Len or Camera Issue?

[Ljboeker]

It's been awhile since I've asked for help, but I'm worried about my lens. Or maybe my camera, I don't know! I shot this on my 5D Mark IV, which I bought in October because the sensor went out in my Mark II. I have felt that my Mark IV is noisier than my Mark II and am not sure why. Anyway, I've had my 70-200 calibrated, but not in over a year. Is this acceptable for the distance I'm at? Or do I need a new Lens? re-calibrate?

5D Mark IV
70-200 f/2.8L IS
Focal Length: 100 mm
1/200, f 2.8, ISO 1000

[Brian]

Hmm...this is a tough one.

The problem is you are probably focused on the eyes, and in this case there is a lot of contrast swing with the dark frame on the glasses. So the camera is locking onto the frame, which isn't helping things, since they are on a different focal plane than his eyes. His shirt collar is in the same general area as the frames. That's why the collar point on the (camera) right is just as sharp as the glasses. Combine that with you being a good distance away makes the camera not see they eyes, because as far as it's concerned, they are two black fuzzy dots. Using f/2.8 along with 1/200th is tough on a Full Frame Camera. I would have probably been higher on the shutter speed maybe 1/250th or even 1/320th.

I'm never at f/2.8 on my Full Frame Nikons. F/2.8 will bite you. Lowest I try to go is f/3.2, but I'm mostly at f/4 for a shot like this. When I shot a crop body, I was always at f/2.8 because it behaves like f/4 on a full frame body, due to the angle of view change that you get with the smaller sensor.

I know people think you need to be wide open to get that background blurry, but that's only one part of the recipe. You have a 70-200 and something called compression at your disposal that you can use to your advantage. Had you zoomed into your subject, say 180mm to 200mm, OR had him take a few steps forward, you could have sucked in the background to make it blurry and still used f/4.

Now for the noise. Your 5DMK2 was 21.1MP and the 5D Mark IV is 30.4MP. What is happening in you are cramming in an additional 10 Megapixels in the same physical area, which results in more noise. Plus, they are two different sensors and you are noticing things more. So yes, it's very plausible that a 5D Mark IV is noiser than your II. That said, you can go A LOT higher ISO-wise and still get a decent image. Plus the focusing system in the Mark IV is way better than the II.

Bottom Line: This shot is acceptable for what it is. It will work fine as a 4x6 print or even a 5x7. If you are looking to do a heavy crop or do a large print, Damien will have to input his thoughts.

[Ljboeker]

Thank Brian! Sorry for my slow reply! I've had really good luck shooting with these settings up until recently so I guess that's why  I am concerned. But I'll work on closing down my aperture and raising my SS to see if that helps. Especially because it doesn't happen all the time; I'll chalk it up to user error.

 

Thanks for the technical info on my MARK IV. I feel like with my Mark II, I almost NEVER used or needed to use 6400 and with the Mark IV, I feel like I'm having to bump up higher than that all the time in the same situations. I'll just keep working with it and getting used to it.

 

Thank you!!

[Brian]

Well, I don't want to turn you off from using f/2.8 altogether, there is a time and place to use it, but I find when shooting someone with glasses is on of those times that you don't. 

As far as your camera, it is a different metering system. Maybe it needs to be tweaked.

[Ljboeker]

sorry for not replying! I sent my lens in to have it reviewed and it was no longer serviceable so I purchased a new lens and it's been better so far! But I do think the light and the contrast made this a very difficult scenario for handholding a 70-200! Thank you!