EF 300mm f/4 L IS USM stuff

[cwphoto]

I have given this lens an absolute caning this weekend. For sports it just can't keep up so I'm thinking f/2.8. These will probably be the last images I take with it.:(

1/80s @ f/5.6, ISO 800:

[cwphoto]

1/250s @ f/4.5, ISO 400:

[cwphoto]

I did a whole series of my daughter and many are just slightly off in focus. This was one of the better ones. 1/320s @ f/4.5, ISO 400:

[cwphoto]

This one seems to be focused just in front of the subject (and is consistent with others) - maybe the lens is just front-focusing? 1/800s @ f/5, ISO 100 (landscape original cropped to portrait):

[24Peter]

Christian - have you had the lens serviced? Maybe it just needs to be califarted or something? ;) The parrot shot is actually kind of cool (dead bird right, not the real thing?) :eek:

Of course, like all your obselete equipment you should just send it to me for proper disposal. Heck on an "L" lens, I'll even pay for shipping. :D

[cwphoto]

100% crop of above:

[cwphoto]

Christian - have you had the lens serviced? Maybe it just needs to be califarted or something? ;) The parrot shot is actually kind of cool (dead bird right, not the real thing?) :eek:

Of course, like all your obselete equipment you should just send it to me for proper disposal. Heck on an "L" lens, I'll even pay for shipping. :D

Peter you're too kind to make such a generous offer.

I dunno about recalibration. I tried real hard today with my technique in order to get shots that should have been eyeball sharp - my results were kinda fifty/fifty - so that tells me it's just a bit of a dog.

If they were consistently front-focused then it would be obvious - but I just think this lens ain't that capable.

BTW, the bird (Rainbow Lorrikeet) was real - best shot of about fifty though...:mad:

[aparmley]

Something has to be wrong here. Over at FM in the sports section there is a guy, Supastr that uses the F4 version to shoot pro soccer. . . he gets damn fine results. . .

Are you using it with IS on? with it off? a little of both. . . Whats the keeper rate of the IS ones whats the keeper rate of the non IS shots. . . ? I'd, based on many users results at FM while shooting sports, would think this is a very capable lens and therefore suggest something has got to be wrong with the internals somewhere. . . .

But, I know deep down, you want that big huge lens. . .simply dismiss my post and hit the "Confirm order" button. . . LOL

[cwphoto]

Something has to be wrong here. Over at FM in the sports section there is a guy, Supastr that uses the F4 version to shoot pro soccer. . . he gets damn fine results. . .

Are you using it with IS on? with it off? a little of both. . . Whats the keeper rate of the IS ones whats the keeper rate of the non IS shots. . . ? I'd, based on many users results at FM while shooting sports, would think this is a very capable lens and therefore suggest something has got to be wrong with the internals somewhere. . . .

But, I know deep down, you want that big huge lens. . .simply dismiss my post and hit the "Confirm order" button. . . LOL

I suspect it has a lot do with the person operating the equipment too.:o Sports aren't really my thing (in terms of paid work/capability) so there is probably a lot of technique issues here too.

I haven't tried any with IS off so maybe I should give that a go before I give up on it.

I won't be confirming the order until I borrow a f/2.8 for this coming weekend to ensure it's really what I want - and I should get it looked at to see whether it's within specs.

Don, how did your gear come back like?

[aparmley]

I suspect it has a lot do with the person operating the equipment too.:o Sports aren't really my thing (in terms of paid work/capability) so there is probably a lot of technique issues here too.

I haven't tried any with IS off so maybe I should give that a go before I give up on it.

I won't be confirming the order until I borrow a f/2.8 for this coming weekend to ensure it's really what I want - an I should get it looked at to see whether it's within specs.

Don, how did your gear come back like?

I think thats a wise decision. . . all of those. . .ya. . . I'm out!

[ReF]

i'm guessing that your 300 f4 needs to be checked out. i used the 400 f5.6 at max aperture to shoot some birds the other day and it nailed the focus everytime. it's hard to imagine that a lens that's newer and has a larger aperture than the 400 f5.6 would be built with lower AF capabilities. let's not leave out the superior camera you have either. BTW nice bird photo. if the bird i shot didn't have those fake looking red eyes too i'd also wonder if that lorrikeet was real ;)

CW, what's your take on using the 300 f4 IS vs. a 70-200 f2.8 IS + 1.4x TC? any advantages other than being able to slap a TC on the 300?