5D MkII issues (Slow AF, Unsharp images)

[Madison]

Hi,


Loving the 5D Mark II but I have some issues:


1. The AF is painstakingly slow (I shot a documentary at center Af point and when I used the 400D I had a LOT better luck with it. What is up?).


2. The images at 21mp are not as sharp as I want them to be. At first I thought it was my 24-105 not focussing correctly. I saw very sharp images from a 24-105 from my friend's camera. I mounted it on a tripod to make sure I wasnt shaking. Still unsharp. lens id going back. BUT: The 16-35 is exhibiting the same problem. But a front-back focus test says it is spot on. Yet I am utterly unimpressed with the sharpness of it.

Other than that I am happy. Color and contrast and low light performance is amazing (I shot a series at 3200 ISO and the noise levels were way below what I expected them to be. Yet unsharp).





Advice? Am I personally doing something wrong? I upgraded from the 400D (especially for the low light performance of this cam and to move from amateur to a prosumer) but I got better pics from the 400D (more 'keepers').

[MVers]

There is no way for anyone on here to tell if you got a lemon or not. You may want to read this, it may explain what you're seeing. Also, try printing a few test images out at say 8x10 or 11x14.

[Bryan Carnathan]

I shot a series at 3200 ISO and the noise levels were way below what I expected them to be.

Try turning off all in-camera noise reduction. Based on your statement (quoted), I suspect noise reduction may be the cause of your non-sharp results.

[muhlman]

I have the sharpness issue as well at least with autofocus. If i manual focus using live view and zoom I can get super sharp results but I shouldn't have to do this to get a good picture.


I also have an issue where the camera frequently locks up. Easiest way to fix is to change shooting modes but this doesn't always work requiring a power off and back on to be able shoot again. When it locks up every camera function appears to work except for the shutter.

[Daniel Browning]

1. The AF is painstakingly slow (I shot a documentary at center Af point and when I used the 400D I had a LOT better luck with it. What is up?).

The 5D2 and 400D have almost the exact same autofocus system. If you compare both cameras under the exact same conditions (same lens, scene, etc.) I would expect them to perform similarly. Of course, the AF is not as good as the 1D series.


You didn't mention AF accuracy, but I find that to be even more important than speed. Microadjustment and f/2.8 lenses helps the autofocus accuracy.

2. The images at 21mp are not as sharp as I want them to be.

Can you post an example?


My 24-105 on the 5D2 was very sharp, especially stopped down to f/5.6. I've never used a 16-35, but according to Bryan's ISO 12233 charts it is very sharp in the center (corners appear to be pretty soft).