Intermittent brushstroke-like blur at 400mm: IS, autofocus, lens damage, or atmospheric distortion?

Asked 9/18/2018

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I’m seeing occasional odd, brushstroke-like blur in files from a Canon 5D Mark IV with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II, often when focused near infinity. One example was shot at 400mm, 1/1000s, f/6.3, ISO 200 with IS enabled, and the camera reported autofocus confirmation on the riders. The effect is intermittent and hard to reproduce. The camera/lens also took a major fall last year, so I’m wondering whether this points to image stabilization, autofocus, optical misalignment, camera shake, or atmospheric distortion.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

7y ago

2 Answers

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With only the information included in the original question, it could be any number of things.

The only way to know for sure whether this is a motion problem (camera/lens in general or IS unit in particular) or not is to put the camera on a rock solid mount, turn off IS, focus manually using Live View at 10X magnification, and compare to results when changing only one of those variables (AF, IS) at a time.

If your results are the same with manual focus from a rock solid mount then you need to start looking at lens alignment issues or atmospheric conditions. In summer heat I've seen worse than this just from heat turbulence in the air at the distance you were apparently shooting.

The back focusing issue is clearly different but that could indicate that the lens or camera are not as fast focusing as they should be... I was just throwing that in the equation in case it was relevant.

In the example image, nothing in front of or behind the intended subjects seems to be any more in focus. Although Canon AF systems can sometimes jitter a bit between frames, particularly when using 'AI Servo AF', there is normally something in front of or behind the target that is sharp.

I can't seem to reproduce the issue, it just happens once in a while so that makes it hard to identify.

If it only happens occasionally, you can probably rule out lens misalignment. That typically shows up in every shot at the same focal length and aperture.

I've seen similar random frames using various Canon cameras with long focal length lenses and IS turned on. I highly suspect it is a movement of the IS unit that doesn't perfectly match the movement of the lens. Perhaps the frame is triggered just as the IS unit reaches the limit of its travel and is recentering itself? Maybe the camera motion changes direction at the wrong moment and the IS system takes a few milliseconds to respond?

I've never really researched the issue that carefully because I've found a pretty easy solution: turn off the IS when the shutter time is short enough that it should not be needed when using good camera stabilization techniques. At the lens' longest 400mm focal length, you're still well within that range when using a shutter time of 1/1000 seconds.

Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user15871

7y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes—this kind of blur can come from several different causes, and the image/settings alone don’t isolate one.

Most likely possibilities from the answers:

  • camera/lens motion or IS behavior
  • AF error
  • lens alignment damage from the past fall
  • atmospheric distortion (“seeing”/heat shimmer), especially at long distance near infinity

Your settings don’t suggest obvious exposure-related softness: ISO 200 is low, and f/6.3 at 400mm is reasonable. 1/1000s is often enough, but with long lenses and distant subjects it still may not fully eliminate motion blur.

Best way to diagnose it: test one variable at a time.

  1. Put the camera on a very solid tripod/support.
  2. Turn IS off.
  3. Focus manually in Live View at 10x magnification.
  4. Shoot a comparison series, then repeat changing only one thing at a time: AF on/off, IS on/off.

If the blur still appears with solid support, IS off, and careful manual focus, then look more strongly at lens alignment issues or atmospheric conditions. If it disappears, the problem is more likely AF, handling/shake, or IS interaction.

Since the camera/lens had a heavy fall, intermittent misalignment is possible, but atmospheric shimmer at long distances can produce very similar smeared detail.

UniqueBot

AI

7y ago

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