70D Autofocus issues?

[Jerry-astro]

The 400 5.6 arrived Thursday night from B&H and even though it's been cloudy weather over the weekend, I did get a chance to shoot my 1st BIF photos.

Big congrats are in order Doug. Those "VIFs" look to be focused just fine. Just a little blur from the slow shutter speeds (darn overcast weather!!!). You'll get better results when you can get out in the sun.

The one thing I'm having the biggest problem with is how to set the correct exposure for BIF so that the bird is correctly exposed.

That grey card/Ezybalance card that you mentioned in the other post can certainly be used in the same manner that you use it for your other shooting. Just put it in the same light as your subject and meter off of it (ie. in your case hold it up against the sky and meter off of it). Use that reading as the starting point for your manual settings (exposure will be very close).

For very dark birds (like the vultures) you may want to increase the exposure a little more in order to gain some additional detail...

I had the benefit of a sunny day to help me out here.

Be sure to keep checking your LCD and histogram for exposure as you shoot.

And practice tracking everything in sight that is moving!

Happy shooting!

R2

--
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/galleries

I did get a chance to get out this morning with some good sunshine and practice with the exposure. I used the grey card (EZBalance) to set the initial exposure and seemed to work pretty good for getting me in the general range. Luckily there was a Hawk soaring by and got a chance to test the exposure in action. Much better results than with the VIF pic's yesterday. The Hawk was very far away but well lit by the sun. I'm still getting quite a bit of "noise", but I'm thinking that's mainly due to the distance the bird was from me. The picture below is cropped quite a bit! Still, very encouraging results!

Now time to go off and practice, practice, practice. Thanks for all of the help....definitely helped get me going in the right direction!

Great job!!

 

[Doug_PS]

Thanks Jerry!

 

[ERDAL77]

I purchased two 70Ds.. I had focusing issues with both even though I did calibrate my self.

Returned both, very disappointed.... I read online about major problems with 70D focusing...

 

[walkaround]

I purchased two 70Ds.. I had focusing issues with both even though I did calibrate my self.

Returned both, very disappointed.... I read online about major problems with 70D focusing...

Spam much? You posted this in four threads. Except in another one you said “blurry photos” in auto mode... there is no “major problem” with the 70D, other than armchair photographers starting threads about their "focus issues" that all turn out to be user error.

Please post an example.

 

[anand53]

The AF capabilities of 70D with a 70-300 non-L series lens. Shot by my wife with both the subject and the vehicle we were in motion.



Like someone on this thread had observed most of the alleged AF issues on 70D are due to user errors/ignorance.

 

[R2D2]

I did get a chance to get out this morning with some good sunshine and practice with the exposure. I used the grey card (EZBalance) to set the initial exposure and seemed to work pretty good for getting me in the general range.

Yup, every camera and meter ever made was calibrated to the same medium grey. It'll work anywhere. In fact, I actually meter off of the palm of my hand most of the time (I just calibrate it against my grey card). That way I always have it with me :-D .

Luckily there was a Hawk soaring by and got a chance to test the exposure in action. Much better results than with the VIF pic's yesterday. The Hawk was very far away but well lit by the sun.

Nicely done!

I'm still getting quite a bit of "noise"

Keep in mind that even though the sun was shining, you were shooting into the shaded side of the bird, and were about a stop underexposed. And thus the higher noise.

, but I'm thinking that's mainly due to the distance the bird was from me.

The smaller the image, the more the noise (and other degradations) will affect it.

The picture below is cropped quite a bit! Still, very encouraging results!

Just wait until you can fill the frame! Yowza!

Now time to go off and practice, practice, practice. Thanks for all of the help....definitely helped get me going in the right direction!

All you need now is some cooperative subjects.

Best of luck to you,

R2

 

[Doug_PS]

I did get a chance to get out this morning with some good sunshine and practice with the exposure. I used the grey card (EZBalance) to set the initial exposure and seemed to work pretty good for getting me in the general range.

Yup, every camera and meter ever made was calibrated to the same medium grey. It'll work anywhere. In fact, I actually meter off of the palm of my hand most of the time (I just calibrate it against my grey card). That way I always have it with me :-D .

Luckily there was a Hawk soaring by and got a chance to test the exposure in action. Much better results than with the VIF pic's yesterday. The Hawk was very far away but well lit by the sun.

Nicely done!

I'm still getting quite a bit of "noise"

Keep in mind that even though the sun was shining, you were shooting into the shaded side of the bird, and were about a stop underexposed. And thus the higher noise.

, but I'm thinking that's mainly due to the distance the bird was from me.

The smaller the image, the more the noise (and other degradations) will affect it.

The picture below is cropped quite a bit! Still, very encouraging results!

Just wait until you can fill the frame! Yowza!

Now time to go off and practice, practice, practice. Thanks for all of the help....definitely helped get me going in the right direction!

All you need now is some cooperative subjects.

Best of luck to you,

R2

--
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.
http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/galleries

Thanks for the constructive feedback. I really appreciate the help! Getting the exposure right is tricky on these Birds in flight as is putting/keeping a single focus point on them with the 400 f/5.6. However, with all of the help from you and others on this forum, I think I've got some of the basics I'll need to have a good chance at success when the willing & sunlit subjects appear.....with much practice!!

The Hawk above was the only one I saw this time out....appeared all of the sudden and quickly broke into a high speed "wings back" dive and was gone! Did get some nice willing more stationary subjects though (blue birds, Mocking Birds). Really enjoying the 70D/400 5.6 combo! Hoping to get some more practice this weekend.

 

[ERDAL77]

Welll, because I'm bum and I really want to see if others had the same problem.

Sincerely. I really liked the price and the brand for the item, and trying to see what others say to see if I should try a 3rd one.


I'll try to post some pic. Need to connect from the home computer.

 

[ERDAL77]

Here are 3 shots from the 2 cameras. I expect that in full auto mode, photos came sharper (at least sharper than iphone 2)

 

[Doug_PS]

The AF capabilities of 70D with a 70-300 non-L series lens. Shot by my wife with both the subject and the vehicle we were in motion.

Like someone on this thread had observed most of the alleged AF issues on 70D are due to user errors/ignorance.

Yes, very nice photos.....Sharp and rich colors! Thanks for sharing. I've had much the same experience with the 70D and my lenses in my short time with the camera. Especially if I can fill the frame with my subjects and nail Ty e exposure. I did have some issues initially with getting clear pictures. However, once I micro-adjusted the lenses, the results were much better. The auto-focus system in my body appeared to be slightly "mis-aligned" (as I mentioned in an earlier post), especially comparing the micro-adjustment needed for many of the same lenses when Used on my 5D II and previous 50D. Very happy with the results now.

 

[SPKoko]

Here are 3 shots from the 2 cameras. I expect that in full auto mode, photos came sharper (at least sharper than iphone 2)

* In the first one (leafs) the shutter speed is too slow (1/20) for 67mm, and you have motion blur. You should have used a higher shutter speed.

* The second one is certainly not focused, but I do not think it is a camera fault. Did to choose a focus point?

* The third one is very well focused on the leafs floating on the water. If you wanted the tree focused, you should have selected the focus point over it or used a narrower aperture (f11).

The camera does not know what you want in focus, it usually selects the closer object. But the camera is not intelligent, you are

When I bought my first DSLR, I was very disappointed at the beginning because the results were consistently much worse than what I got from my point and shoot. After some time, I learnt to select the focus points and to use the Av, Tv and M modes to be in control of the basic shooting parameters. DSLRs are not the best cameras if you only want to use the full auto mode. Cameras with smaller sensors (point and shoot, iPhone) have a very large DOF and almost everything is in focus. With DSLRs you have to take the control and decide how you want the photo taken.

 

[Doug_PS]

I purchased two 70Ds.. I had focusing issues with both even though I did calibrate my self.

Returned both, very disappointed.... I read online about major problems with 70D focusing...

ERDAL77

I think the reason you're getting the types of responses you're getting is ( I'm not referring to SPKotos post who is obviously trying to help.....but other response you've received for the same post on other threads):

- You are posting this same message on various threads slighly altered over time. I noticed it as I was researching this forum for 70D posts.

- You're not giving enough information for those who might be otherwise inclined to try and help you troubleshoot to "chime in"

I saw the 3 pics you posted below. It's impossible for anyone here to know what the focus point is in any of these pictures for one thing. For example, if you're focus point in the leaf photo was the "main" large leaf, then it appears to be in good focus. If on the other hand, you were focusing on one one the back leaves, well the pic is out of focus. With the other 2 pics, it's far less easy to even guess where you're focal point is.

You might want to try providing for specific information to help narrow down your issue such as: I'm using "thus and such mode" (Aperture priority), "thus and such" drive mode "AI Servo", thus and such focusing option (Single point - center), etc, etc, etc....and I'm having a problem with achieving correct focus. I know the 70D has some complex settings, etc, etc, etc.....Is it something I'm doing or does this appear to be an issue with the camera itself? This way, you give people a bit of information they can use to filter through their extensive knowledge and maybe provide some help.

You also mentioned that you did the calibration yourself. I'm assuming you're refering to micro-adjusting for the lens you're using in the photos you posted? If so, how did you go about determine the amount of micro adjustment applied? Is you're lens a zoom or a prime. I'm assuming the same zoom was usesd for all 3 photos (the first is obviously a zoom as the focal length is 67)? If a zoom, did you micro adjust both the tele and wide end.

 

[R2D2]

Here are 3 shots from the 2 cameras. I expect that in full auto mode, photos came sharper (at least sharper than iphone 2)

Kudos to SPKoko and Doug for some really good info.

Thanks for posting the samples ERDAL77. They tell quite the story.

#1: The leaf photo is well focused, but the problem there is camera shake (or subject motion blur if there was wind). When you're that close, stability is absolutely critical. I'd bump up the ISO a couple of stops (so you can increase the shutter speed). If you want more DOF, then stop the lens down and get out the ole' tripod.

#2: Something is definitely blurring the image. Do you have a filter on the lens? (If so, I'd remove it). Perhaps there was some camera shake here too? Bump that ISO up a couple of stops to see if it helps. Also closing down the aperture a stop from wide open might sharpen things up. Your lens may not be super sharp at max aperture.

#3: Auto Mode means that all AF points are enabled. Focus is on the closest object with sufficient contrast (the leaves in the water). If you need the tree in focus too, then you'll have to close your aperture much more (for greater depth of field). If you only wanted the tree in focus, then use a single AF point and put it on the tree.

Honestly I can't really find any issues that might be body-related in these samples. Some of it may be lens-related, but mostly just technique and settings.

Finding out what works best is quite a process, and we're all on one rung or another of the same ladder. Feel free to lean on us for a helping hand when things don't turn out as expected. One of us is sure to have had the same issues at one point or another.

Hope this helps,

R2

 

[ERDAL77]

#1: The leaf photo is well focused, but the problem there is camera shake (or subject motion blur if there was wind). When you're that close, stability is absolutely critical. I'd bump up the ISO a couple of stops (so you can increase the shutter speed). If you want more DOF, then stop the lens down and get out the ole' tripod.

Thanks.

#2: Something is definitely blurring the image. Do you have a filter on the lens? (If so, I'd remove it). Perhaps there was some camera shake here too? Bump that ISO up a couple of stops to see if it helps. Also closing down the aperture a stop from wide open might sharpen things up. Your lens may not be super sharp at max aperture.

No filter on.

#3: Auto Mode means that all AF points are enabled. Focus is on the closest object with sufficient contrast (the leaves in the water). If you need the tree in focus too, then you'll have to close your aperture much more (for greater depth of field). If you only wanted the tree in focus, then use a single AF point and put it on the tree.




Thank you for your time.

 

[Doug_PS]

It's a real shame the 70D can't take a clear picture;-)

Now if I could only get one to fly in front of my lens so that I could get some more practice tracking CHIF (Cooper's Hawk's in Flight) with the 400 5.6 Prime.






Cooper's Hawk (I think)!