Help! Is my brand new canon 100-400L a dud?

[sagerhead]

My new long awaited, brand new lens has just arrived and I've taken it for a few test shots and it is rubbish!

Either I am missing something here or I suspect there may be a problem with the lens.
I've been for two outings and taken around 300 photos to test it out. To me it seems that at 400mm and wide open at 5.6 it just can't produce anywhere near a sharp image.

example: 400mm 1/1250 f5.6 iso200 very carefully handheld with IS on a 350D



I have experimented with different focal lengths, apertures, speeds, and iso settings with the only sharp results coming from 100mm.
As the aperture is reduces (f8 -f11) the image quality improves but is still substandard.
I am fairly confident that I have been holding the lens still enough to avoid camera shake and the example shot uses a speed that should be fine.

I have a canon 70-300 IS and have no problems with that one - its great!

I feel certain that I need to take the 400 in to be checked out, but the reason for this post is that I may be missing something. Is there anyone out there with experience of this lens and who may know of any pitfalls for the first timer?

One thing that I haven't tried, that I just thought of, is to try the lens with the IS switched off, oh yeah, and I haven’t tried MF but will do.

Any advice gratefully accepted.

I guess its time to find out how good canon customer service is.

[Rednut05]

Try it on a tripod to rule out any foul play by hand held.

[VxDuncan]

Is that image a crop or full frame? Looks like the lower part is worse, suggesting misalignment. I take it this was without a monopod/tripod? As you probably know, IS doen't work on a tripod, instead will introduce vibrations.

Hope you get it sorted.

[V6GTO]

sagerhead...where in town are you? I'm in Uxbridge, and if you want to meet up I'll check it out and you can have a go with mine.

Martin.

[monkeyhanger]

sagerhead said:

One thing that I haven't tried, that I just thought of, is to try the lens with the IS switched off, oh yeah, and I haven’t tried MF but will do.

You should definitely try it with the IS turned off. If you're shooting above 1/800th (IIRC) Canon say IS should be off anyway. Also, when shooting with IS on, you need to let the IS settle before fully pressing the shutter release.

There's a lot of crap posted on t'internet about this lens...dust sucker, soft wide open at 400mm etc etc. I've had this lens almost 2 years now and it's excellent. I can get consistently sharp shots down to 1/125th @ 400mm hand-held and have gone as low as 1/60th.

Edited by monkeyhanger on Thursday 19th April 22:35

[poah]

that looks like motion blur. set it up on a tripod and turn the IS OFF.

[sidaorb]

It looks like motion blur to me too. The cable running into the top left corner clearly shows motion blur as does the 'horizon' on the left hand side of photo.

Would suggest running a few shots with IS off to see if it makes a difference appears yours is suffering from IU (image unstabliser)!

[sagerhead]

Thanks very much for all of your advice; it is very reassuring to know that I am along the right tracks and that I’m not going crazy. It was very worrying buying a new lens with every single shot coming out substandard. I was definitely questioning my ability to take a steady shot. It looked like camera shake to me too.

This test was taken on a tripod, released by timer and from indoors (to avoid the wind) so I can be absolutely sure that it is rock steady

f5.6 1/640 iso400 no IS (it is cropped, as was the last)



The IS didn't seem to make any difference

I can now send the camera off to the repair centre and I can be confident in my criticism of its performance.

Thanks for reassuring my faith in this model of lens, monkeyhanger ,Thanks everyone for your help
just hope I can get it back before Le Mans

[VxDuncan]

Repair?

You say it's brand new - why except a repair? You have a right to a replacement. Don't risk them damaging something else, non replacing the seals properly, shocking the electrics with static and generally getting dust into it. It's not for you to take second best if the lens isn't fit for purpose.*

*Unless of course you bought it from Dixons/Currys/Comet, when you can kiss goodbye to getting anything sorted.

[sagerhead]

I agree, I wish I had bought it from a shop so I could take it back and swap it for another. I bought it from an ebay power seller so getting it fixed/repaired is going to be a whole nother story.

[VxDuncan]

Hmmn. That's a pain. Do they have a return policy?

[sagerhead]

I have just mailed them to find out, they look to have a good reputation as an ebay seller but I reckon I'll be lucky to get a replacement.

fingers crossed

[V6GTO]

sagerhead, my offer still stands. I've had mine for years and know what it'll do..so if you fancy meeting up I'll know in 5 seconds flat if it's sub-standard.

This is 400mm and extention tubes, hand held at 1/320th.


Martin.

Edited by V6GTO on Monday 23 April 22:04

[monkeyhanger]

sagerhead said:

Thanks for reassuring my faith in this model of lens, monkeyhanger ,Thanks everyone for your help
just hope I can get it back before Le Mans

There's always the possibility of getting a dud, no matter what you're buying but if you're not happy with the lens push for a replacement or refund and don't take no for an answer.

A quick example. Not quite wide open (f7.1) but it's @ 400mm, 1/800th, IS off and hand-held. I'll try and dig out some stuff at 400mm / f5.6...

[sagerhead]

That's what I call sharp! Mine is a long long way off those 2 examples. I also did not get 1 single sharp shot from 200 test shots

Thanks for the offer V6gto, it's appreciated , but I'm convinced of the fault now and will try and get it replaced

[Murph7355]

How much are you cropping the images in the above?

Have you the option of shooting the same image with both the 70-300 and 100-400? Say at 250mm?

Have you got anything else on the lens (filters etc)?

The first definitely looked like motion blur to me. The second looks like too much cropping...

Always possible to get a duffer as the guys have mentioned. But I have also had this lens some time (3yrs) and it's a very good piece of kit.

[_dobbo_]

As above, take one of the images, resize it to 750px (if it's landscape) then apply some basic sharpening, and post here.

The samples above are resized and sharpened, which makes a massive difference.

[sagerhead]

Here is how the story ends…

After a long discussion with my ebay power seller he finally agreed to supply me with a replacement lens and it arrived today

I went out and took around 200 test shots mostly around 400mm and f5.6. I got back to view them and they were rubbish again! This is with the brand new replacement lens.
I tried all the variations of shutter speed, IS on/off, Manual/auto focus, tripod and still I was sure that the shots were rubbish. They pretty much looked the same as the previous 100-400mm lens that I had returned.

I shot off a few on the 70-300mm just to check I wasn’t going crazy and to my relief they came out OK, confirming that I hadn’t suddenly lost the ability to hold a camera still.

There was one thing that I had overlooked that I didn’t think would be a problem and that was the 77mm UV filter . I took the filter off and the quality of the canon L suddenly revealed itself.
Murph7355 mentioned that one so I should have realised then.

So I feel rather stupid for overlooking that, but happy that the lens is A1 now. Happy and stupid is a pretty good place to be I reckon


The filter is a TOKO and I got it as a free gift when I bought another lens. Tomorrow I think I’m going to put the TOKO filter on the driveway and run it over with my car ! Yeah!

Here’s a test shot cropped to the same level as the first shot. (about ½ original size)
Thanks for your help guys.



1/640sec 400mm f5.6 handheld with IS

Edited by sagerhead on Thursday 31st May 22:22

Edited by sagerhead on Sunday 3rd June 20:23

[RobDickinson]

Is why I dont use filters for no reason.

Good job its sorted.

[TonyHetherington]

Very interesting. Thanks for the update! As a result, you've inspired me....no more filters!