a6000 Photos out-of-focus

Hi Everyone,

This subject may not be new for many of you. I recently purchased a Sony a6000 camera with the kit lens and took around 500 or so pics in the past couple of weeks under different lighting conditions. I feel that in almost all the pics, the image is a bit out of focus. I was initially using the default factory settings

1)

Metering Mode:- Multi

Focus Area:- Wide

Focus Mode:- AF-A

Long Exposure NR - On

High ISO NR - Normal

Uploaded sample images RAW file which were taken in Aperture Priority mode to the below link :-


Filename:- DSC01187.ARW [f20, ISO100, 1/30s]

DSC01241.ARW [f9, ISO100,1/200s]

Upon checking in lightroom, the "Focus Information" is being shown as below

Number of AF points selected before taking picture = 1

Number of AF points where the focus was achieved = 0

Am I missing something here while interpreting the output? I could be doing something wrong with the settings as well. Please suggest

2)

I just tried to use a different setting, this time with a Focus Mode as AF-S and rest all settings the same. Still the same issue - pictures seem to be not having a proper focus which was again confirmed by the focus info got from lightroom

Filename:- DSC01509.ARW [f8,ISO100, 1/100s]


3) For the next image, I tried using spot metering mode and Focus area as "Zone". To be honest, no logic in this as I just wanted to see if it will bring about any change? But still see no improvement


Filename:- DSC01524.ARW

I have been searching various forums where I saw some suggestions for similar issues - to restore to factory settings, to disable all the High ISO NR and long exposure NR etc. but still I don't see an improvement. Could you please suggest what else could be the issue. Since I am still a beginner in photography and using the a6000 for the first time. I strongly feel that I maybe doing something silly with the settings.

Would appreciate if you go through the images and suggest

venkit85 said:

Hi Everyone,

This subject may not be new for many of you. I recently purchased a Sony a6000 camera with the kit lens and took around 500 or so pics in the past couple of weeks under different lighting conditions. I feel that in almost all the pics, the image is a bit out of focus. I was initially using the default factory settings

1)

Metering Mode:- Multi

Focus Area:- Wide

Focus Mode:- AF-A

Long Exposure NR - On

High ISO NR - Normal

Uploaded sample images RAW file which were taken in Aperture Priority mode to the below link :-

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjRA8ZqeXQi3jCJVh7GsBGJMbb80?e=fsVpmR

Filename:- DSC01187.ARW [f20, ISO100, 1/30s]

DSC01241.ARW [f9, ISO100,1/200s]

Upon checking in lightroom, the "Focus Information" is being shown as below

Number of AF points selected before taking picture = 1

Number of AF points where the focus was achieved = 0

Am I missing something here while interpreting the output? I could be doing something wrong with the settings as well. Please suggest

2)

I just tried to use a different setting, this time with a Focus Mode as AF-S and rest all settings the same. Still the same issue - pictures seem to be not having a proper focus which was again confirmed by the focus info got from lightroom

Filename:- DSC01509.ARW [f8,ISO100, 1/100s]


3) For the next image, I tried using spot metering mode and Focus area as "Zone". To be honest, no logic in this as I just wanted to see if it will bring about any change? But still see no improvement


Filename:- DSC01524.ARW

I have been searching various forums where I saw some suggestions for similar issues - to restore to factory settings, to disable all the High ISO NR and long exposure NR etc. but still I don't see an improvement. Could you please suggest what else could be the issue. Since I am still a beginner in photography and using the a6000 for the first time. I strongly feel that I maybe doing something silly with the settings.

Would appreciate if you go through the images and suggest

Click to expand...

Just some random thoughts, in case they are of any help. I see that in your first shot, you had the aperture at f20 - a very small aperture, which introduces a visible softening due to diffraction - I'd personally try to keep the aperture at f11 or preferably larger to avoid diffraction. Obviously making the aperture so small also drops the shutter speed, with the potential to introduce camera shake (albeit offset by using the wide angle end of the lens and of course the built in optical image stabilisation of the lens); I'm guessing you have ISO manually set, so you don't get the consequent raising of ISO which would add image noise, but fixed at ISO 100 it does make the shutter speed need to drop more. However, the shutter speeds themselves don't look too much on the slow side, though 1/30 in the shots in low light is of course likely to show some subject movement, and it is also possible for some to show at 1/100, though not seriously I wouldn't think.

Ensure that the electronic first/front curtain shutter facility (EFCS) is turned on, as when it isn't, vibration from the shutter mechanism just before the start of the exposure can occasionally affect the sharpness of a shot - usually in the 1/80-1/160 shutter speed range. It is set to on as default (if you have turned it off, you will notice that the shutter makes fast double-clunk rather than the usual single sound).

The lens, the 16-50mm E, has a bit of a reputation as being not that strong optically. It needs a lot of software correction by the camera, so check you have that turned on - also try shooting in jpg as well as ARW to see how beneficial the in-camera image processing may be (I admit that I'm a lazy photographer who after a life of working in front of a computer, tends to shoot in jpg!).

AF-A focusing mode has the ability to switch automatically between single AF and continuous AF, which can add a bit of unpredictability to its behaviour; if I want to be specific about the focus point and things aren't moving much, I tend to use AF-S and use flexible spot AF at a small size. Using spot metering which you mention will of course only affect exposure, and tends to give more extreme results as it is so specific to what's under the metering area.

Hello, I just processed two photos with best exposure parameters in Capture One acc. my usual setting. Honestly I can see nothing unusual. Not sure about focus points, but picture quality is as expected from cheap kitlens.

Martin_99 said:

Hello, I just processed two photos with best exposure parameters in Capture One acc. my usual setting. Honestly I can see nothing unusual. Not sure about focus points, but picture quality is as expected from cheap kitlens.

Click to expand...

Lovely mountain view!

How did you get up there? Walked all the way, maybe.

You can also use program such ExifTool to check the files in more detail. But not take such readings too seriously. I just checked some of my good focused photos to comparison with your file - it's OK even if the relevant lines show no AF points





If you want to check focus, I would use different subject - eg. box with small prints on it, shot from 1-3m

I just looked at DSC01524.ARW. Focus looks fine, but the bright lights have some haloing. And there is a 30 seconds exposure time on this one, which easily causes blur, for example in the leaves that moved.

Together these give the impression of being out of focus.

Just try some shots of 'easy' subjects, good light, and work from there.

And as far as I remember, my A6000 never registered the actual focus points. No alarm in that.

Sure. Thanks a lot Martin for the feedback!

Thanks Helen! That's very informative. Regarding the curtain option you said, I just checked and its showing "ON" only, So, for a more generic usage, would you suggest leaving the metering mode as "multi"? And regarding the file format, I usually keep it as RAW+JPEG. The corresponding JPEG version image quality and the RAW image on the whole looks similar [out-of-focus in my opinion]. I think maybe its my over expectation from the kit lens that gets me worried. And almost all the issues that I feel has issue were taken with more aperture setting above f8 or f9 [went with the common theoretical understanding that a higher f number of f11 or f22 will help keeping more things in focus]. The portrait shots looked satisfactory. Meanwhile, do you feel its the kit lens thats causing images to be not crisper in such settings or is that the camera does not have satisfactory noise reduction or is it my ignorance not knowing how to fully extract the max performance from the camera.

Anyways, I will try a landscape with f8 and see how it goes.

That's comforting to know, Martin. I was thinking whether its a defective piece or something. As mentioned in my reply to Helen, the perception that something is really off is predominant only when the f-number is set to a value above f9. In most of landscape photos, I dont really feel whether anything at all is in focus. That's when thought of checking focus information from some software. Now that you are saying that the focus info looks similar in your pics as well, so it might not be an issue at all. But by any chance, if you have a lens other than kit lens, do you mind taking some snaps and see if the focus output from the software looks similar.

Thanks in Advance for your help!

That's from the top of Blackcomb Mountain in British Columbia. And, there is a Gondola that will take you to the top. Didn't have to walk

venkit85 said:

That's comforting to know, Martin. I was thinking whether its a defective piece or something. As mentioned in my reply to Helen, the perception that something is really off is predominant only when the f-number is set to a value above f9. In most of landscape photos, I dont really feel whether anything at all is in focus. That's when thought of checking focus information from some software. Now that you are saying that the focus info looks similar in your pics as well, so it might not be an issue at all. But by any chance, if you have a lens other than kit lens, do you mind taking some snaps and see if the focus output from the software looks similar.

Thanks in Advance for your help!

Click to expand...

I also had kitlens, but sold it. Not primarily due to sharpness, but I didn't like powerzoom and overall build quality of the lens. It was not "joy" to shoot with the lens for me.

I purchased the 20mmf2.8 and 18-135mm instead. 20mm as a compact solution and zoom for trips. Specially the 18-135 is brilliant for its "size/range/sharpness ratio".

I will check my albums for landscapes of both zooms and share later. Maybe your 16-50 is subpar sample, but it's hard to say without direct comparison.

To the apperture - on 16-50 is recommended to use f/8 for best sharpness, on landscapes you should focus in horizontal first third from the bottom for maximal perceived sharpness across the frame. Use AF-S for that. I use maximum f/11, never more.

As promised, photos from both zooms attached. I do landscapes rarely, so more like snapshots from trips.

16-50:











18-135

This may or may not be relevant to your issue, but I did have a focus issue with an A6000 that I purchased new. With both the 16-50 and 55-210 kit lenses that came with the package, most of my shots were very soft. Focus was always locked on, and I tried a variety of settings and lighting situations, but I rarely was able to get what I considered acceptable sharpness. I posted my issues, and the consensus was that I would never get sharp enough images with the kit lenses. I didn’t quite buy into that, and was very frustrated with the camera. Finally, I called Sony and discussed my problems with the A6000. They gave me a return authorization, and I shipped it to a repair center. It came back in about a week with one notation in the notes ... “recalibrate phase detect.” After that, both kit lenses provided excellent results and images were as sharp as I expected them to be. I have since switched to the A6400, but the A6000 provided excellent IQ after that repair.

venkit85 said:

Hi Everyone,

This subject may not be new for many of you. I recently purchased a Sony a6000 camera with the kit lens and took around 500 or so pics in the past couple of weeks under different lighting conditions. I feel that in almost all the pics, the image is a bit out of focus. I was initially using the default factory settings

Click to expand...

I don't think the image was out of focus, those images are what you can expect when taking pictures with the 16-50 kit lens. The second picture taken at 30 seconds could have caused some camera shake too?

venkit85 said:

I have been searching various forums where I saw some suggestions for similar issues - to restore to factory settings, to disable all the High ISO NR and long exposure NR etc. but still I don't see an improvement. Could you please suggest what else could be the issue. Since I am still a beginner in photography and using the a6000 for the first time. I strongly feel that I maybe doing something silly with the settings.

Would appreciate if you go through the images and suggest

Click to expand...

If you mostly take pictures of landscapes at 16mm, the Sigma 16mm f1.4 would give you much better/sharper pictures. If you can live with 18-20mm landscapes, give the Sony 18-135 lens a try. If I were you, I'd try a few other lenses (Sigma 19 f2.8, Sony 20 f2.8, etc...) to see if you get better results than your 16-50 kit lens is giving you. Also, I find Capture One does wonders with all Sony RAW files. You can always give the free version a try and see if that helps.

venkit85 said:

Thanks Helen! That's very informative. Regarding the curtain option you said, I just checked and its showing "ON" only, So, for a more generic usage, would you suggest leaving the metering mode as "multi"?

Click to expand...

Good that the EFCS is on - that rules out any shutter vibration softening things (not that I've found the shutter in the a6xxx series too bad for this anyway, but individual cameras can vary). Anyhow, your setting rules that out.

I tend to keep the metering mode (which is the exposure metering mode of course) on Multi unless I see a particular need to change it. Multi and its equivalents in other brands is effectively an intelligent, evaluative metering mode whereby the camera applies some algorithms to hopefully get the best results taking into account the distribution of brightness in the image. It's generally pretty smart but of course if you want particular results, you are free to select other patterns as and when you feel the need.

venkit85 said:

And regarding the file format, I usually keep it as RAW+JPEG. The corresponding JPEG version image quality and the RAW image on the whole looks similar [out-of-focus in my opinion].

Click to expand...

OK.

venkit85 said:

I think maybe its my over expectation from the kit lens that gets me worried. And almost all the issues that I feel has issue were taken with more aperture setting above f8 or f9 [went with the common theoretical understanding that a higher f number of f11 or f22 will help keeping more things in focus]. The portrait shots looked satisfactory. Meanwhile, do you feel its the kit lens thats causing images to be not crisper in such settings or is that the camera does not have satisfactory noise reduction or is it my ignorance not knowing how to fully extract the max performance from the camera.

Click to expand...

I think the main issue is probably your use of too small an aperture. Whilst you're correct that smaller apertures increase the depth of field (keeping more objects in focus) you're not really short of depth of field with an APS-C camera (the sensor being smaller than a 35mm "full frame" size, as this becomes more generous as sensors become smaller) and of course there's yet more DOF when you are shooting at the wide end of the zoom (16mm, equivalent to a 24mm lens field of view in full frame terms). Your first, snowy shot is a very good example of what diffraction does to overall resolution - the one where you have the lens at f20 for a 16mm focal length. It basically softens everything at all distances rather noticeably and it's something you'd see setting in after f11 in my experience.

As I and others have mentioned, kit zoom lenses are made in huge numbers and tend to be a bit variable in quality, example to example, but many are also made down to a price, so that their performance range over all examples might tend towards one end of the performance scale to some degree or other. The Sony 16-50mm does tend to have a bit of a reputation for performing at the lower end of the scale, unfortunately, though some people are still happy with theirs - these may be particularly good examples of this particular lens.

venkit85 said:

Anyways, I will try a landscape with f8 and see how it goes.

Click to expand...

Hope it helps.

I will see if I can rent out some of these lenses. Thanks for your suggestions!!

That's a useful info!! Will anyways take it a authorized service center and see if they have to say anything. Also, I am thinking of renting out some of the lenses which other members mentioned and see if that makes a difference.

Anyways, thanks to everyone for your inputs. I will update with my findings.

venkit85 said:

That's comforting to know, Martin. I was thinking whether its a defective piece or something. As mentioned in my reply to Helen, the perception that something is really off is predominant only when the f-number is set to a value above f9.

Click to expand...

The further you go over f9, the more blurry the photo will be, with any lens, regardless of how sharp it is. This is due to diffraction. Never go as high as, say, f20. There's no point.

venkit85 said:

In most of landscape photos, I dont really feel whether anything at all is in focus. That's when thought of checking focus information from some software. Now that you are saying that the focus info looks similar in your pics as well, so it might not be an issue at all. But by any chance, if you have a lens other than kit lens, do you mind taking some snaps and see if the focus output from the software looks similar.

Thanks in Advance for your help!

Click to expand...

It would be interesting to see if your photos processed from RAW would look better. They looked a bit "odd" to me, but I'm not sure why. It almost looks like excessive noise reduction, but that shouldn't be the case at ISO 100, so I dunno!

--
Gary W.

Hi Everyone,

Quick update - I gave the camera to Sony authorized service center last week. They got back today saying

Good Morning!

He was able to duplicate an issue with the AF locking up and we currently have a part on order to fix the issue.

Hopefully the part will arrive in the next few days and we can get your camera back to you.

It's confirmed that it was a really a hardware issue. Thanks everyone for your inputs