chemdoc Loc: West Coast

I recently had my 14-24 F/2.8 lens repaired and after taking test images was disappointed in the edge sharpness compared to tests I made earlier this year and tests after repair using my lens and the same lens a friend owns. I would very much appreciate the opinions of others on the site as to the edge sharpness of this very high quality lens and whether my concerns are justified. I found that at 24mm there was little difference between my lens tested in April, my lens tested after repair, and my friends lens. However, at 14mm, I see a decided drop in sharpness at the edges in my repaired lens compared to the same lens tested in April and my friends lens.

To keep the file sizes reasonable I converted all of the raw images to jpegs in Photoshop. I have included both the original size images and 100% zoom crops of the right side of each image. I used eye test charts to help in gauging the differences. All of the recent shots were taken at F/8 at 1/6 to 1/8 of a second. The two shots from April were at F/8 and 1/13 sec (different light). Thanks.

Phil

My lens after repair at 14mm

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My lens after repair at 14mm-100%

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Friends lens at 14mm

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Friends lens at 14mm-100%

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My lens last April at 14mm-Farther from wall

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My lens last April at 14mm-Farther from wall-100%

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My lens after repair at 14mm-farther from wall

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My lens after repair at 14mm-Farther from wall-100%

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Friends lens at 14mm-farther from wall

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Friends lens at 14mm-farther from wall-100%

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LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Have you tried micro-adjusting the lens/camera combination?

chemdoc Loc: West Coast

I have not done that. Since the center of the frame is very sharp would an adjustment to the edges negatively affect the center focus?

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

in all reality complaining here is totally pointless. Contact and discussion with your repair center would be the intelligent choice AND your best chance at a resolution!

Bill_de Loc: US

That's not true. By complaining here he got the benefit of your wisdom. Otherwise who knows what he would do?

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chemdoc Loc: West Coast

Against all odds, I was hoping to simply get opinions from members regarding whether they felt I was correct in my assessment that the lens sharpness is less than it should be now. I have, in fact, already contacted the repair center and the lens is on the way back. Like many members, I am very hesitant to ever post a question for fear of being chided by some of our members. Reading my post, I don't really see it as a complaint, just a question as to whether I should be concerned.

If you read my original question (which I will copy here) it was just to see if other photographers felt that this difference in sharpness is indeed cause for concern or not out of normal range.

" I would very much appreciate the opinions of others on the site as to the edge sharpness of this very high quality lens and whether my concerns are justified."

If you could look at the test images and let me know what you think that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

chemdoc Loc: West Coast

If you have a way to contact the repair center I would love to do that. Every person I have talked to at Nikon customer service tells me that they have no way to contact the repair center directly. I have suggested that the tech working on my lens could email or call me so we could discuss the problem directly. The best they would offer is to advise me to put a note in the box for the tech. I have been able in the past to speak directly with the repair centers at both Cannon and Tamron and would love to do the same with Nikon.

Winslowe

It's sharp enough for anything you need.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

You're comparing two lenses and two cameras. Have you tried swapping lenses on the cameras? Valid comparison shots are difficult to get, and they're even more difficult to use as evidence of a bad repair. Since you're dissatisfied, contact whoever did the repair and show them the images. What kind of repair was done to the lens?

Let us know how this turns out.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

If you had the lens repaired by Nikon, which was the wisest thing to do, you should contact them to let them know that you are not satisfied with sharpness after the repairs.
I am not going to make a judgement based on the pictures you have posted. I do not believe it will be fair to you.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I believe Nikon offers a 3 month warranty on all repairs regardless of age. SO, if your not happy, call them and request a free shipping label and send it back to them.

Jim Bob

Makes a lot of sense. Hey, I want me one of "them" gimbals. Ever have a sale?

Bill_de Loc: US

I needed to talk to a tech not too long ago. Once the lens was in Melville they sent a note. Using their message system I replied that it might be a good idea if we discussed the issue on the phone and provided a phone number. I did get a return phone call and our discussion helped them pinpoint an intermittent issue. Ultimately the lens went back to Nikon Labs in Japan and came back perfect.

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Jim Bob

Wisdom here? I guess a few crumbs fall to the floor every once and a while.

pendennis

Caveat! I'm looking at the images on my Dell laptop display.

That stated, it appears that your friend's lens appears a bit more sharp. I'm basing this on your second and fourth images. The lettering on the "eye chart" is slightly sharper on your friends' image. However, you could have a focus issue, not necessarily a sharpness issue with the lens. A test chart would be a better subject than the images you made of the "graffiti".