I’ve been a bit remiss getting to this post, since I’ve had the lens back for a couple of weeks now. Anyway, here it goes.

A few weeks back I reported that my 100-400 suffered from a problem common to the EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L, the zoom clutch failed.

…the first indication of a problem is that you begin to see bits of black stuff stuck to your lens barrel…

For those who’ve never had this happen to them the first indication of a problem is that you begin to see bits of black stuff stuck to your lens barrel between the 100 and 135mm marks. This is actually part of the locking mechanism breaking down.

If you start seeing this, I’d suggest having the lens looked at, since it’s likely going to be much cheaper to have the clutch rebuilt without having to replace the lens barrel too. However, mine operated in that state, leaving bits of black stuff on the lens barrel for 6 months or more without any other indication of a problem. In my case I didn’t realize what was going on until the clutch failed completely and in doing so damaged the lens’s outer barrel prompting another expense to be added to the repair bill.

Being that my 100-400 was long out of warranty—and quite frankly the warranty period for Canon’s lenses, especially the L ones are in some ways obscene, but that’s another story—I elected to take the lens to a local Canon authorized shop instead of shipping it off to Canon. The center I choose, Southern Photo Technical Service, came highly recommended by several local photojournalists that I know. Doing so certainly saved me from paying for shipping. Even better, the quality of their work seems to be every bit as good as people told me it would be. Of course, these guys are building beefed up Nikon D3Ses that have custom designed shutters and tweaked AF algorithms so that has to say something about their skills.

expect to spend at least $250 if the zoom clutch fails completely

For my lens, the repair ran about $275 and took 2 weeks. It likely would have been even more inexpensive if I had known what was going on and had the clutch taken care of sooner.

I have no idea how the turnaround time compared to having Canon do the work. On one hand I didn’t have to ship the lens, so the work was started faster; on the other, Southern Photo had to order parts and that took some time. That said, Canon’s service center (at least the New Jersey one) has been very quick in the few instances I’ve had stuff go back to them. I’m betting that the time was a wash either way.

The lesson to take away from this:

• Be very careful with your EF 100-400, especially in dirty or dusty environments. Dirt and sand can get in the clutch, and I think that was what started mine going down the drain. In addition, I’d probably stay away from really tightening down the zoom lock; enough to be snug but no more since that could also contribute to forcing the material to adhere to the lens barrel.
• There are no home remedies for this problem; it needs to be addressed of by a service center. Even being extremely careful isn’t necessarily going to save you. My 100-400 that failed is always kept clean, and wiped down with a slightly-damp soft-cloth after almost every use. It still broke.
• When something seems a bit odd, it might be a good idea to have it looked at. In this case, when the clutch fails completely it can damage the lens barrel necessitating another part being replaced.
• Canon really needs to release a new 100-400 (yes even after this it’s still my favorite long lens) that is better engineered to not fail like this. Though I’d still prefer a push-pull zoom than a ring controlled zoom, at least at this focal length range.
• If you’re out of warranty, and even if your gear is under warranty and you’re in the South Florida area, Southern Photo Technical Service may be a good solution for getting something fixed quickly. It doesn’t hurt that there a factory authorized service center for just about every major camera manufacturer. For example, they did a rush shutter replacement on a D2H (luckily they had the part) for a friend of mine in under 24 hours.

I’ve been watching the progress of this with some interest since I first saw it announced on DP review. US based Noktor, an new player in the lens market, is releasing their first product a 50mm f/0.95 manual-focus manual-aperature lens in micro 4/3rds mount. With an effective focal length of 100mm on u4/3rds the lens might be a bit long, but for $750 you can’t really beat the price; the only other f/0.95 lens I’m aware of on the market right now is Lieca’s 50mm Noctalux and that’s $10,000.

If the image and build quality is there, I can see this lens making some inroads in street photography and making the u4/3rds system very attractive to that market.

• Read the announcement at DPReview
• See a preview at Steve Huff Photo
• Noktor’s Homepage

Christmas saw the acquisition of a Canon TC-80N3 timer remote, it’s capable of being programmed to produce long exposure and time lapse captures with intervals as short as 1 second. This was my first time running a time lapse and I think I learned a few things from it, but I’ll save that story for another time. In the meantime, here’s my first attempt at a time-lapse video.

The video is made form nearly 800 frames shot over almost an hour at 5 second intervals.

The Flipside 200 Shown with removable waist belt and removable internal pocket.

Lowepro has been in the camera bag business for over 40 years at this point. In that time, they’ve attempted to push the boundaries and produce innovative products. In this case, we’re going to look at their smallest Flipside series backpack.

The idea behind the Flipside bags is, in my opinion, pretty novel. In an attempt to hinder a would be thief’s ability to open your bag and remove a camera or lens without you knowing Lowepro has relocated the entry point from the front (outside) of the bag to the side against your back. This makes it virtually impossible for someone to access the zippers while you’re wearing the bag.

The Flipside 200 continues the security-minded theme with a trim sleek exterior. There is only a single small zipper pocket and expandable water bottle holder on the bag.

A Tour of the Exterior

The exterior of the Flipside 200 is sleek and sparse to say the least. The aerodynamically curved top features a good sized and sturdy handle that runs front to back along the curve instead of side-to-side like most backpacks have. In addition, a loop that can be used to hang the bag for storage is also provided.

The front of the bag features a hidden pop-out pocket and the corresponding quick release strap to secure a small tripod or monopod, and when I say small, I do mean small. My 3-section Manfrotto monopod is longer than the bag. As for a tripod, a Gitzo Traveler might be small and light enough to be comfortable. Fortunately, the quick release strap for securing a tripod only attaches by sliding though a loop built into the backpack. Therefore, it can be easily removed if you’re not carrying a camera support so you don’t have extra cords going all over the place.

The left side of the bag has a stretchy mesh pocket big enough to hold a small water bottle or other small piece of equipment. I frequently used this to carry the plastic arms for my Better Beamer flash extender.

Side storage pocket.

There is also a pocket on the right side; this time it’s zippered and a bit meatier. Again, it’s designed with the reverse entry in mind and opens towards the back of the bag. This pocket has a verity of built in pockets and pockets including:

• 2- Velcro closing media card pockets that are big enough to hold 2 compact flash cards each or 2 AA batteries each.
• 2- Pen/pencil pockets,
• 2- Full width pockets big enough for business cards or small filters.

In addition, the pocket has a mesh liner on the bottom to keep things from falling out and a short hook tethered quick snap hook for attaching a key ring.

The backside of the bag features the main entrance to the inside; this is closed with a pair of zippers with cord pulls that are protected under a fabric weather seal. The bag is also well padded with a breathable mesh backing.

The straps are contoured for comfort and slightly padded with the same breathable mesh covering. The straps have loops that can be used to attach a small memory card case and an adjustable sternum strap, which has a built in elastic section so it can stretch a small amount while you’re carrying the bag. Finally, where the shoulder straps attach to the bag there are buckles for mounting the provided waist belt.

Inside the Bag

Inside the Flipside 200 with the removable extra pocket in place.

Inside of the Flipside 200, there isn’t much in the way of extras. The main compartment is padded and covered in the typical soft camera bag fabric that won’t scratch lenses and is suitable for attaching the hook side of the dividers.

The inside of the back, which is the “lid” for the bag, has a single thin pocket on it. It’s big enough that you could conceivably put a filter in its case in this pocket. It also is big enough to fit the Fresnel lens from a Better Beamer.

The bag comes with a removable (it attaches with Velcro) zippered pocket that’s big enough to hold a couple of lens hoods, an ST-E2/SU-800 or similar sized parts.

The main compartment is divided vertically by a padded divider that runs from the base of the bag to about three quarters of the way up to the top, leaving enough room for the removable pouch and the camera’s handgrip. Several dividers are also provided to allow the internal space to be configured

Although Lowepro advertises the bag as being big enough for only a mid-size SLR or compact video system and it certainly is though it is a bit tight. I can actually fit a Canon 1D and a 70-200 f/2.8 lens in the main compartment with enough room for another small lens or teleconverter and a 580Ex II flash.

Conclusions

The Lowepro Flipside 200 has been my choice bag for traveling light and birding. It’s big enough to hold almost any dSLR body, even with a battery grip, with a  70-200 f/2.8 or 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 lens attached (with the hood reversed), a flash, a teleconverter or another small lens, a better beamer and some other accessories. Alternatively, if you’re not carrying a 70-200 f/2.8 you can pack 2-3 smaller lenses in the bag instead.

The side pockets provide a place to put keys, pens, media cards or spare batteries. However, like the rest of the bag, space is tight.

The bag does a good job balancing carrying capacity and size, which makes it more comfortable when it’s hot and humid, without being too small for many tasks.

See page 2 for more images of the Flipside 200.

Canon’s 100-400 maybe isn’t the best-built lens, the push pull design makes the bearings and zoom lock prone to picking up sand or dust from the lens’s body. However, it is one of my favorites. I actually like the push pull zoom for a lens of the range, and my copy is very sharp.

However, for me the biggest advantage of the 100-400 is that it’s nearly identical in size to a 70-200 f/2.8. That makes it easy for me to size my bags and pack my gear; need speed take a 70-200, need reach take a 100-400.

Unfortunately, the 100-400 has a well-known tendency to suffer from failures in the zoom mechanism.

This is just what happened to me this morning at the BirdPhotographers.net meet up. Kicking the morning off and everything is running great; the lens is smooth as butter. Walk around a couple of times, and go to adjust the zoom position and bam, zoom won’t slide, zoom lock ring is stuck, and the focus ring is stiff and feels like there’s grit in it.

Hopefully the fix won’t be as expensive as I fear it will be.

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher before the failure: Wakodahatchee Wetlands

I’ve posted some of my images from the 4th Annual Dania Beach Vintage motorcycle show in my gallery. The show was put on by the Sunshine chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America, and there was a solid turnout; including over 80 antique motorcycles dating all the way back to the 1920s.

(Clicking an image will take you to the gallery.)

I’ve seen it suggested by some photographers that memorizing the aperture number sequence is something photographers should do. Unfortunately, the people proffering this never seem to be able to articulate why all that well. If it’s such a good idea, shouldn’t it be easy to point out how beneficial it is?

When someone tells me, I should do something; in a way, it’s a sales pitch. The product is the idea, in this case memorizing the f-numbers. The price is some of my free time. The payoff is whatever the benefits of doing the thing are.

I don’t think I’m alone when I say I have a limited amount free time; that makes my free time valuable. Therefore, I think it’s reasonable to expect someone presenting an idea to actually be able to convince me of its merit.

If you know the f-numbers you can adjust the exposure more quickly, for example, if you know f/5.6 allows twice as much light as f/8 you know you have to change your shutter speed from 1/60th to 1/30th.

Not very much of an argument is it.

Even worse, I’d argue that the way it’s presented is a bit disingenuous. Those full stops make everything nice and easy; substitute f/7.1 and f/3.2 and it’s not so easy anymore. Doing that also makes it apparent that you need to memorize more than just the whole stops which is often the only thing mentioned by the proponents.

Since what needs to be remembered is already snowballing, why stop there? Why not tell me that I should memorize the shutter and ISO speeds too?

Moreover, you don’t adjust exposure settings in a vacuum. You do it with a camera and cameras provide several solutions that involve no memorization at all. In fact, 3 technologies come to mind that have largely render memorizing f-numbers unnecessary.

• Auto Exposure
• The Meter
• Click-stops at each setting

Even if we ignore the first two, you can easily keep the exposure the same by changing the shutter’s value by the same number of clicks as the aperture’s. In fact, coupled with the camera’s meter after a while it becomes so second nature you just do it.

If you use the camera enough, you’ll end up memorizing them without doing anything at all

However, I think the most damning reason not invest any time on this is simple; if you use the camera enough, you’ll end up memorizing them without doing anything at all. Off the top of my head, I can recite most apertures, shutter speeds and ISOs in 1/3-stop increment and I never actually spent a minute trying to memorize them. Just seeing them in the viewfinder enough times was all it took.

I’m willing to take this a step further, I don’t think think it’s necessary for most photographers to understand how the f-number is derived at all; there’s simply nothing intrinsically useful about it for most photography.

However, what is important is understanding how the aperture affects the image and that equal f-stops pass the same amount of light regardless of the focal length. The former, is important for controlling creative aspects of the image, in other words, depth of field. The latter tells us that if an exposure is 1/60^th f/4 ISO 100, it will be the same regardless of whether the lens is 10mm or 1000mm.

My advice, if you want to spend time doing anything, practice handing your camera and changing lenses. Being able to change settings without thinking about where the controls are can have a massive positive impact on all of your photography simply by letting you get shots you otherwise would have missed. Being able to change lenses quickly can help keep dust off your sensor as well as keeping you shooting longer. Either way, there’s no substitute for familiarity and practice when handling your camera in the field.

There are two ways the magnification of the lens is generally described.

• The ratio form gives the ratio of image size to object size. In other words, if a lens has a maximum magnification of 1:4, then at that magnification the object will be 4 times larger than the image.
• The decimal form is simply the decimal representation of that ratio. For example, a 1:4 magnification can also be expressed as 0.25x.

To convert from the ratio form to the decimal form, divide the object size by the image size.

Some Common Magnifications

• 5:1 (5x) – The highest magnification of the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8
• 1:1 (1x) – True macro magnification, the image is the same size as the subject was. Most true macro lens support this magnification.
• 1:2 (0.5x) – Half macro magnification, the Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 compact macro and the Zeiss Macro Planar lenses reach this.
• 1:4 (0.25x) – “Consumer Macro”, most lenses that aren’t dedicated macro lenses but are branded as macro reach this magnification.

The Canon Ec-S Super Precision Matte focus screen is a user interchangeable focus screen that allows EOS-1 series users to see the shallow depth of field associated with fast lenses in the viewfinder.

User replaceable focus screens provide an easy way to change the functionality of the viewfinder and are a feature of many of Canon’s digital SLRs. Canon produces 3 basic types of focus screen for all of their cameras that support interchangeable focus screens.

• Standard precision matte screens are designed to balance viewfinder brightness and good out-of-focus blurring when used with lenses that have a maximum aperture of f/4 or f/5.6.
• Super precision matte screens are designed to more accurately show depth of field especially when used with lenses with a maximum aperture of f/1.8 to f/2.8.
• Standard precision grid screens are standard precision screens with etched grid lines for composing the image.

Ec-S Features and Requirements

The Ec-S screen is optimized for lenses with maximum apertures between f/1.8 and f/2.8. Outside of that range Canon states the following will happen:

• With lenses faster than f/1.8, the auto focus reticle and spot metering circle may become difficult to see.
• With lenses slower than f/2.8, the screen will appear darker than the standard focusing screen.

Evaluating the Ec-S Screen

The focus screen and installation tool in its case.

In the Package

The Ec-S screen comes in a small box that contains an instruction sheet and a hard plastic case with the Ec-S screen and the tool to change screens.

Installation

1. Place the camera on a flat surface with the lens mount facing up.
2. Use the provided tool to release the catch on the focus screen holder at the top of the mirror box.
3. Remove the old focus screen by grasping the small tab with the provided tool and place it on a clean soft surface, like a Pec-Pad, or in its case.
4. Insert the new screen by holding the small tab and placing it in the holder.
5. Use the provided tool to close the focus screen holder until the latch clicks.

Because the Ec-S screen, like most focus screens, changes the brightness of the viewfinder, the camera must also be configured to meter correctly.

• For the 1D Mk. 4, set Custom Function IV-12 to option 2.
• For the 1D and 1Ds Mk. 3, set Custom Function IV-11 to option 2.
• For the 1D Mk. 2N, set Custom Function 00 to option 2.

There is no setting for the Ec-S screen in EOS-1D Mark 2 or 1Ds Mark 2, therefore they are unable to meter properly with this screen installed.

Focus and Depth of Field

The Ec-s does a very good job at showing the depth of field more accurately. Even with an f/1.8 lens, it’s easy to tell what is in focus. Additionally the viewfinder feels slightly sharper due to the higher resolution screen.

Viewfinder Brightness

Compared to the Ec-C IV, the viewfinder was noticeably darker. My first reaction looking though the viewfinder was, “this isn’t good at all”.

I tired the screen in an environment that better reflected the real world, an average residential interior lit between Ev 5 and EV 8 (7.4 to 60 foot candles) with f/1.8 an f/2.8 lenses. I found the difficulty of using the viewfinder varied between moderate and hard, depending on brightness, subject contrast and maximum aperture.

At EV 5, it was very difficult for me to determine where I was focusing, especially with an f/2.8 lens. I found myself relying on the AF confirmation light, the exact thing I was trying to avoid with the Ec-S. On top of that, the overall experience was frustrating since everything was so dark. Even at EV 8, things were more manageable, at least if the subject had relatively high contrast.

When there isn’t a lot of light to start with, I found the darker viewfinder quickly negated the increase in precision.

Slower Lenses

Changing focus screens is not something I’d want to do in the field. Moreover, it’s not unlikely that a situation might arise where an Ec-S equipped camera would need to be used with a slower lens. In fact, this would be a frequent condition for me, since my long lenses aren’t f/2.8 or faster.

Unfortunately, the results were disappointing. While the viewfinder was slightly sharper, at f/4 it was also 1-2/3 stops dimmer. Indoors, the dark viewfinder made things unworkable quickly. Even if there was enough light to shoot, there often wasn’t enough to compose or focus. At f/8, the slowest aperture that can auto focus on a 1-series body, the viewfinder was very dim even in full daylight.

Conclusions

The Ec-S high precision matte screen is a specialist tool, though I have a hard time figuring out where it fits any more. The Ec-S does do a very good job at what it was designed to do, as long as you’re prepared for a dark viewfinder. In a studio with bright modeling lights or outside in broad daylight with f/2 and faster lenses, the Ec-S is certainly usable. However, if you use f/4 or slower lenses or teleconverter combination, the Ec-S is not a good choice.

Personally, I find it’s simply too dark to be useful for me, even when paired with f/2.8 or faster lenses.

Unfortunately, Canon doesn’t have a good solution for photographers using f/2.8 to f/5.6 lenses that shows focus well at f/2.8 and doesn’t make the viewfinder very dim at f/5.6. With ISO performance increasing with every generation, the ability to use f/2.8 zooms in very dark environments is becoming more of a reality. In those conditions, visualizing focus is still important, but so is a bright viewfinder.

I’ve previously written about my frustrations with calibrating my camera’s auto focus system. Frankly, I hate it. It’s finicky, time consuming and requires a great deal of precision to setup and execute properly. In addition, most targets aren’t large enough to test at actual working distances so there isn’t any guarantee that the results are going to be good for normal photography anyway. The worst part is that the whole system is largely open to interpretation.

However, there has been a solution all along. It just seems that nobody had really thought of it until recently. The solution comes from the ability to remotely control a tethered camera’s focus while looking at the live view image on the computer. Even better, there is now software that automates the process and that software is the AF Calibrator feature in Helicon Remote, part of Helicon Soft’s Helicaon Focus.

What Helicon Remote’s AF Calibrator does is use the camera’s built and its own contrast detection algorithms to determine what the sharpest focus setting is without having the user guess. Even better, it does this automatically and the result isn’t a hard to interpret picture but an actual setting for your camera. Further, because this approach doesn’t require reading a ruler off towards the edge of the frame, precise alignment and target design is much less important and setup is a snap.

A Quick Review of Traditional Method and its Problems

Let’s, quickly look at what you need to perform AF calibrations the old way.

1. Place your camera on a tripod and the test target on a flat surface.
2. Carefully align the camera and target.
3. Focus the lens to infinity and then let the camera autofocus on the target and take an exposure
4. Change the AF Microadjust setting and repeat step 3.
5. After all, of the focus step images have been made load them into an image-processing program and evaluate which one places the focus in the right place.

It doesn’t take doing this more than once to realize that it’s a pain and quite problematic if not done extremely carefully. For starters, the target, scale and film plane must be aligned with a high level of precision. This is necessary since the scale is shifted away from the target.

Further, the target can’t be anything that’s handy; it must be specially designed strictly for focus testing. It also has to have specific design features, like a high-contrast focus point sounded by no other detail.

On top of that, very few AF calibration targets are suitable for use at normal working distances. Canon, for example, recommends that all AF tests be done at 50x the lens’s focal length. If you’re testing a 70mm lens, that works out to 12 feet. A 200mm lens requires more than 32 feet between the camera and target.

Finally, you must manually step though each setting (for most cameras that’s 40 images from -20 to +20) manually refocusing the camera to infinity between each shot and letting the AF system refocus.

At 15' with a 70mm lens (even on a 1.3 crop body) this test chart is almost completely useless. Not only isn't there enough room insure that the camera will lock on the target bar, but the scale is smaller than an f/2.8 lens's depth of field.

All told setting up and shooting an AF test, using a paper target can take a couple of hours or more for a single lens. Even commercial solutions designed for focus testing only improves upon that slightly. Moreover, the results are dependent on the photographer’s ability to interpret what he’s looking at accurately.

The Live-view Method

Almost all of the problems with the traditional technique can be solved quite easily if we can insure that the focus point and measurement point are the same. Unfortunately, doing this precludes easy interpretation of the target by the photographer. Fortunately, this type of measurement is something that can be done readily by a computer. In fact, it’s how contrast detection auto focus systems, like those in point and shoot cameras, work. Additionally, since the focus settings on many cameras can be controlled remotely when they are tethered to a computer, the whole process can be automated in software.

In the broad strokes, for “live view” focus testing you:

1. Place the camera on a tripod and align the camera and target. The two planes should be close to parallel but ultimate precision isn’t necessary.
2. Using the center AF point, focus on the target by half pressing the shutter release.
3. Connect the camera to your computer and fire up your remote control software.
4. Using the smallest AF shift amount move the focus forward and backward while keeping track of how many times you click the button in either direction.
5. Observe the sharpness of the image each time you change the focus. The number of button clicks that made the sharpest image will be the value you enter into the camera’s AF adjustment setting.

This works well for a number of reasons. First, since this method focuses and measures at the same point, any errors induced by misalignment are negligible at best. Even better, there is no guesswork involved in coming up what adjustment to use. This is because the smallest step that the camera can shift focus is the same size as an AF micro adjustment step. Finally, since there is no need for a specialized target, the procedure can be done at normal working distances where it will better reflect the real world.

The only hurdle is judging the sharpest image, and this is where the computer takes over. Helicon Software’s Helicon Remote presents us with, as far as I can tell the first solution to computer aided AF calibration.

Live View Focus Testing in Helicon Remote

As I’ve said, Helicon Remote simplifies the process of Focus Calibration significantly since it eliminates the need to determine which image is the sharpest.

Setup for focus testing is as follows.

1. Attach your target on a vertical surface like a wall or door. In this case the target only needs to be a high-contrast dot or line, in fact the less there is for the computer to process the better.
2. Make sure the target is well lit with continuous lights and the more light the better. Since this system uses live view and doesn’t actually take photographs, a flash won’t work. Also, the more light available the less noise there will be and this in turn will makes test more accurate.
3. Place the camera on a tripod approximately 50 times the focal length away from the target. I use the focal length (in mm) divided by 5 or 6—whichever is easier to do in my head—in feet since it’s easy and close enough.
4. Align the camera and target. I do this by leveling the camera with a hot-shoe level then adjusting the height of the tripod so that the lens and target are vertically aligned. Finally insure that the camera is roughly straight out from the target (having wood or tile floors with the joint lines running perpendicular to the wall is handy for this, otherwise eyeballing it will get you close enough).
5. Hook the camera’s USB connection up to a USB cable (but don’t plug the other end into your computer). What you want to avoid is plugging in a cable at the camera during the test.
6. Focus the lens to infinity and half-press the shutter release to allow the AF system to lock on to the target, make sure the AF lock indicator has come on.
7. Start Helicon Remote and plug the USB cable into your computer.
8. In Helicon Remote, click the AF Calibrator button on the toolbar along the top.
9. Follow the steps in the AF Calibrator dialog.

Conclusions

I’m much happier with this method for AF adjustments than I have been with any other method I’ve tried so far. However, I haven’t yet used it enough to really gain an unshakeable confidence with it. In the tests I’ve done so far, the results from Helicon Remote coincide fairly well with what I’ve found from other methods.

The biggest benefit here is the speed and ease of interpretation. With the old way, it would take me up to 30 minutes or more to insure the test was. Even with my best testing procedure, it still took quite a bit of time to insure everything was aligned properly. With this method, I can have the target and camera setup, aligned and ready to test in about 5 minutes. After that, the tests take about 30 seconds per run. In the time it took to get good results out of the old method, I can now triple check a lens at all major focal lengths.

Additionally, the Helicon Remote AF test goes far beyond what can be set in camera, +/- 60 points versus +/- 20 points for almost all cameras, so it can be used to determine if a new lens is out of spec.