Still having focussing issues!!!

[Matty11276]

I've had my camera less than 24 hours, and am still having focussing problems in any condition - good light, bad light, etc. I'v tried different settings, adjusted the focal point, played with apeture, and get the same inconsistancy when shooting. I understand DSLR's might be a little different than a point and shoot or compact digital, but should a person really spend 3K with lenses and all to not have the camera focus properly? I mean, even in auto and auto/auto mode, I still have the problems. Some of you say, you have to sharpen the images in PS - I do realize that PS is used (I use it for all photos), but........ a person realistically should not have to go into PS to get a decent photo in my opinion. What are your thoughts and how can this issue be fixed from those of you that have had this problem.

I'm not willing to spend this kind of money and live with it - I'm also not willing to take a camera I waited a week and a half to get and ship it out for repair, never to be seen again for a month or whatever. Help me out, I'm devastated!

Matt
--
(www.supremepix.com)

 

[Olga Johnson]

Matt,

After reading your message in the previous thread you started, it appears that you are having trouble with the depth of field.

With a dSLR you have a lot more shallow DOF than you do with a regular digicam. For example, with normal pictures my G3's aperture of 2.8 produces the same DOF that my 10D would produce at 4x that aperture.

Now, with the 10D when you use an aperture of 8 or 9 or 11, the shutter speed decreases. If you don't have enough light, the decreased shutter speed could cause some camera shake. That's when your ISO comes into play. You can increase your ISO in order to increase your shutter speed at a given aperture.

Do not be afraid to use the higher ISO. If anything, you must use it, especially indoors. I don't use anything lower than 400 indoors.

A good image does not mean that everything is in focus, as I think that is what you are looking for. If you always want everything in focus, then a dSLR is not the camera for you unless you are taking pictures outdoors in bright light and can use a very small aperture. I can use my 10D with my 17-40 lens outdoors at f11 and get everything in focus without difficulty.

If I've misunderstood the difficulty or problem you are having with the focus, please excuse my explanation, but at some point you did mention that you only get a portion of the image in focus, and that's what I'm basing my comments on.

If you post a sample image it would be a lot more useful to others to understand and possibly explain what it is that you are seeing.

Olga

 

[Juli Valley]

If you want a nearly finished photo straight from the camera, I'd suggest you get a regular digicam. You can try upping the sharpening, contrast, and saturation in camera to see if you like that.

My photos don't need a lot of tweaking when I use my L lenses, but that's an expensive option. However, I still do some tweaking.

Are you shooting stopped down? Apertures have a different DOF than fixed lens cameras. F 5.6 on an Olympus 3040 or 5050 or Sony will have more things in focus than that f stop with the 10D. Try shooting f 8, 11, 16 if you like everything in the frame pretty sharp.

 

[Juli Valley]

Matt,

After reading your message in the previous thread you started, it
appears that you are having trouble with the depth of field.

With a dSLR you have a lot more shallow DOF than you do with a
regular digicam. For example, with normal pictures my G3's aperture
of 2.8 produces the same DOF that my 10D would produce at 4x that
aperture.

Now, with the 10D when you use an aperture of 8 or 9 or 11, the
shutter speed decreases. If you don't have enough light, the
decreased shutter speed could cause some camera shake. That's when
your ISO comes into play. You can increase your ISO in order to
increase your shutter speed at a given aperture.

Do not be afraid to use the higher ISO. If anything, you must use
it, especially indoors. I don't use anything lower than 400 indoors.

A good image does not mean that everything is in focus, as I
think that is what you are looking for. If you always want
everything in focus, then a dSLR is not the camera for you unless
you are taking pictures outdoors in bright light and can use a very
small aperture. I can use my 10D with my 17-40 lens outdoors at f11
and get everything in focus without difficulty.

If I've misunderstood the difficulty or problem you are having with
the focus, please excuse my explanation, but at some point you did
mention that you only get a portion of the image in focus, and
that's what I'm basing my comments on.

If you post a sample image it would be a lot more useful to others
to understand and possibly explain what it is that you are seeing.

Olga

--
http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/view?id=19579
Canon 1oD, Olympus C-3o4oZ.
Juli

 

[Matty11276]

some great suggestions for everyone, thanks - let me try a few shots with a higher ISO, a wider apeture, and see if I can get it. I'm just frustrated - I'm not one of those newbies that doesn't know how to use a camera, I'm genuinly having problems I think..... Ok, let me go try! Back in a few and I'll post some photos.

Matt

 

[Olga Johnson]

some great suggestions for everyone, thanks - let me try a few
shots with a higher ISO, a wider apeture, and see if I can get it.
I'm just frustrated - I'm not one of those newbies that doesn't
know how to use a camera, I'm genuinly having problems I think.....
Ok, let me go try! Back in a few and I'll post some photos.

Your wider apertures are the small number apertures f1.8, f2.8 etc. So it's not the wider ones you are after but the smaller ones (the higher number f stops, f8, f9, f16.)

Olga

 

[Juli Valley]

A wider aperture is like 2.8, 4, etc. You want a smaller, stopped down aperture like f 8, 11, 16.

 

[Juli Valley]

some great suggestions for everyone, thanks - let me try a few
shots with a higher ISO, a wider apeture, and see if I can get it.
I'm just frustrated - I'm not one of those newbies that doesn't
know how to use a camera, I'm genuinly having problems I think.....
Ok, let me go try! Back in a few and I'll post some photos.

Your wider apertures are the small number apertures f1.8, f2.8 etc.
So it's not the wider ones you are after but the smaller ones (the
higher number f stops, f8, f9, f16.)

Olga

--
http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/view?id=19579
Canon 1oD, Olympus C-3o4oZ.
Juli

 

[Juli Valley]

I'd suggest you get a book on 35mm photography. It doesn't matter that's it for a film camera. The principles are the same.

Kodak's Guide to 35mm Photography
National Geographics Photo Field Guide
Exposure by Bryan Peterson.

 

[Matty11276]

I know all of you are trying to help, but please understand I do know the principles of photography - lol. I'm giong to shoot some shots at f8,f11, and f16 and see what that does for me........ Thanks again for every trying to help me tackles this problem. Not trying to snap at anyone, but wanted you to know that I'm not a beginner. Back in a few!

Matt

 

[Olga Johnson]

some great suggestions for everyone, thanks - let me try a few
shots with a higher ISO, a wider apeture, and see if I can get it.
I'm just frustrated - I'm not one of those newbies that doesn't
know how to use a camera, I'm genuinly having problems I think.....
Ok, let me go try! Back in a few and I'll post some photos.

Your wider apertures are the small number apertures f1.8, f2.8 etc.
So it's not the wider ones you are after but the smaller ones (the
higher number f stops, f8, f9, f16.)

Olga

--
http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/view?id=19579
Canon 1oD, Olympus C-3o4oZ.
Juli

 

[Juli Valley]

It's hard to evaluate without an example. Are you using some USM on your images as the last step in processing? There is a filter over the sensor that makes images look soft. You have to use USM to overcome that.

You may have a problem camera or maybe not. We need to see an image or two with EXIF data.

 

[René-)]

I know all of you are trying to help, but please understand I do
know the principles of photography - lol. I'm giong to shoot some
shots at f8,f11, and f16 and see what that does for me........

Hi! I'm a bit surprised as how everybody here immediately starts talking about DOF issues when the problem stated had (imho) nothing to do with it....

I had my EOS 10 D sent back to Canon for repairs some week after I bought it, because it front focussed. No matter what aperture, the point of focus was in front of the subject. If I would start using f/16 for all my shots, that would not help: The subject would be within dof, but it still will be visible that the real plane of focus is in front of the subject! I tested it thoroughly, but it was the camera that was maladjusted, not me. I borrowed a D60 from canon whitch is working fine.
Oh, and I'm a pro photographer by the way...

My advise would be: check out the camera. Put it on a tripod, and focus on a subject. Use (allmost) full-aperture. Do this several times, using different lenses. See if the focus is on the subject. If not, send the camera (with these images) back to Canon for repair. It seems they will also need the lenses to adjust them. (since focus is more critical on a D-SLR than on an analog-SLR. The lenses AF motor tends to overshoot, or so they told me.)

 

[Olga Johnson]

Hi! I'm a bit surprised as how everybody here immediately starts
talking about DOF issues when the problem stated had (imho) nothing
to do with it....

My assumption was based on the following:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=6774679

"It seems I can only get one small portion of the photo to focus, and the rest is blurry or very soft."

What do you think when you read that?

Olga

 

[Matty11276]

Ok just to show you what I am talking about I will post 2 photos. The first was done on auto mode which was at 1/60 & 4.0. The second shot was taken in AV mode and shot at 1/10 & f16. As you can see they are both blurry! Even in auto mode, i can't get a good sharp image. Let me know what you think:

Photo 1:



Photo 2:

 

[BryanS]

The first was done on auto mode which was at 1/60 & 4.0. The second
shot was taken in AV mode and shot at 1/10 & f16. As you can see
they are both blurry! Even in auto mode, i can't get a good sharp
image. Let me know what you think:

Can you say "motion blur"? Seriously, at that magnification, you'll probably get it even at 1/60, but DEFINITELY at 1/10. What in the world are you expecting... the 10D to defy the rules of photography?

You need to learn the simple formula for shutter-speed vs. focal length. On a normal 35mm, if you had a 200mm lens, the longest exposure you could expect to hand-hold would be 1/200 sec. without blur (if you aren't used to punching the shutter, that is). On the 10D with it's magnification, you would pick the next shutter speed faster.

Anyway, unless these were taken on a tripod with a cable release, even the most experienced photographer would get the same result. Maybe you need one of the point-and-shoot digicams that beeps when it's got a shutter speed that needs flash or a tripod.

--
BryanS

 

[evan]

try the same examples with a diffrent lens ..then use tripod to avoid hand shaking if u have this problem i mean .. then try to use a little fast shutter even if u get the image little darker but u will see the focus issue ..i hope u dont have a problem with your cam or the lens maybe

 

[Joe-TN]

Matty,

Both these photos sharpen up nicely in PS....try 300%, radius .3, range 0. If you must have "sharp out of the camera", crank up the sharpness setting in the camera. It may still not suit your taste. If that is the case, then you bought the wrong camera. There is no focus issue apparent in these shots...That is not to say you won't get some out of focus pix for one reason or another, but these don't look it to me. If you think about it, the second shot, at 1/10 of a second, is pretty darn amazing in terms of lack of motion blur. Assume you are using the 28-135 IS? or a tripod?

Joe

Ok just to show you what I am talking about I will post 2 photos.
The first was done on auto mode which was at 1/60 & 4.0. The second
shot was taken in AV mode and shot at 1/10 & f16. As you can see
they are both blurry! Even in auto mode, i can't get a good sharp
image. Let me know what you think:

Photo 1:
http://www.supremepix.com/prob%201.jpg

Photo 2:
http://www.supremepix.com/prob%202.jpg

--
Joe-TN

http://www.ridge-art.com
http://www.pbase.com/joe_tn

 

[evan]

Both these photos sharpen up nicely in PS....try 300%, radius .3,
range 0. If you must have "sharp out of the camera", crank up the
sharpness setting in the camera. It may still not suit your taste.
If that is the case, then you bought the wrong camera. There is no
focus issue apparent in these shots...That is not to say you won't
get some out of focus pix for one reason or another, but these
don't look it to me. If you think about it, the second shot, at
1/10 of a second, is pretty darn amazing in terms of lack of motion
blur. Assume you are using the 28-135 IS? or a tripod?

Joe

Ok just to show you what I am talking about I will post 2 photos.
The first was done on auto mode which was at 1/60 & 4.0. The second
shot was taken in AV mode and shot at 1/10 & f16. As you can see
they are both blurry! Even in auto mode, i can't get a good sharp
image. Let me know what you think:

Photo 1:
http://www.supremepix.com/prob%201.jpg

Photo 2:
http://www.supremepix.com/prob%202.jpg

--
Joe-TN

http://www.ridge-art.com
http://www.pbase.com/joe_tn

--
Armo_WarrioR

 

[Mark Rodrigues]

Matty, try a shot on tripod, or on a table or something if you don't have a tripod, and do it with center focus point only - and try it at wide and at small apertures. At wide apertures the images will typically be softer, but should still not loook oof, if the camera is working properly. The degree to which this will happen, will depend on the quality of the lens you are using. Some lenses are much better than others wide open.

Keep in mind that people will jump all over you in this forum straight away saying that it is a DOF issue etc, but with some 10D's sometimes that is not the case.

I actually had several people all over me - including some self-appointed 'professionals', who indicated that it was my fault, etc and not the almighty 10D. Anyhow, it turned out that it was in fact my camera.

I had to send my 10D back to Canon, where it stayed for three weeks to fix AF issue. When i got it back it was the same, so I sent it back to Canon, along with instructions on what/how to test, and how to make the adjustment.

Lo and behold after only a few days (second trip), Canon called me back and indicated that the AF system in my brand new 10D was in their words 'WAY OUT OF SPEC' and that they are not sure what the original tech was thinking when he adjusted it (apparently) the first time.

Anyhow, they calibrated it and results are now orders of magnitude better, although certain inconsistencies and lack of precision in the AF system still bug me.

I have also noticed that in indoor lighting with my 50mm f1.4, the camera definately front focuses at close distances.

mark.

I've had my camera less than 24 hours, and am still having
focussing problems in any condition - good light, bad light, etc.
I'v tried different settings, adjusted the focal point, played with
apeture, and get the same inconsistancy when shooting. I understand
DSLR's might be a little different than a point and shoot or
compact digital, but should a person really spend 3K with lenses
and all to not have the camera focus properly? I mean, even in auto
and auto/auto mode, I still have the problems. Some of you say, you
have to sharpen the images in PS - I do realize that PS is used (I
use it for all photos), but........ a person realistically should
not have to go into PS to get a decent photo in my opinion. What
are your thoughts and how can this issue be fixed from those of you
that have had this problem.

I'm not willing to spend this kind of money and live with it - I'm
also not willing to take a camera I waited a week and a half to get
and ship it out for repair, never to be seen again for a month or
whatever. Help me out, I'm devastated!

Matt
--
(www.supremepix.com)