D10 Focus Problem

[Photo Info]

I just bought this camera last weekend and today I got a lens. All of the pictures I have taken (large-fine JPG) are not sharp. they look sharp when I magnify them on the on-camera LCD but they are just not sharp when I look at them on a computer or especially when I try to print them.

I see lots of people's posts about focus problems is this a focus problem or am I just user error?

Rakah

 

[Teski]

I just bought this camera last weekend and today I got a lens. All
of the pictures I have taken (large-fine JPG) are not sharp. they
look sharp when I magnify them on the on-camera LCD but they are
just not sharp when I look at them on a computer or especially when
I try to print them.

I see lots of people's posts about focus problems is this a focus
problem or am I just user error?

Rakah

--
Teski

'Remember that DSLR bodies come and go, but the lenses stay forever.'

 

[Ari Riutto]

Hi,
You can start from here...

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=5410181

-Ari-

I just bought this camera last weekend and today I got a lens. All
of the pictures I have taken (large-fine JPG) are not sharp. they
look sharp when I magnify them on the on-camera LCD but they are
just not sharp when I look at them on a computer or especially when
I try to print them.

I see lots of people's posts about focus problems is this a focus
problem or am I just user error?

Rakah

--

http://koti.phnet.fi/arriutto/index.htm
taking photos and flyfishing ... that's all that matters

 

[Mark Gillett]

I just bought this camera last weekend and today I got a lens. All
of the pictures I have taken (large-fine JPG) are not sharp. they
look sharp when I magnify them on the on-camera LCD but they are
just not sharp when I look at them on a computer or especially when
I try to print them.

I see lots of people's posts about focus problems is this a focus
problem or am I just user error?

Rakah

 

[pootietang]

I just bought this camera last weekend and today I got a lens. All
of the pictures I have taken (large-fine JPG) are not sharp. they
look sharp when I magnify them on the on-camera LCD but they are
just not sharp when I look at them on a computer or especially when
I try to print them.

I see lots of people's posts about focus problems is this a focus
problem or am I just user error?

Rakah

--

Canon 10D, Vertical Grip, 70-200L f/4, Sigma 500 DG Super, Canon 28-80L, Tamron 19-35,
WEINK CAMEL CONTINUOUS INK SYSTEM (FANTASTIC!!)

 

[Photo Info]

I will post some samples but my camera's serial number starts with 04 like some others on the forum who has had problems. Basically I take a picture of my daughter and when the picture is downloaded her eyes (point of focus) are out of focus but other parts of her face like ears are in focus. I used a 28-135 IS lens by canon.

Edgar

I just bought this camera last weekend and today I got a lens. All
of the pictures I have taken (large-fine JPG) are not sharp. they
look sharp when I magnify them on the on-camera LCD but they are
just not sharp when I look at them on a computer or especially when
I try to print them.

I see lots of people's posts about focus problems is this a focus
problem or am I just user error?

Rakah

 

[Gary Coombs]

I just bought this camera last weekend and today I got a lens. All
of the pictures I have taken (large-fine JPG) are not sharp. they
look sharp when I magnify them on the on-camera LCD but they are
just not sharp when I look at them on a computer or especially when
I try to print them.

You bought the camera last weekend? And today you got a lens? Were your test shots taken before you got the lens?

I see lots of people's posts about focus problems is this a focus
problem or am I just user error?

Please ignore my attempt at humor above and post some pictures for us to talk about. What lens did you put on it? Oh, and people here are gonna kill you when you call a 10D a D10.

My 10D seems to focus just fine. Take a look at my test shots and at my gallery shots.

--
Gary Coombs
My Profile contains my Equipment List
http://GaryCoombs.com/10D/New
http://GaryCoombs.com/10D/Test

 

[Photo Info]

You bought the camera last weekend? And today you got a lens?
Were your test shots taken before you got the lens?

I used a 28-135 IS lens. I rented the lens to test the camera. I only had a 28-80 4-5.6 lens I assumed that it was a lens problem so I rented a better lens. I also tried a 24-70 2.8 lens. But I always have had a fine focus problem. The pictures look off focus. I only have Nikon Lenses because my regular 35mm kit is Nikon. This is my first Canon and I see that Nikon makes much better (more affordable lenses). Canon makes far better (more affordable) DIGITAL cameras. I am in the process of building my collection of lenses. I like to rent the lens before buying it. Plus I can rent a far better lens than I can buy at this time. Thanks for your help and the help of all on this useful board.

UPDATE.

I just returned my 10D and exchanged it for a new one. I will shoot it in the morning. I did one snap-shot and downloaded it, it looks ok. In my last unit the focusing problem was very noticeable. It was not a matter of a millimeter or two off it was very bad. So it will not take me long to see if this one is better. In Canon's defense, my original 10D was a store display so it may have been damaged, mishandled or something (who knows).

Rakah

 

[MarkInMaine]

Hi Rakah,

One thing that concerns me immediately is that your serial number for the camera is 04 not at least 06. I had an 04 model that did have a focus issue(front focus in my case). I returned it to BestBuy they gave me a new camera that has the serial range of 06. This was just a week ago. If you just purchased the camera and it has an 04 serial number I would be a little concerned that you may have purchased some one elses problem child.

My new 10D focuses very well.

I would say however that before I replaced my original 10D I was getting better at taking reasonably sharp images with the old 10D. I beleive that was due better aperture control as needed by the scene/shot and most importantly better control of shutter speed( Read that as not being afraid to use higher ISO to keep good shutter speed). Those things combined with a better understanding of the AF censor size (thanks to Chuck's graphic), and I was getting better images. However I still replaced mine as there were still cases where I would get soft images even with all of the above preventive measures.

At least for me I feel that the new body performs much better. My newest problem is my 28-135 IS seems to be getting Parkinson disease. There are times when the unit will shake the image around for a couple of second before settling down. So instead of steadying the image the IS is sometimes shaking it.

You just can't win sometimes.

All said I wouldn't trade my 10D for any thing. I own a small software company and that consumes a lot a of my time. Since I bought my 10D I find myself daydreaming about where I can go to get that next shot. Then I remember that the company's success is what makes it possible to buy fun toys like the 10D and I get back to it. Wait till I tell my wife about the 600mm IS I want someday, (Oh Boy who needs the Forth of July to see the fireworks that will fly when I tell her that).

I will be posting some images soon that I hope will clearly show the difference between the old and new 10D bodies if your interested.

Mark In Maine
http://www.pbase.com/markinmaine

You bought the camera last weekend? And today you got a lens?
Were your test shots taken before you got the lens?

I used a 28-135 IS lens. I rented the lens to test the camera. I
only had a 28-80 4-5.6 lens I assumed that it was a lens problem so
I rented a better lens. I also tried a 24-70 2.8 lens. But I
always have had a fine focus problem. The pictures look off focus.
I only have Nikon Lenses because my regular 35mm kit is Nikon.
This is my first Canon and I see that Nikon makes much better (more
affordable lenses). Canon makes far better (more affordable)
DIGITAL cameras. I am in the process of building my collection of
lenses. I like to rent the lens before buying it. Plus I can rent
a far better lens than I can buy at this time. Thanks for your
help and the help of all on this useful board.

UPDATE.
I just returned my 10D and exchanged it for a new one. I will
shoot it in the morning. I did one snap-shot and downloaded it, it
looks ok. In my last unit the focusing problem was very
noticeable. It was not a matter of a millimeter or two off it was
very bad. So it will not take me long to see if this one is
better. In Canon's defense, my original 10D was a store display so
it may have been damaged, mishandled or something (who knows).

Rakah

 

[Photo Info]

Thanks Mark:

The one I had gotten as a replacement also has a focus problem but not at all as bad as the last one. The replacement they gave me also has a serial number of 04. But this one is far better than the last unit. I am considering doing another exchange and hoping to get a later model but for not I will test my new unit a bit more. My last unit focused almost 4 inches behind the intended focal point. This one is not that bad, but the images that I have taken so far seem slightly soft.

Rakah

Hi Rakah,

One thing that concerns me immediately is that your serial number
for the camera is 04 not at least 06. I had an 04 model that did
have a focus issue(front focus in my case). I returned it to
BestBuy they gave me a new camera that has the serial range of 06.
This was just a week ago. If you just purchased the camera and it
has an 04 serial number I would be a little concerned that you may
have purchased some one elses problem child.

My new 10D focuses very well.

 

[Ben Strasser]

you found a store with serial number 04xxxxxx in stock. Very good chance these were returned because of an issue. I don't know the policy between Canon and their retailers but it may be they are beyond the return timeframe or they don't want to be caught with no demo's in stock.

Rakah

Hi Rakah,

One thing that concerns me immediately is that your serial number
for the camera is 04 not at least 06. I had an 04 model that did
have a focus issue(front focus in my case). I returned it to
BestBuy they gave me a new camera that has the serial range of 06.
This was just a week ago. If you just purchased the camera and it
has an 04 serial number I would be a little concerned that you may
have purchased some one elses problem child.

My new 10D focuses very well.

 

[Olga Johnson]

I wouldn't be concerned about the serial number. Bad focusing 10D's have come from all different serial numbers. This has been discussed at length in this forum. Mine is a 03 serial number and is just fine.

The 10D is known to produce soft images. This is so that you can choose the amount of sharpening yourself. Since you experienced the back focusing before, I'm sure you'll be able to tell the difference between out of focus shots and soft ones. As well, from my experience, some lenses produce softer images than others.

Good Luck!

Olga

Rakah

Hi Rakah,

One thing that concerns me immediately is that your serial number
for the camera is 04 not at least 06. I had an 04 model that did
have a focus issue(front focus in my case). I returned it to
BestBuy they gave me a new camera that has the serial range of 06.
This was just a week ago. If you just purchased the camera and it
has an 04 serial number I would be a little concerned that you may
have purchased some one elses problem child.

My new 10D focuses very well.

 

[Paul Boothroyd]

Rakah

Hi Rakah,

One thing that concerns me immediately is that your serial number
for the camera is 04 not at least 06. I had an 04 model that did
have a focus issue(front focus in my case). I returned it to
BestBuy they gave me a new camera that has the serial range of 06.
This was just a week ago. If you just purchased the camera and it
has an 04 serial number I would be a little concerned that you may
have purchased some one elses problem child.

My new 10D focuses very well.

--

Come on guys - the serial number has no bearing on the problem. I have an 02xxxxxx and that is fine.
Also soft is not the same as out of focus.

Soft can be the lens not being very good at a large aperture - or just not very good at all.

Soft can be because of very low contrast images due to the lighting, lens flare etc,
Soft can be because of a high ISO rating being used

Soft is also how the normal Canon 10D images look to many people used to P&S digicams - until processed with some USM.
Soft can be caused by camera shake.
Paul

 

[pretzelb]

Where are you going to get all these exchanges? Sounds like a very good dealer. Nice to know they exist.

Rakah

Hi Rakah,

One thing that concerns me immediately is that your serial number
for the camera is 04 not at least 06. I had an 04 model that did
have a focus issue(front focus in my case). I returned it to
BestBuy they gave me a new camera that has the serial range of 06.
This was just a week ago. If you just purchased the camera and it
has an 04 serial number I would be a little concerned that you may
have purchased some one elses problem child.

My new 10D focuses very well.

 

[John Burns]

Olga

I think the concern about the serial number was based on this fact. The 10D is flying off the shelves just about everywhere. The serials are now up to at least 06. There would be a higher chance that a 04 serial still in a store was a return. Something to consider.

--
John

 

[Olga Johnson]

I think the concern about the serial number was based on this fact.
The 10D is flying off the shelves just about everywhere. The
serials are now up to at least 06. There would be a higher chance
that a 04 serial still in a store was a return. Something to
consider.

John,

I agree with that theory. If I'm not mistaken the most recent ones are 06 or even 07.

Olga

 

[tcp1]

Got mine a week ago, and it's an 072..

I think the concern about the serial number was based on this fact.
The 10D is flying off the shelves just about everywhere. The
serials are now up to at least 06. There would be a higher chance
that a 04 serial still in a store was a return. Something to
consider.

John,

I agree with that theory. If I'm not mistaken the most recent ones
are 06 or even 07.

Olga

 

[Leonard Leffand]

Paul,

Ditto, all excellent points. The 10D gives you so much control over the image most people (including myself in the beginning) do not know what to do with the image out of the camera. A little USM and the image literally jumps to life. - Didn't believe it until I saw it for myself.

Also another comment on so called focusing issue. I found myself examining my 10D pictures so hard I was getting a headache. If you look hard enough you will find flaws with anything. Then I started looking at pictures I shot with my Nikon F5 and top end lenses and if I looked hard enough I could also find issues. Of course these weren't issues at all, just overthinking, that's all.

LSL
---------------------------
Canon 10D
Canon S50
Olympus P-400

 

[Photo Info]

Circuit City Stores, I got the body from Circuit City and my first lens & vertical grip from B&H.

I love the camera but for so much money we should not be discussing a fundamental feature such as focus. This should never be at issue (not even for a $300 digi-cam). Maybe some newer technology but not auto focus.

Rakah

Rakah

Hi Rakah,

One thing that concerns me immediately is that your serial number
for the camera is 04 not at least 06. I had an 04 model that did
have a focus issue(front focus in my case). I returned it to
BestBuy they gave me a new camera that has the serial range of 06.
This was just a week ago. If you just purchased the camera and it
has an 04 serial number I would be a little concerned that you may
have purchased some one elses problem child.

My new 10D focuses very well.