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Please help! Sony A77 ii focus problems :(

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MarRenee

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Hello All!

I am at the end of my rope with focus issues. I could really use some advice. I believe I may have a back focus issue, but I'm not sure because sometimes it appears that photos are just fuzzy and out of focus and other times the subject is out of focus and the area around the subject is in focus. I use a SAL70400G 70-400 mm Lens for my bird photography and this is the lens I notice the subject being out of focus while the background is in focus. When I am not using that lens, I use the kit lens, 16-50 mm f/2.8, for portraits and such. I don't use it often, but recently I took some family photos for a friend and I discovered that a lot of the photos are fuzzy and and out of focus, followed by a focused photo. I don't know if it is operator error, as I'm not a professional photographer, just a hobbyist, or if it is mechanical. To me, it seems like it might be the camera rather than a particular lens because the problems are with both lenses. Or, I suppose it could be me, the operator ;) Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Here are a couple examples...





3063f8db16dd492d99fb7a8241f22ef1.jpg



91dd3e5327754fa5830d76fcac5f1680.jpg
 
Would you mind give us more information about you AF setting?

For example, what focus mode are you using?
AF-S, AF-A, AF-C ?

What focus point are you using?
Center Single point, Flexible spot, Flexible spot expand, Zone, Wide, AF-Lock ON, etc.

What priority are you using?
Focus priority, Shutter Priority, Balance,

What AF tracking sensitivity?
1,2,3,4,or 5 ?

..
MarRenee said:
I discovered that a lot of the photos are fuzzy and and out of focus, followed by a focused photo
Click to expand...
This is usually the case, when you set to Shutter Priority or Balance Priority in AF-C,
You half press the shutter button and take a shot before the Green AF box light up on the subject. The focus is still moving toward the subject position, but you press the shutter button too quick, the camera follow your priority setting and fire the shutter before the subject are in focus.

This problem can be solve easily, by set the priority to Focus.
Or just make sure the green box is show up before full press the shutter.

If the subject is not moving, you can use AF-S, half press and wait for the AF confirm beep sound first, then full press the shutter.
 
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lhkjacky said:
Would you mind give us more information about you AF setting?

For example, what focus mode are you using?
AF-S, AF-A, AF-C ?
Click to expand...
I keep focus mode set on AF-C for all photos. Maybe I should change to AF-S for family photos?

lhkjacky said:
What focus point are you using?
Center Single point, Flexible spot, Flexible spot expand, Zone, Wide, AF-Lock ON, etc.
Click to expand...
Center Single point for birds. Wide for family photos.
lhkjacky said:
What priority are you using?
Focus priority, Shutter Priority, Balance,
Click to expand...
My priority setup is set to AF.
lhkjacky said:
What AF tracking sensitivity?
1,2,3,4,or 5 ?
Click to expand...
I had my tracking set to 5 for the birds, but after reading more about it, I think it should've probably been set to 1? Is that right?
lhkjacky said:
lhkjacky said:
I discovered that a lot of the photos are fuzzy and and out of focus, followed by a focused photo
Click to expand...
This is usually the case, when you set to Shutter Priority or Balance Priority in AF-C,
You half press the shutter button and take a shot before the Green AF box light up on the subject. The focus is still moving toward the subject position, but you press the shutter button too quick, the camera follow your priority setting and fire the shutter before the subject are in focus.
Click to expand...
Hmph. Then I'm not sure what happened with that because priority was set to AF.
lhkjacky said:
This problem can be solve easily, by set the priority to Focus.
Or just make sure the green box is show up before full press the shutter.
Click to expand...
I need to pay more attention to the green box, I think.
lhkjacky said:
If the subject is not moving, you can use AF-S, half press and wait for the AF confirm beep sound first, then full press the shutter.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for your help/response! :)
 
For family, I would say Center point, AF-S would be the best.

I also suggest turning off the Stabilization with Shutter (That is the stabilized viewfinder). I hated that stupid buzzing noise anyways.
 
MarRenee said:
... sometimes it appears that photos are just fuzzy and out of focus and other times the subject is out of focus and the area around the subject is in focus. I use a SAL70400G 70-400 mm Lens for my bird photography and this is the lens I notice the subject being out of focus while the background is in focus.
Click to expand...
In your examples at 400mm, parts of the image are indeed in focus, but your subjects are elsewhere. Do you understand that very long lenses have limited depth of field? Do you know how to ensure that your subject - and not something else in the image - is the actual target of the AF system?
MarRenee said:
When I am not using that lens, I use the kit lens, 16-50 mm f/2.8, for portraits and such. I don't use it often, but recently I took some family photos for a friend and I discovered that a lot of the photos are fuzzy and and out of focus, followed by a focused photo.
Click to expand...
Without seeing those examples, I suspect you are again having trouble ensuring that the subject - and not something else in the image - is the actual target of the AF system.

It's also possible that you need to apply micro AF adjustments for your lenses.
 
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sybersitizen said:
MarRenee said:
... sometimes it appears that photos are just fuzzy and out of focus and other times the subject is out of focus and the area around the subject is in focus. I use a SAL70400G 70-400 mm Lens for my bird photography and this is the lens I notice the subject being out of focus while the background is in focus.
Click to expand...
In your examples at 400mm, parts of the image are indeed in focus, but your subjects are elsewhere. Do you understand that very long lenses have limited depth of field? Do you know how to ensure that your subject - and not something else in the image - is the actual target of the AF system?
Click to expand...
Yes, I understand all of the above...and I've never had any of these problems before...these problems have only popped up recently, that is why I was wondering if it was a back focusing/front focusing issue. In fact, now that I think about it, I believe they started when I upgraded to the a77 ii from the a77.
sybersitizen said:
sybersitizen said:
When I am not using that lens, I use the kit lens, 16-50 mm f/2.8, for portraits and such. I don't use it often, but recently I took some family photos for a friend and I discovered that a lot of the photos are fuzzy and and out of focus, followed by a focused photo.
Click to expand...
Without seeing those examples, I suspect you are again having trouble ensuring that the subject - and not something else in the image - is the actual target of the AF system.

It's also possible that you need to apply micro AF adjustments for your lenses.
Click to expand...
This is what I'm thinking, too. Thanks for your input!
 
tqlla said:
For family, I would say Center point, AF-S would be the best.

I also suggest turning off the Stabilization with Shutter (That is the stabilized viewfinder). I hated that stupid buzzing noise anyways.
Click to expand...
Yep! Me, too! I keep mine turned off. Thanks!
 
Looks like fairly severe back focus. That lens sometime can need a lot of MFA - my G2 version requires more MFA than any other lens I have.
 
Douglas F Watt said:
Looks like fairly severe back focus. That lens sometime can need a lot of MFA - my G2 version requires more MFA than any other lens I have.
Click to expand...
I never had to do MFA on my original A77, so I didn't even realize what was going on with my Mark ii until just recently. Did you use the internal MFA and do it yourself? Also, how is the G2? Was thinking of upgrading. Is it worth it? is the AF faster? Thanks!
Douglas F Watt said:
--
Sony A77m2-RX1-RX10III-RX100III
Sigma: 8-16 4.5-5.6, Tamron 70-200 2.8
Sony: 16-50 2.8, 100 f2.8 Macro, 70-400 f4-5.6 G2,
Minolta: 600 f4, 300 2.8, 70-210 f4 ('Beercan'), 28-135 f4-4.5 (SH)
DFW
Click to expand...
 
I note with interest that the 'Sony a77ii 4D Focus settings guide' recommends Balanced Emphasis for all moving subjects in Priority set up and AF for accurate focus on staionary subjects with face detection on.

Do many folk actually rely upon Balanced Emphasis for shooting sports?
 
josler said:
I note with interest that the 'Sony a77ii 4D Focus settings guide' recommends Balanced Emphasis for all moving subjects in Priority set up and AF for accurate focus on staionary subjects with face detection on.

Do many folk actually rely upon Balanced Emphasis for shooting sports?
Click to expand...
Yes, IMO, balance fit me best. :-)

If set to focus priority, sometime the shutter will not fire, because it lost focus.
But sometimes the AF point is on the white T-shirt of the player accidentally, the player is in focus, but the camera just refuse to fire the shutter because green box does not show up.

If set to shutter priority, you will get a exactly the burst rate you want, but it ignore the focus completely, it just keep firing.

Balance is something difference, if at AF-S, it will make sure the focus is confirm before fire the shutter, something close to focus priority.
But when set to AF-C, it will fire similar to shutter priority, it keep firing like the burst rate you set, but if you hear very carefully, the interval between the shoot may vary slightly.
To me, it seem it get slightly sharper focus and without missing shot & never ignore to fire under AF-C.
 
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MarRenee said:
Douglas F Watt said:
Looks like fairly severe back focus. That lens sometime can need a lot of MFA - my G2 version requires more MFA than any other lens I have.
Click to expand...
I never had to do MFA on my original A77, so I didn't even realize what was going on with my Mark ii until just recently. Did you use the internal MFA and do it yourself? Also, how is the G2? Was thinking of upgrading. Is it worth it? is the AF faster? Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
Douglas F Watt said:
MarRenee said:
Douglas F Watt said:
Looks like fairly severe back focus. That lens sometime can need a lot of MFA - my G2 version requires more MFA than any other lens I have.
Click to expand...
I never had to do MFA on my original A77, so I didn't even realize what was going on with my Mark ii until just recently. Did you use the internal MFA and do it yourself? Also, how is the G2? Was thinking of upgrading. Is it worth it? is the AF faster? Thanks!
Douglas F Watt said:
--
Sony A77m2-RX1-RX10III-RX100III
Sigma: 8-16 4.5-5.6, Tamron 70-200 2.8
Sony: 16-50 2.8, 100 f2.8 Macro, 70-400 f4-5.6 G2,
Minolta: 600 f4, 300 2.8, 70-210 f4 ('Beercan'), 28-135 f4-4.5 (SH)
DFW
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
It's easy to do any number of ways. I personally just use the focus peaking method. It's rarely yielded a value different from the more time consuming methods - and when it has, it's been minimally different.
Click to expand...
Can you recommend somewhere that has instructions how to do this? I can't seem to find it anywhere.
Douglas F Watt said:
--
Sony A77m2-RX1-RX10III-RX100III
Sigma: 8-16 4.5-5.6, Tamron 70-200 2.8
Sony: 16-50 2.8, 100 f2.8 Macro, 70-400 f4-5.6 G2,
Minolta: 600 f4, 300 2.8, 70-210 f4 ('Beercan'), 28-135 f4-4.5 (SH)
DFW
Click to expand...
 
MarRenee said:
Douglas F Watt said:
MarRenee said:
Douglas F Watt said:
Looks like fairly severe back focus. That lens sometime can need a lot of MFA - my G2 version requires more MFA than any other lens I have.
Click to expand...
I never had to do MFA on my original A77, so I didn't even realize what was going on with my Mark ii until just recently. Did you use the internal MFA and do it yourself? Also, how is the G2? Was thinking of upgrading. Is it worth it? is the AF faster? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
MarRenee said:
Douglas F Watt said:
MarRenee said:
Douglas F Watt said:
Looks like fairly severe back focus. That lens sometime can need a lot of MFA - my G2 version requires more MFA than any other lens I have.
Click to expand...
I never had to do MFA on my original A77, so I didn't even realize what was going on with my Mark ii until just recently. Did you use the internal MFA and do it yourself? Also, how is the G2? Was thinking of upgrading. Is it worth it? is the AF faster? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
MarRenee said:
MarRenee said:
It's easy to do any number of ways. I personally just use the focus peaking method. It's rarely yielded a value different from the more time consuming methods - and when it has, it's been minimally different.
Click to expand...
Can you recommend somewhere that has instructions how to do this? I can't seem to find it anywhere.
Click to expand...
I can't believe this is a MFA problem. The shot of the single bird if WAAAAY out of focus. I seriously doubt MFA would fix this. It must just be missed focus. Maybe you focused on the background and accidentally pressed the focus hold button or something similar.

The first shot just looks like missed focus.
 
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