out of focus

[rose stalka]

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus but this is something i have never encountered this many out of focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

 

[jimmy w]

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been
more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is
terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n
shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus
but this is something i have never encountered this many out of
focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i
would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is
any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning
the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low
light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

hey rose,

i bought a e10 about 2 weeks ago and the focus was way off in manual focus mode. did nt really try it in auto focus as a lot of my photography need s to be in focus, and i trust manual especially at a wedding or other convention type shoot. I too was really disapointed in the softness of the images. Im used to razor sharp hassy stuff thats been manual focused. I had a minolta promax 9000 at one time when they first came out years ago. It was great in auto focus most of the time. I did a swimsuit shoot in a club and got a lot of out of focus stuff and complained to minolta about how hard it wsas to convert back to manual focus and they allowed me to help design its replacement based on a professional s use. Did nt mean to go on, but are you manual focusing or auto focusing???

 

[rose stalka]

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been
more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is
terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n
shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus
but this is something i have never encountered this many out of
focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i
would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is
any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning
the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low
light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

hey rose,

i bought a e10 about 2 weeks ago and the focus was way off in
manual focus mode. did nt really try it in auto focus as a lot of
my photography need s to be in focus, and i trust manual
especially at a wedding or other convention type shoot. I too was
really disapointed in the softness of the images. Im used to razor
sharp hassy stuff thats been manual focused. I had a minolta
promax 9000 at one time when they first came out years ago. It was
great in auto focus most of the time. I did a swimsuit shoot in a
club and got a lot of out of focus stuff and complained to minolta
about how hard it wsas to convert back to manual focus and they
allowed me to help design its replacement based on a professional s
use. Did nt mean to go on, but are you manual focusing or auto
focusing???

hi can you belive im actually doing both manueal and auto i am equelly dissapointed while im worrying about getting in focus shots im missing some good shots this is too much for me i am very disapointed
rose

 

[Bill Harris]

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been
more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is
terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n
shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus
but this is something i have never encountered this many out of
focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i
would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is
any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning
the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low
light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

Rose

Back in December during your original post there were many who jumped in and offered you advice. You did not respond to any of their ideas. Is it safe to assume none of them worked? I've included the link here so that just in case you missed the suggestions you can re-read the advice given to you: http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=1956559

BH

 

[rose stalka]

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been
more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is
terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n
shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus
but this is something i have never encountered this many out of
focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i
would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is
any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning
the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low
light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

Rose

Back in December during your original post there were many who
jumped in and offered you advice. You did not respond to any of
their ideas. Is it safe to assume none of them worked? I've
included the link here so that just in case you missed the
suggestions you can re-read the advice given to you:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=1956559

BH

yes i took all of their advise and still i have the problems i sm just so fustrated the only thing i havent tried yet was the tri pod but it is not feasable to take a tri pod with me
thanks rose

 

[TAUWAWA]

Rosa,

Why do you think the tripod will solve your problem?. If it is camera shake you may solve it with a tripod but if it is oof, them either your camera is defective or you need to hone your shooting technique. As one of the previous poster mentioned, you are pressing the shutter before the focus confirmation. This is very easy to do. Please post a picture so maybe somebody in this forum can analyse what the problem is.

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been
more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is
terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n
shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus
but this is something i have never encountered this many out of
focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i
would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is
any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning
the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low
light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

Rose

Back in December during your original post there were many who
jumped in and offered you advice. You did not respond to any of
their ideas. Is it safe to assume none of them worked? I've
included the link here so that just in case you missed the
suggestions you can re-read the advice given to you:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=1956559

BH

yes i took all of their advise and still i have the problems i sm
just so fustrated the only thing i havent tried yet was the tri
pod but it is not feasable to take a tri pod with me
thanks rose

--Fernando

 

[Vance]

Hi Rose,

Without going back to that original post someone linked, I'm wondering, have you adjusted the eyepiece diopter? Possibly it has been moved some, and affected your focusing abilities.

Believe it or not, this happened recently with my E10.

--Vance.

 

[Jukka Jarnberg]

Rose,

Read Ron's article to test what part of focusing problem you have
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=2230942

After doing test as he suggests and if the camera itself is at fault send it to Oly's warranty service

Jukka

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been
more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is
terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n
shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus
but this is something i have never encountered this many out of
focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i
would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is
any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning
the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low
light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

-- http://www.pbase.com/jjg/gallerieshttp://www.sirucats.com/

 

[Joe Peoples]

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been
more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is
terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n
shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus
but this is something i have never encountered this many out of
focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i
would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is
any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning
the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low
light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

Joe Peoples writes:

Which shooting mode, f stop, shutter speed? What were the exact conditions of your location? Could there have been anything to throw the AF off or obstruct your vision in MF? Did your subject look sharp in the viewfinder or didn't you notice?

 

[rose stalka]

Why do you think the tripod will solve your problem?. If it is
camera shake you may solve it with a tripod but if it is oof, them
either your camera is defective or you need to hone your shooting
technique. As one of the previous poster mentioned, you are
pressing the shutter before the focus confirmation. This is very
easy to do. Please post a picture so maybe somebody in this forum
can analyse what the problem is.

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been
more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is
terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n
shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus
but this is something i have never encountered this many out of
focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i
would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is
any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning
the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low
light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

Rose

Back in December during your original post there were many who
jumped in and offered you advice. You did not respond to any of
their ideas. Is it safe to assume none of them worked? I've
included the link here so that just in case you missed the
suggestions you can re-read the advice given to you:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=1956559

BH

yes i took all of their advise and still i have the problems i sm
just so fustrated the only thing i havent tried yet was the tri
pod but it is not feasable to take a tri pod with me
thanks rose

--
Fernando

vance will be happy to post pictures here but i do not know how to post picutres here :.(

 

[rose stalka]

Hi Rose,

Without going back to that original post someone linked, I'm
wondering, have you adjusted the eyepiece diopter? Possibly it has
been moved some, and affected your focusing abilities.

Believe it or not, this happened recently with my E10.

--
Vance.

http://users.ev1.net/~txcowboy

does this need to be done in the af mode or just the mf mode ? i havent done this at all
rose

 

[rose stalka]

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been
more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is
terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n
shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus
but this is something i have never encountered this many out of
focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i
would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is
any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning
the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low
light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

Joe Peoples writes:

Which shooting mode, f stop, shutter speed? What were the exact
conditions of your location? Could there have been anything to
throw the AF off or obstruct your vision in MF? Did your subject
look sharp in the viewfinder or didn't you notice?

joe it seems that it doesnt matter if it is daytime or night one i was at my daughters soccer game it was about 300pm lighting good and yes in the vewi finder it looked good to me not the the lcd moniter as i do not usually use that as much as the veiw finder. I livei n florida by the way so i had plenty of light heehehh i idnt really have ashutter priority just shot in the p mode fully auto .ojk then the other times in mf i was inside at relatives house with the usual lighting etc the subject about 6 feeet away again i used my veiwfinder no lcd and it looked fine auto everything ..

can i ask a question joe how come my flash doesnt pop up automatically in low light i have it on auto flash ?
thanks rose

 

[Blokey Bloggs]

Hi Rose

You must** set the diopter correctly for mf to be usable. Read the manual as it explains how to do this (looking at something white and bright - not the sun - make the square and circle on the focusing screen as clear as possible by adjusting the the eyepiece screw). When you have done that, take some mf pictures again and say here what you find.

The diopter does not matter so much for af but is a total must for mf. AF will do its own thing but it helps for composition to have the diopter adjusted correctly.

The E10/20 requires you to pop up the flash - press the button to the left. Look in the vf, the camera will advise you to use flash - you decide... This camera is all about you taking control.--Blokey http://www.pbase.com/blokey/galleries

 

[excal]

Hi Rose,

Without going back to that original post someone linked, I'm
wondering, have you adjusted the eyepiece diopter? Possibly it has
been moved some, and affected your focusing abilities.

Believe it or not, this happened recently with my E10.

--
Vance.

http://users.ev1.net/~txcowboy

does this need to be done in the af mode or just the mf mode ? i
havent done this at all
rose

Geez, well that's 99% likely your problem then (at least in MF). It won't affect AF. Turn the ring which goes around the eye piece. Some say that you point it at a white wall and get the screen markings in focus. I prefer to set it on a tripod at a good test target, and take a picture at every setting in turn, fully moving the focus ring between each to make sure I re-focus. Then view on a PC and see which gave the best setting.

--Excal

 

[Jukka Jarnberg]

Rose,

Have you read the manual for E-20 - specific page 89 Using flash
quote
Use the built-in flash to take pictures of subjects in low incident light or
dark subjects in strong backlight. To use the flash, you must first press
the flash button to raise the built-in flash unit.
Endquote

Jukka

can i ask a question joe how come my flash doesnt pop up
automatically in low light i have it on auto flash ?
thanks rose

-- http://www.pbase.com/jjg/gallerieshttp://www.sirucats.com/

 

[Joe Peoples]

joe it seems that it doesnt matter if it is daytime or night one
i was at my daughters soccer game it was about 300pm lighting good
and yes in the vewi finder it looked good to me not the the lcd
moniter as i do not usually use that as much as the veiw finder. I
livei n florida by the way so i had plenty of light heehehh i idnt
really have ashutter priority just shot in the p mode fully auto
.ojk then the other times in mf i was inside at relatives house
with the usual lighting etc the subject about 6 feeet away again i
used my veiwfinder no lcd and it looked fine auto everything ..
can i ask a question joe how come my flash doesnt pop up
automatically in low light i have it on auto flash ?

Joe Peoples writes:

Ok, Rose...about the flash...you have to press the spring-loaded button on the left of the flash in order for it to "pop up".

I NEVER use the E20 in P Mode, after having disasterous results on my first indoor use with flash. Outdoors should be fine, but I just got into the habit of shooting in A Mode, hovering around 4.5 - 5.6, obviously a little higher in bright light. If you're shooting soccer, use S Mode (Shutter Priority) and put your shutter speed at 1/500 and work your way down, according to the light level.

Use your fine Florida sunshine and go find a flat wall somewhere that has a distinct pattern, lots of lines. A brick wall or a mural will do nicely. Stand about 10 feet in front of it, set your camera to A Mode, f 5.6, note the shutter speed (try to be 1/125th or higher, to rule out camera shake)....focus and shoot. Let us know what happens.

 

[Diane B]

can i ask a question joe how come my flash doesnt pop up
automatically in low light i have it on auto flash ?
thanks rose

Rose, this camera does not 'pop up' the flash on auto. You must pop up the flash. It only 'recommends' when you need the flash. The current wisdom is that you don't use P for flash photos either. Jaja recommends setting shutter priority at about 1/125. There are a variety of settings for the flash--I would recommend you read the section in the manual on using the flash--it would be helpful for a variety of situations where you need it--but want different effects.

Diane --Diane B http://www.pbase.com/picnic/galleriesB/W lover, but color is seducing me

 

[Mark Elam66290]

Hi, Rose.

I bought an E-20N in December, too. Took about 150 photos. Anything farther away than about six feet was SOFT, out of focus.

I tried EVERYTHING suggested in this forum with no success. I spent more time with the camera with some improvement shown, but still a definite focus problem.

My camera is now at Olympus getting fixed or replaced.

Mark

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been
more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is
terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n
shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus
but this is something i have never encountered this many out of
focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i
would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is
any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning
the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low
light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

 

[Ron Frank]

I got my new e 20 in december and i have to say i have never been
more disapointed in the out of focus picutres it takes.This is
terrible I have experiance in other cameras other thatn point n
shoot such as my nikon and canon slr that i had to manual focus
but this is something i have never encountered this many out of
focus pictures thank goodness is not a film camera becasue i
would be out of alot of money on developing these ooof pictures is
any one else having this many oof pictures? I have tried turning
the IF off and still does not help and it doesnt seem to be a low
light excuse either lighting is fine
thanks rose

Joe Peoples writes:

Which shooting mode, f stop, shutter speed? What were the exact
conditions of your location? Could there have been anything to
throw the AF off or obstruct your vision in MF? Did your subject
look sharp in the viewfinder or didn't you notice?

joe it seems that it doesnt matter if it is daytime or night one
i was at my daughters soccer game it was about 300pm lighting good
and yes in the vewi finder it looked good to me not the the lcd
moniter as i do not usually use that as much as the veiw finder. I
livei n florida by the way so i had plenty of light heehehh i idnt
really have ashutter priority just shot in the p mode fully auto
.ojk then the other times in mf i was inside at relatives house
with the usual lighting etc the subject about 6 feeet away again i
used my veiwfinder no lcd and it looked fine auto everything ..
can i ask a question joe how come my flash doesnt pop up
automatically in low light i have it on auto flash ?
thanks rose

OK, we still don't know the specs. Why not post an image or two, and give us the EXACT exif information (shutter, aperture, focal length used).

It's frustrating that you can't give is better info when it's so easily available.

At the soccer game you used P mode. My guess is that the camera selected a wide open aperture (f2.0-f2.4), and you were attempting to shoot moving subjects. The E10/20 is NOT a great action camera. I guessing your subjects were out of focus based on no depth of field, and movement after the camera locked focus. Unfortunately I have to guess because you have not provided the info

As to indoors AGAIN you provide us with little to go on. If you were in P mode (guessing you were) the light was likely dim, and the camera would select a wide open aperture (no depth of field), and a shutter speed of about 1/20 a second or slower. At that setting there is a huge chance that subject, or camera movement result in an OOF image.

I have recently done a post detailing steps to determine if your camera does have a focusing problem, and suggestions to help prevent focus mistakes.

Have you read it? I suggest you do.

You say you have tried everything . God knows what that is as you don't say. But based on your very limited description of how you are using the camera, it sounds like you are not aware of how to avoid focus mistakes.

Ron

 

[rose stalka]

joe it seems that it doesnt matter if it is daytime or night one
i was at my daughters soccer game it was about 300pm lighting good
and yes in the vewi finder it looked good to me not the the lcd
moniter as i do not usually use that as much as the veiw finder. I
livei n florida by the way so i had plenty of light heehehh i idnt
really have ashutter priority just shot in the p mode fully auto
.ojk then the other times in mf i was inside at relatives house
with the usual lighting etc the subject about 6 feeet away again i
used my veiwfinder no lcd and it looked fine auto everything ..
can i ask a question joe how come my flash doesnt pop up
automatically in low light i have it on auto flash ?

Joe Peoples writes:

thanks joe will do that this weekend will be quite a challenge as i use full auto hehehehe

thanks rose

Ok, Rose...about the flash...you have to press the spring-loaded
button on the left of the flash in order for it to "pop up".

I NEVER use the E20 in P Mode, after having disasterous results on
my first indoor use with flash. Outdoors should be fine, but I just
got into the habit of shooting in A Mode, hovering around 4.5 -
5.6, obviously a little higher in bright light. If you're shooting
soccer, use S Mode (Shutter Priority) and put your shutter speed at
1/500 and work your way down, according to the light level.

Use your fine Florida sunshine and go find a flat wall somewhere
that has a distinct pattern, lots of lines. A brick wall or a mural
will do nicely. Stand about 10 feet in front of it, set your camera
to A Mode, f 5.6, note the shutter speed (try to be 1/125th or
higher, to rule out camera shake)....focus and shoot. Let us know
what happens.