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wizzards

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Hello i have just purchased a secondhand 7D, shutter count 4000 according to dealer ,with 6mths G/tee .it seems to focus fine in normal use ,but I want to use it for bird photography and have been testing it out on the small birds at the hanging feeders in the back garden ,using a Canon F4 300 mm is lens at a distance of 10 ft,shooting at 1/500 with 800 iso, resting the camera/ lens on a bean bag .the 7d would not produce in focus photos ,I then stopped the feeder from moving about ( due to wind bird moving etc) and the focus improved (see sample ) am I expecting to much from the 7D for it to be able to focus on a small bird swinging about on a bird feeder ? ,Also does the sample look sharp enough or is it below par on focus ,i know it appears to dark now uploaded and the composition is not great but Im only interested in the focus issues at the moment any feedback gratefully received,
peter



 
n/t
 
The sample looks pretty darned sharp, although I have no idea about what your AF settings are or where the focus points are.

My suggestion would be to do your first testing on non-moving/twitching/jumping subjects before taxing your skills and the cameras capabilities! Too many variables.
 
Looks in focus to me. One thing to remember using a 300mm lens shooting a subject 10 feet away at f8 you depth of field is going to be about 1 inch, so half an inch in front and behind the focus point. So with a swinging bird feeder you don't have much room to play with.

--

“To the complaint, 'There are no people in these photographs,' I respond, There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.”
? Ansel Adams
 
I'm curious what about that image doesn't look sharp to you? There's a ton of fine feather detail which would be difficult to resolve if the focus were off. The bird looks dead sharp to my eyes anyway.

The advice you're getting about using a single focus point is excellent. When shooting birds (not in flight but static), you really want to place the focus right around the eyes, so using a single point nearest to the eyes is the best way to get razor sharp focus.

The image looks pretty clean for ISO 800, so I'd say your 7D seems to be performing quite well. You may need better light to keep the ISO down and the motion blur out if you do have to deal with a lot of movement, either by the birds or the wind. 1/500s is OK, but a bit more margin would help in that case.
wizzards said:
Hello i have just purchased a secondhand 7D, shutter count 4000 according to dealer ,with 6mths G/tee .it seems to focus fine in normal use ,but I want to use it for bird photography and have been testing it out on the small birds at the hanging feeders in the back garden ,using a Canon F4 300 mm is lens at a distance of 10 ft,shooting at 1/500 with 800 iso, resting the camera/ lens on a bean bag .the 7d would not produce in focus photos ,I then stopped the feeder from moving about ( due to wind bird moving etc) and the focus improved (see sample ) am I expecting to much from the 7D for it to be able to focus on a small bird swinging about on a bird feeder ? ,Also does the sample look sharp enough or is it below par on focus ,i know it appears to dark now uploaded and the composition is not great but Im only interested in the focus issues at the moment any feedback gratefully received,
peter



Click to expand...
 
wizzards said:
Hello i have just purchased a secondhand 7D, shutter count 4000 according to dealer ,with 6mths G/tee
Click to expand...
You could check to see that the previous owner didn't have a micro focus adjustment registered for the same lens.

That said, the sample you posted appears to be well focused.

--
Mike Mullen
 
If the subject is moving and your only 10' away with 300mm, you need more shutter speed... I'd watch the iso too or you'll be spending a lot of time resolving noise issues... The photo you uploaded is tack sharp... But hand held, you'll do good with a moving subject to increase your shutter speed...
 
Hello

If I got an image like that with my new 7D and 100-400 zoom, I would be very pleased!

Mike Engles
 
Hello thanks to all that took the time to reply ,the answers given were what i hoped for and most helpful ,The swinging bird feeder had nearly sent me mad , i started to think I had got a 7D which was not capable of close focus with my 300 mm lens ,plus also reading on the internet about the focus issues (real or not?) with the 7D I had doubts about my 7D ,when I read the replies to my post it backed up what i had started to think (my fault/ lack of knowledge etc ) ,I think its a camera that needs real attention to detail to obtain the high quality results it is capable of producing
many thanks
Peter
 
I would also suggest to use LiveView and manual focus. Although with fast moving birds....it may be quite impossible!

My 7d has better focus this way.
 
VueFinder said:
I would also suggest to use LiveView and manual focus. Although with fast moving birds....it may be quite impossible!

My 7d has better focus this way.
Click to expand...
"Live View" on birds? Dear God, maybe on dead ones.
 
hilarious!!
 
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