anyone with a canon 18-55 and 28-135 can you help me? crud again...

[jann1033]

got my repaired again lens( 28-135) back again...I think another new IS, and pcb assembly, checked, cleaned and adjusted...they said the part was inoperative and focus did not focus properly(same as what they said the first time) but a few days ago they said nothing was wrong with it,,,it also says the repair was done as a courtesy only, as is and without warranties of any kind and not covered by my warranty so i am guessing that means they won't fix if again if i don't think it's right,, the last time it had a 6 month warranty for repairs...which makes me wonder if they really replaced the pcb and IS again or just "adjusted " it. the way they worded it it's hard to tell so i may be calling canon tomorrow. as it is it still has 4 months of warranty coverage for the lens and 6 month for the first repair which was limited to rework for same problem...which evidently they are now voiding?

well it is a little better, mostly not as much CA...anyone know what causes CA to start with? wondering if they had just adjusted it or re cleaned it if that would help that

...right now at f4.5( did it there as that is where the first photos were when i really noticed the difference post first repair) it is slightly( very slightly) sharper than the kit at that same f stop.....the kit lens was at 1/50 at 50mm as was the 28-135 so given the IS, at a higher speed they could very well be equal..I never thought the kit was atrocious but thought a $400 IS lens would be better than a $100 non IS lens, call me crazy. i also tried it at f8/70mm, higher iso, forget the speed now and it was sharper but still fairly soft, like twigs were very blurry ( had nothing but the 70-200 to compare there and figured that wouldn't be a fair fight)


so long story longer..could someone with both lenses see how close their lenses are at that f stop? i am going to try it out some more ( was raining so could only shoot out the front door ) but i really think it is still not as sharp as before they "fixed" it. i don't think i would really want to use it much. ( & I don't think my 70-200 has totally spoiled me that much yet) so since they evidently feel they are not responsible for any further action guess i am stuck with a lens that is really only worth $100 tops

thanks

 

[DVC Jen]

Jann is your kit lens a 17-55 or an 18-55? Mine is the 18-55.

I am going to take two pics now at the same settings using my 28-135 IS lens and my 18-55 kit lens. I will let ya know how they turn out.

 

[jann1033]

18,,,what can i say, except i can't type....thanks, i went back and changed it

 

[DVC Jen]

OK I am NOT very happy about this either. Please ignore the dust

I was not able to set them both at f/4.5 1/50 at 50mm - probably because I was inside and using the flash - so they were both set at f/5.6 1/50 50mm.

This is the kit lens (Canon 18-55mm)

And the Canon 28-135 IS lens

the Kit lens is clearly sharper. This is VERY frustrating considering the cost of the IS lens.

I was VERY careful to focus exactly the same way with both lenses.

 

[DVC Jen]

OK I am not sure why the link is not working correctly with the first image. I posted them both the same way.

I don't have time to play with it right now - the family is waiting for me to help them get some prep work done for painting.

 

[jann1033]

yeah evidently the kit lens is comparable quality wise...well live and learn..at least i know my 28 is "supposed" to be blurry I forgot about the nifty focus chart someone linked to so maybe i'll try that as well.
Thanks

 

[Groucho]

I'm sure you're aware that the IS doesn't affect the optical quality whatsoever... just helps to stabilize shaky hands. Possibly a good chunk of the addition cost goes to the IS rather than superior-quality glass?

 

[jann1033]

I'm sure you're aware that the IS doesn't affect the optical quality whatsoever... just helps to stabilize shaky hands. Possibly a good chunk of the addition cost goes to the IS rather than superior-quality glass?

that's what i meant about the lenses being the same at a faster shutter speed when i shouldn't have any lens blur do to me moving so the is not really as useful....
i'm not sure which i find more irritating...that they didn't/won't fix it or that i spent an extra $340 for basically the same lens..ok the zoom is longer but,grrr none the less...still haven't done the focus chart... been too ticked off

 

[0bli0]

to do a fair, real-world test, you should be shooting outdoors on something like a person's face - wide open and at f8, to give you a real feel for the lens. i'd also turn off IS and throw it on a tripod.

you can do a focus chart and a slanted ruler (front/back focus) test, but they're usually going to confirm whatever you're suspecting but don't necessarily provide a true representation of the lens.

 

[jann1033]

to do a fair, real-world test, you should be shooting outdoors on something like a person's face - wide open and at f8, to give you a real feel for the lens. i'd also turn off IS and throw it on a tripod.

you can do a focus chart and a slanted ruler (front/back focus) test, but they're usually going to confirm whatever you're suspecting but don't necessarily provide a true representation of the lens.

i talked to canon again...she said ignore the "warranty not applicable" stuff and is sending me another label to send it in again.. she said do the focus tests and also send a cd of before and afters so i figure i 'll take some at different apertures then find befores at that same aperture...she said if they had to go on line they probably didn't bother to check the photo links i sent and kind of seemed to think the ambiguous wording about the pcb and IS meant they replaced it the first time but not necessarily this time....so like i thought, they set my lens on a shelf for a week and did nothing except maybe cleaned it or adjusted it...
since at this stage i don't know if the is is working or not she said take some on a tripod with and without and some off the tripod as well...so i'll be busy for the next few days

 

[DVC Jen]

Jann I am sorry you are having so many issues with that lens. That has to be incredibly frustrating for you.

The storm pics I took were with that lens. I know the IS helped some because they aren't as blurry as I would expect. I was hand holding with a 2 second shutter speed. I would expect them to be much worse.

I do agree that it isn't the sharpest lens I own however.

I will keep my fingers crossed for you. To spend that much money on something (even though for a lens it isn't a big amount) and not have it work right after a few short months. That is very aggravating.