Problem with 400mm L 5.6 clarity

On image tests my 400mm L 5.6 is performing significantly less sharp than my new 100-400mm lense. The only think I can think of that would have damaged the 400 was condensaton in the body from temperature changes. Shots are all tribod and cable triggered. No filters on either lens. This is of course cropped way in. Any ideas? The 400 is about 9 months old. Can it be cleaned internally?
7D, EFS 18-55 IS, 400mm L 5.6f, 100-400mm L
Solved!
Go to Solution.

"I did a test with filters too, and OMG......... If I can get away with it on a windless day in the photo blind, yeah, I'll take them off!"
I do just the opposite. Normally my lenses go filterless. For the lenses where I can fit them I do have "protection" filters... stored in my camera bag until they are actually needed, such as out shooting in a sandstorm, rainstorm or photographing paintball or other risky situations. I also use them at the seashore, since salt spray is hard to clean off lenses (hard to clean off filters, too... but I'd rather do that).
Realistically how much physical "protection" can a thin piece of glass be expected to provide? In fact I've seen lenses damaged by broken filters... They might have fared better without any filter. There is no truly accurate, scientific way to test whether filters actually protect or do harm (we'd have to buy 1000 lenses and 1000 filters and do hundreds of "drop tests"... and who is going to do that?) All I can say is that some of my lenses have been going around without protection for decades and are still fine. 30+ years shooting. I've yet to see one of my lenses damaged for lack of a filter, or actually saved thanks to one. I have seen plenty of images... my own and other peoples'... that were less than ideal due to a filter.
On the other hand, the lens hood... especially the nice deep ones on telephotos... give great "protection". I've definitely had lenses survive a bump thanks to a hood. Plus a properly fitted hood can only help image quality, cannot possibly do any harm to my images. I rarely shoot without a lens hood.
I used to use UV filters quite a bit... back when I shot film. Many films were (are?) overly sensitive to UV light. So a filter was frequently needed when shooting outdoors... Especially at higher altitudes where UV is stronger (I lived in Colorado for quite a few years). But today's DSLRs don't need UV filtration... it's built in.
It amazes me that people closely scrutinize at their images at huge magnifications (100% viewing on many modern computer monitors is the equivalent making a 5 ft. wide print from an 18MP camera image... and then viewing it from about 18 inches away)... Yet  they eagerly slap an extra piece of glass between the lens and the subject with very little concern.
Regarding using Focus Micro Adjust... That can surprise you sometimes, just how good a lens can be when fine-tuned. However it's more difficult to use with a zoom. And a very common mistake is using too close a target, too near the lens' minimum focus distance.
Canon recommends using a flat target with good detail set parallel to the film/sensor plane, set at a distance about 50X the focal length of the lens (i.e., with a 50mm lens the target should be 2.5 meters or about 8 feet away). A brick wall or a fence works well. Reiken FoCal recommends the same distance. With longer focal lengths such as 400mm, this might be impractical and FoCal suggests as close as 25X can be used.
The Canon method only works with lenses that have a focus distance scale, but doesn't require you to take any images at all. Instead, it compares the standard Phase Detection focus method with the Contrast Detection used by Live View. Simply set up with tripod and target, focus on the target with One Shot and the center AF point only, then switch to Live View, and... while watching the focus distance.. refocus the lens. If the focus distance scale moves, some MA is needed. The method of focus in Live View, which uses the imaging sensor itself, is inherently accurate. MA only effects focusing with the standard array of AF sensors. You can adjust up to 20 lenses on 7D (some newer cameras allow up to 40 lenses).
The Reiken FoCal software method of calculating MA uses a special target (provided) and does take and evaluate a series of images to arrive at a setting. It only uses the standard, AF sensor array/Phase Detection-based method of One Shot focus, but can optionally be double-checked using Live View/Contrast Detection focus.
Now, with 7D and a zoom such as the 100-400mm you may find you need to compromise with MA.  If you test the lens at different focal lengths, and you should, you might find slightly different amounts of MA are called for at each FL. But the version of MA in 7D (also 5DII, 50D) only allows for a single adjustment per lens. So with a zoom you may need to calculate and set an average of different amounts of adjustment called for by different FL of the zoom. Alternatively you could choose to make the amount of adjustment called for by a focal length you most commonly find yourself using. Note: The more recent version of Live View, such as is on 70D, 5DIII, etc., allows up to two adjustments with zoom lenses. It also allows up to 40 lenses to be fine tuned. The 20-lens version of MA also is lens-model-specific (adjustments made to, say, any EF 50/1.4 lens will be equally applied to all EF 50/1.4 lenses used on that particular camera). The 40-lens version of MA is lens-serial-number-specific (allowing for different adjustments to, say, different copies of EF 50/1.4 lenses used on that particular camera).
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM 

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