod or monopod at an airshow is pointless and even a monopod at a race is tricky). It's usually landscapes and the like that I use the tripod for.

[Gemm]

graham@edinburgh said:

Just tried it out on a label on a box of brake bits. 42 feet away, give or take, f/9, 1.3sec, ISO 100, tripod and 2sec shutter delay. Label's 6"x4" or so. 100% crop:

You need to do a focus test with aperture wide open.

[LongQ]

IS connection to this?

Mind you if it was windy all sort of strange things could be happening that you might not notice in the apparent 'calm' periods between the gusts.

[_dobbo_]

^^^
What Gemm said. f/9 at 400mm gives a good few inches of depth of field, meaning your result could be misleading.

What you really need to do is open the lens right up, and shoot at an angle of something like 45 degrees to the subject, this way you can see if the point you were focusing on is in focus or if the lens is front/back focusing.

[graham@edinburgh]

Ah ok - I'll revisit on Thursday evening when I'm back home. Wideopen straight on was soft but I've always found wide open less than perfect on Canon lenses, even Ls

(no IS on this lens)

Edited by graham@edinburgh on Wednesday 24th January 00:54

[LongQ]

graham@edinburgh said:

(no IS on this lens)

AH! Misread what you were saying above and had a vague recollection that you used a 100-400 amyway.

Must learn to pay more attention to the words on the screen ...