Who would you all recommend to have my 200-600mm inspected by?In a matter of hours my 200-600 G went from being a sharp lens to not being able to focus properly at all.  I didn't drop it and am unsure what happened - it just went soft.I took over 400 pictures of Sandhill Cranes yesterday and not a single one is in focus.Frustrating.

warmer day perhaps, atmospheric reasons for the softness? post one of the pics, that will help a lot

Here are three which show kind of what I was getting all afternoon - all were cropped to 100-130% +/-.IMO, they all look 'muddy' and not one set of eyes is in focus. At first I suspected the heat waves were throwing it off but there were a number of others there, including three whom I spoke with that were using the same lens and they weren't having this problem. I tried changing my lens settings, looking up BIF setting suggestions on the web, resetting all my settings....I was at wits end by the end of the day.  BTW, this lens has been a good one that produced sharp images in the past.Skromny_Tomasz wrote:warmer day perhaps, atmospheric reasons for the softness? post one of the pics, that will help a lot

I'd say it's heat, the distinct look of foliage gives it away. Maybe #1 is backfocused a little bit, but that usually happens when the camera sees shimmering air and tries to focus on what is behind it.You can rule this out by shooting something at home on a tripod to check if the lens is fine, lock onto anything with AF and review to see if focus really is where camera says it is with the green box confirmation, no wind to bring heat waves into your shot (I think this is what happened, and being way too far from the cranes for a crisp shot)

Blind Bill wrote:Here are three which show kind of what I was getting all afternoon - all were cropped to 100-130% +/-.if there isn't enough focal length, it'll be hard to get good p.q.can't really tell how big the target is in the frame with cropped photos tho.IMO, they all look 'muddy' and not one set of eyes is in focus.agreed, but then shooting stopped-down like that does not improve the p.q. on this lens, all it does is weaken the af performance.At first I suspected the heat waves were throwing it off but there were a number of others there, including three whom I spoke with that were using the same lens and they weren't having this problem. I tried changing my lens settings, looking up BIF setting suggestions on the web, resetting all my settings....how about cleaning the contacts? worst case in the field, you can try re-seating the lens on the body.i'd test the setup as mentioned above, with the target bigger in the frame... i find that shooting text on things like signs is typically the best way to evaluate sharpness in the field.

you can compare the "heat pattern" you get on foliage with this, zoom in on the heron and especially to the right of the legs, you can see a dust of heat there,If this was a video it would be almost waving across the entire frame, it was bad enough I could see the temperature in the viewfinder,

Blind Bill wrote:IMO, they all look 'muddy' and not one set of eyes is in focus. Aand possibly recheck those switches on the lens. Do you have another body to try ?

I took a close look at my lens this evening and found that sometime yesterday the lens landed on its rear while off the camera and bent the mount block (the part that twists on to the camera body).  It was odd that I couldn't property mount the lens onto the body and discovered the problem when I took a much closer look at it.It'll have to go to Sony for repair.Any suggestions on fastest service?  I have a workshop in late April that I really need this lens for.

Blind Bill wrote:I took a close look at my lens this evening and found that sometime yesterday the lens landed on its rear while off the camera and bent the mount block (the part that twists on to the camera body). It was odd that I couldn't property mount the lens onto the body and discovered the problem when I took a much closer look at it.It'll have to go to Sony for repair.Any suggestions on fastest service? I have a workshop in late April that I really need this lens for.Ugh! Sorry to hear this. I suggest reaching out to a rental agency as a contingency.

Blind Bill wrote:I have a workshop in late April that I really need this lens for.

Blind Bill wrote:Who would you all recommend to have my 200-600mm inspected by?In a matter of hours my 200-600 G went from being a sharp lens to not being able to focus properly at all. I didn't drop it and am unsure what happened - it just went soft.I took over 400 pictures of Sandhill Cranes yesterday and not a single one is in focus.Frustrating.I'm having the same issues on A7RM4a and 200 600 I had to go to menu 2 page 6 of 11 and change digital zoom setting to digital only. on my camera had to set file format to jpg to get in zoom menu its a lot better now.

RonRaymond wrote:Blind Bill wrote:Who would you all recommend to have my 200-600mm inspected by?In a matter of hours my 200-600 G went from being a sharp lens to not being able to focus properly at all. I didn't drop it and am unsure what happened - it just went soft.I took over 400 pictures of Sandhill Cranes yesterday and not a single one is in focus.Frustrating.I'm having the same issues on A7RM4a and 200 600 I had to go to menu 2 page 6 of 11 and change digital zoom setting to digital only. on my camera had to set file format to jpg to get in zoom menu its a lot better now.Somehow while in its soft case mine took a hit to the mounting block and it has a bend to it.  The mounting block will have to be replaced.  Hopefully it'll come back like new.