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For those interested in helping me out. This is not bashing 7D.

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Nothing in this picture is sharp. Something is amiss with your lens IMO regardless of how well it works on your 5D or 1D2. The 7D, with it's higher pixel density may just be emphasizing the lens problem more than your other cameras.

I had a 28~70f2.8L with the same problem. Images looked just like yours from my 10D, 40D and 50D. I could not get a tack sharp image at any aperture or FL even using liveview and contrast AF with the 50D. I sent the lens to Canon and after 4 trips they replaced the focus assembly and that solved the problem. Set the camera and lens on a tripod and use liveview with contrast AF and silent mode with remote release and see if you get a sharper image than with phase AF. If not your lens has a problem. If yes, you have an AF calibration issue.

I also have to ask why you would shoot this scene at f3.2? Was the light that poor? What ISO and shutter speed were you at?

Bob
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http://www.pbase.com/rwbaron
 
Yeah, you are right, could have done 100% better job with a full resolution pic.

And with some selective sharpening, this will make a beautiful 5x7 portrait.

All well...another bride, another day! :)

Regards, Mike
Hurricane Phil said:
Port Royal Dad said:
I would have chosen a different background for such a pretty bride.

Remember, the 7D with all its fancy pants settings won't tell you if you have a distracting background.

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Mike,

Nice job. I sure would have liked to see that if you had a full resolution picture to start with.
Phil
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--
B.R.A.S.S. (Breathe, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze)

 
Well now I looked at the exif on the original and I'm even more confused. I am curious why you shot this at ISO 800, 1/400th and f3.2. With the FL used you could easily have been at 1/200th and f4.5 or 1/100th and f6.3. At 23mm you could have been at ISO 400, 1/50th and f6.3. At the FL and distance you shot at you're not going to achieve any significant background blur so I don't understand why you'd sacrifice a better aperture for sharpness in this instance.

BTW I still think your lens may have a problem.

Bob
--
http://www.pbase.com/rwbaron
 
amobi said:
In these shots I was using one-shot AF with single AF area selection mode. Spot AF was also turned on. I was using the focus point nearest to the eye on vertical position. Camera setting was ISO 800, f/3.2, 1/320. I took a lot of shots with this setting and most of the shots were OOF. I used high iso to avoid camera shake.
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The 16-35 is not that great away from the center. I also think that this is the wrong lens on a crop camera.
 
My main purpose of getting 7D is the ability to use the outer focus points. Since I'm not focusing and recomposing, I was simply trying to see how accurate I can nail my shots with 7D without having to stop down. I increased the ISO to avoid any camera shake. Besides I hardly shoot pass f/4.0
rwbaron said:
Well now I looked at the exif on the original and I'm even more confused. I am curious why you shot this at ISO 800, 1/400th and f3.2. With the FL used you could easily have been at 1/200th and f4.5 or 1/100th and f6.3. At 23mm you could have been at ISO 400, 1/50th and f6.3. At the FL and distance you shot at you're not going to achieve any significant background blur so I don't understand why you'd sacrifice a better aperture for sharpness in this instance.

BTW I still think your lens may have a problem.

Bob
--
http://www.pbase.com/rwbaron
Click to expand...
 
After a quick inspection of your full size jpg, I still cannot see anything in focus. Its not like the DOF blur varies by much as the distance changes, but the blur stays rather constant for the entire distance.

My guesses are;

1 - bad camera body (out of alignment)
2 - bad lens
3- UV filter on front of lens (please remove it)
3- grease on the sensor or lens!

Has this lens+body combo every produced an in-focus image?

Perhaps the EXIF data is incorrect for the automated modes. The shutter speed could have been substantially slower than what was recorded, causing the motion blur.
amobi said:
My main purpose of getting 7D is the ability to use the outer focus points. Since I'm not focusing and recomposing, I was simply trying to see how accurate I can nail my shots with 7D without having to stop down. I increased the ISO to avoid any camera shake. Besides I hardly shoot pass f/4.0
rwbaron said:
Well now I looked at the exif on the original and I'm even more confused. I am curious why you shot this at ISO 800, 1/400th and f3.2. With the FL used you could easily have been at 1/200th and f4.5 or 1/100th and f6.3. At 23mm you could have been at ISO 400, 1/50th and f6.3. At the FL and distance you shot at you're not going to achieve any significant background blur so I don't understand why you'd sacrifice a better aperture for sharpness in this instance.

BTW I still think your lens may have a problem.

Bob
--
http://www.pbase.com/rwbaron
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
riknash said:
My guesses are;

1 - bad camera body (out of alignment)
2 - bad lens
3- UV filter on front of lens (please remove it)
3- grease on the sensor or lens!

Has this lens+body combo every produced an in-focus image?

Perhaps the EXIF data is incorrect for the automated modes. The shutter speed could have been substantially slower than what was recorded, causing the motion blur.
Click to expand...
The full res image doesn't look like an OOF problem. it looks like motion blur or totally out of focus i.e. not focussed on anything in the image. taking riknash's analysis, post another pic taken fresh with this combo in good light. If you can't get a sharp shot at all, one of the options above applies. If you can get a sharp shot in better conditions then either:
You goofed (can happen)

Or, there is an issue between this lens and your camera, probably electronic in origin. In that case you need to take both to a Canon dealer and find out what's up. Have you tried other lenses on the 7D, what result?

Neil
 
amobi said:
In these shots I was using one-shot AF with single AF area selection mode. Spot AF was also turned on. I was using the focus point nearest to the eye on vertical position. Camera setting was ISO 800, f/3.2, 1/320. I took a lot of shots with this setting and most of the shots were OOF. I used high iso to avoid camera shake.
Click to expand...
Trying to be On topic:
  • Unlike many others say, imo the focus gets better the closer you look at the carpet, but it is possibly too much front focused to notice that clearly. So the EXIF focus data "-1/1" what someone pointed out could indicate the camera failed to focus, as earlier someone suggested. My QUESS is that -1/1 means it failed to focus ("-1") and focused at 1 meter ("1/1") or more propably at minimum focusing distance.
  • If the camera could not focus, the reason could be used of the Spot AF. I think even the camera manual says spot focus may/will cause more problems in locking the AF. The white cloth or dark face in soft light as area to focus on could be part of the problem; too soft detail to focus on.
V
 
Perhaps another way to analyze this issue, would be for the OP to provide a sample where the subject is in proper focus. Ideally it would be at the identical scene with the camera set the same. We could then do an A-B compare of the EXIF to see what differences if any there are. Do any such photos exist or was 100% of the photos using the 7D, at this location blurred?
 
I see most others agree that there is pretty much nothing in focus here. There's a hint of it but according to the exif I can see, you've hampered yourself a little.

Assuming it's right that you've shot at 3 feet, at f3.2 and 23mm, you're dof is a mere 8 inches. I don't know your intent but I guess you were trying to isolate the Bride's face. Unless the lens, camera or both are nailing things spot on, this is the result.

However, don't forget that autofocus systems in lenses can vary slightly. Put your camera on a tripod, choose a subject and distance that'll give you a shallow dof (a few inches) and shoot. Then manually move the focus ring and re-shoot. After a few times you may find that the camera misses the focus ever so slightly. It's not the camera but the mechanical variation (which is normal) of the lens focus ring/system. It's rarely a problem but when shooting in a situation like yours here you may find taking a second shot or two wouldn't hurt to be sure the focus was on the mark.

Again, that said I'm not sure this would entirely address this image's result. As others mentioned, you might want to spend some time taking some test shots with the camera/lens and other camera/lens combos to try and narrow down what part of the equipment is letting you down.
--
I am as ignorant as ever, and wiser than I've ever been.
 
This is my first time using 16-35 with my 7D. I never tested the lens with the camera. Also, I have a filter in front of the lens. I remember struggling all day to get anything to focus. I couldn't understand why. Looking back now the spot AF could be part of it. I don't even know that it was turned on until I got home. So many settings with this camera. One mistake you screwed.

 
Camera setting. 16-35L, F/4, ISO 800, 1/160.
amobi said:
This is my first time using 16-35 with my 7D. I never tested the lens with the camera. Also, I have a filter in front of the lens. I remember struggling all day to get anything to focus. I couldn't understand why. Looking back now the spot AF could be part of it. I don't even know that it was turned on until I got home. So many settings with this camera. One mistake you screwed.

Click to expand...
 
amobi said:
This is my first time using 16-35 with my 7D. I never tested the lens with the camera. Also, I have a filter in front of the lens. I remember struggling all day to get anything to focus. I couldn't understand why. Looking back now the spot AF could be part of it. I don't even know that it was turned on until I got home. So many settings with this camera. One mistake you screwed.
Click to expand...
Ha Ha, that's a feeling I can sympathise with :-) Too late I know, but f 5.6 and the partial zone AF would have probably taken care of it. Like the spot metering, which is so small, you really have to be sure where you point it.
 
D'oh! How did we all not pick up on that right off the bat? Nice to know it's not the lens/camera.

I avoid the spot for that reason and somehow it didn't even click in my mind in your original post. I remember when I first picked up my 7D and tested out the spot and couldn't figure how it was so many pics were oof. It's a finicky beast that has a specialized purpose.
Much better shot when in focus. Hope you had more that were.

--
I am as ignorant as ever, and wiser than I've ever been.
 
I guess is safe to conclude that the spot AF was the problem.
 
Note the EXIF data of the second photo. The Distance to Subject has a plausible value of 163/100m instead of -1/1 as contained in the first photo. The spot AF may have been the problem. With the first photo, the spot AF must have completely missed anything to focus on and therefore was focused at infinity or at a distance closer than what is viewable in the photo? Would a 23 mm f/3.2 from a 16-35L, focused to infinity or distance less than anything viewable in the photo produce the blurred effect we observe in the first photo?

Exif Sub IFD
  • Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) = 1/160 second ===> 0.00625 second
  • Lens F-Number / F-Stop = 4/1 ===> ƒ 4
  • Exposure Program = aperture priority (3)
  • ISO Speed Ratings = 800
  • Exif Version = 0221
  • Original Date/Time = 2010:04:17 10:44:49
  • Digitization Date/Time = 2010:04:17 10:44:49
  • Shutter Speed Value (APEX) = 7321928/1000000
Shutter Speed (Exposure Time) = 1/160 second
  • Aperture Value (APEX) = 4/1
Aperture = ƒ 4
  • Exposure Bias (EV) = 2/3 ===> 0.67
  • Max Aperture Value (APEX) = 3/1 ===> 3
Max Aperture = ƒ 2.83
  • Distance to Subject = 163/100 m
  • Metering Mode = pattern / multi-segment (5)
  • Flash = Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
  • Focal Length = 25/1 mm ===> 25 mm
  • Original Subsecond Time = 00
  • Digitized Subsecond Time = 00
  • Colour Space = sRGB (1)
  • Image Width = 533 pixels
  • Image Height = 800 pixels
  • Focal Plane X-Resolution = 5184000/907 ===> 5715.55
  • Focal Plane Y-Resolution = 3456000/595 ===> 5808.4
  • Focal Plane X/Y-Resolution Unit = inch (2)
  • Custom Rendered = normal process (0)
  • Exposure Mode = auto exposure (0)
  • White Balance = auto (0)
  • Scene Capture Type = standard (0)
amobi said:
I guess is safe to conclude that the spot AF was the problem.
Click to expand...
 
I learnt a lot just following the logic and responses of everyone.

Well done to all who participated, provided mature responses, remained calm, and did not get emotional. This is how these discussions should evolve.
 
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