R5... Shouldn't every one of these be tack sharp ?

[Chris Wolfgram]

I know in my typical hand held shots, especially with birds in flight, their are all kinds of variables, the big one being camera shake, that can have a big effect on sharpness, or should I say, the lack thereof ?

But lets look at something a lot more controlled. Lets say I have an Owl perched 30 feet in front of me. I have my camera on a tripod, and I'm using a remote shutter trigger. I first use my Auto Eye Focus, and it puts the tiny box right exactly on the Owls "big, clear eye". I take my hands off of the camera, then start hitting my remote shutter release...

Shouldn't every shot after that (as long as the owl doesn't move or reposition) be as sharp, as they could possibly be ?

Okay now, same thing ^ except, after I lock the Auto Eye Focus, I reach up and turn auto focus off. So, not only should they all be tack sharp, but also, shouldn't every shot be exactly the same sharpness ? (again, unless the owl moves.... but often, I can take a ton of 'perched shots' without the subject moving even a fraction)

Long story short "even when" I am able to get the tiny box right on my subjects eye, I still find myself going through a LOT of shots, trying to find the shot that is 5% sharper than the rest. Why ? Shouldn't most of them be 1) as sharp as my camera lens combo can make, and 2) be exactly the same from one shot to the next ?

Where do the variables come from in such a controlled situation ?

 

[KiloHotelphoto]

Wind and ground shake can add small amounts of vibration and if you're using a long lens that can have an effect on image quality.

 

[Son of Thunder]

what is your shutter speed it needs to acount for the animal moving, A animal is not a person posing for a picture being still.

 

[Chris Wolfgram]

Wind and ground shake can add small amounts of vibration and if you're using a long lens that can have an effect on image quality.

Of course. And yes, I often shoot at 840mm. But I don't think this is the whole answer...

 

[Chris Wolfgram]

what is your shutter speed it needs to acount for the animal moving, A animal is not a person posing for a picture being still.

I've shot everything from 1/40th hand held, at 840mm and got a few tack sharp shots ! Freaking crazy, right ? All the way up to 1/8000th (but a bunch at 1/4000th) and gotten many soft shots... mixed with the sharp ones...

So my gear is obviously capable of tack sharp shots. What I'm mostly stressing here, is the lack of consistency.

 

[Chris Wolfgram]

how accurate, and consistent is the R5 AEF system ? I mean, just because it puts a tiny box right on a creatures eyeball, would you bet your life that is going to be as sharp a shot as is humanly possible. So now you can just turn off Auto Focus, and be assured that the whole rest of your portrait session just could not be any better ?

 

[Son of Thunder]

what is your shutter speed it needs to acount for the animal moving, A animal is not a person posing for a picture being still.

I've shot everything from 1/40th hand held, at 840mm and got a few tack sharp shots ! Freaking crazy, right ? All the way up to 1/8000th (but a bunch at 1/4000th) and gotten many soft shots... mixed with the sharp ones...

So my gear is obviously capable of tack sharp shots. What I'm mostly stressing here, is the lack of consistency.

anything less than 1/60th of a second on a live subject generally has motion blur. It isn't the camera it is the subject.

 

[Mike Engles]

I have asked the same questions ever since I got my R5 last September.

Just recently Produde wrote that he had no trouble at all and that all his images were perfect, at least that was my impression. My experience is much more like yours. So much so that I was accused of Canon bashing, because of my vehement complaints.Sadly even now I still feel that I do not get good sharpness. I have changed 2 of my lenses for 'better' EF ones.

As for focus when doing macro 100 AF IS and using AF, I can see that even with spot AF no servo, that focus is sometimes off, requiring a refocus, or I resort to using the magnifier and manual focus, which I also often have to do with my EF 100-400 MK2. I rarely use a tripod.

My camera had its AF calibrated last October, but with little or no improvement.

Basically I thing that all my pictures are 'soft'.

I am still thinking of taking it back to Canon, but have little confidence in an improvement.

Perhaps we are the unlucky few that have 'Friday afternoon or Monday morning cameras'.

 

[Otaraka]

Do you have the latest firmware? People have reported issues with some versions but a lot are saying they've had an improvement with the latest.

If you're getting major shot to shot variation when the AF is locked it pretty much has to be environmental, ie air diffusion/weather/wind/movement/vibration from some source etc.

 

[WildImages]

how accurate, and consistent is the R5 AEF system ? I mean, just because it puts a tiny box right on a creatures eyeball, would you bet your life that is going to be as sharp a shot as is humanly possible. So now you can just turn off Auto Focus, and be assured that the whole rest of your portrait session just could not be any better ?

 

[Mike Engles]

Well I doubt that the environment plays much part in a subject distance of 10cm, when doing macro and using AF. My own movement plays the largest part, so I try to use AF. The problem is that I can see that even though there is 'lock'. there is not. It could be the contrast offered by the subject is not sufficient, a problem with the R5.

I use firrmware 1.4, having reverted from 1.5. I am wary of the latest!

 

[expro]

whenever these type of posts raise their head their are only two possibilities.....

the most likely one is poor technique. This can be purely a misunderstanding of how to achieve best focus in different circumstances. So best to go back to basics for your camera and rebuild.

secondly it can be a body and/or lens issue. However, I have owned canon bodies and l lenses for 3 decades and only once come across this from my direct experience. I replaced the body.

Hope this doesn't sound harsh. But its reality.

 

[expro]

I should have added that in servo the body will try to refocus every shot, thus there will be a very and I mean very small difference shot to shot within the body af parameters.

 

[Tristimulus]

what is your shutter speed it needs to acount for the animal moving, A animal is not a person posing for a picture being still.

I've shot everything from 1/40th hand held, at 840mm and got a few tack sharp shots ! Freaking crazy, right ? All the way up to 1/8000th (but a bunch at 1/4000th) and gotten many soft shots... mixed with the sharp ones...

Focus error? Movement blur? Air currents?

So my gear is obviously capable of tack sharp shots. What I'm mostly stressing here, is the lack of consistency.

So you work on the border of what is possible and expect consistent results?

Maybe the photographer is not consistent? Just wondering.

 

[Mark3794]

Use one shot af for static subjects and try to turn IS off on a tripod.

 

[birdbrain]

R5 / RF 100-500 / RF 2x

Shutter 1/2000 to 1/2500

All handheld.



















Perhaps you need to analyse your technique and expectations?


--
Phil
I wondered why the ball kept getting bigger, then it hit me.
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[Mike Engles]

A very good set. The focus consistency could be explained by the depth of field at f14 and the high shutter speeds.The DOF seems greater than 30cms.

Perhaps the OP has set low ISO and f number for their reasons, is much closer to the object, but if they have set focus, got lock on they eye and then left the focus, used a remote shutter and still got inconsistent results, there might be reasons beyond mere technique. They don't say what the shutter speed was, but a owl does not move much, when perched. Not that I have seen many owls on a perch. In films, they can sit almost motionless in order to 'blend' in. A lot of animals do, as it is also a defence as well as a attack mechanism. Squirrels my 'speciality', can sit motionless for quite some time and then shoot off at some speed. That is why I know when eye focus is is actually not focussed as I can have time to change mode and manually zoom using magnification, to get 'true' focus. Robins also like to pose, quite motionless. Even then I just think all the images are 'soft'

What the OP has not done is to show a sequence, with some details and examples, similar to yours.

 

[ZX11]

Well I doubt that the environment plays much part in a subject distance of 10cm, when doing macro and using AF. My own movement plays the largest part, so I try to use AF. The problem is that I can see that even though there is 'lock'. there is not. It could be the contrast offered by the subject is not sufficient, a problem with the R5.

I use firrmware 1.4, having reverted from 1.5. I am wary of the latest!

Filter on the lens? Vertical versus horizontal detail on a non-cross type focus point? JPEG settings out of camera? Shot priority versus focus priority?

Tough to figure because there are so many things that can be set up wrong. After dealing with the T5i and a poor prime with no setting that could get great focus, I am very happy with the R camera's great on sensor focus. The R5 could only be spectacular with on sensor focus and it's powerful computer processor running the focus.

 

[Mike Engles]

Well I doubt that the environment plays much part in a subject distance of 10cm, when doing macro and using AF. My own movement plays the largest part, so I try to use AF. The problem is that I can see that even though there is 'lock'. there is not. It could be the contrast offered by the subject is not sufficient, a problem with the R5.

I use firrmware 1.4, having reverted from 1.5. I am wary of the latest!

Filter on the lens? Vertical versus horizontal detail on a non-cross type focus point? JPEG settings out of camera? Shot priority versus focus priority?

Tough to figure because there are so many things that can be set up wrong. After dealing with the T5i and a poor prime with no setting that could get great focus, I am very happy with the R camera's great on sensor focus. The R5 could only be spectacular with on sensor focus and it's powerful computer processor running the focus.

Apologies, no filter, the R5 does have some priority in one direction, apparently.

It really sometimes does not focus unless manually nudged.

Only shoot RAW, the most conservative settings, focus priority.

Also if I have to crop a lot, I don't bother and I rarely go below 1/640 or above ISO 800 for my 100-400 MK2 zoom.

It is more accurate in single shot no servo,but the whole point of the CPU is to be able to control AF and servo focus, reliably and accurately.

Some users get that and others do not, it seems

How about wide production variability? That would also account for user problems, beyond technique and settings, as well as not being a problem for every owner.

It is all a matter of production tolerances, as in any manufacturing process.

The assumption seems to be that the cameras are 100% perfect and that the users are 100% stupid.

 

[Zeee]

Not sure if this will help but a lot of good replies about wind, etc. I was sceptical about about 45 megapixels. I really wanted the R5 to be 30 but now I do appreciate the crop-ability.

Not sure what you had before the R5 but camera shake effects all sensor sizes equally. It's viewing at 100%.



There were a few good threads about shutter shock so I've been shooting in E 1st curtain sync. Yesterday I tried E shutter but do not really have lot to offer. Not as much rolling shutter effects as I thought it would show.

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FP