RichieRich
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Hi there,
I thought that I'd just make this post to communicate some of my findings with respect sensor alignment on the 450D and 50D models (the only two Canon SLRs which I've owned).
Soon after purchasing my first 450D I noticed that most shots were slightly misaligned despite careful efforts to keep the horizon level during the shooting process. After reading similar reports online I got Amazon to exchange the body. Sure enough the new 450D exhibited the same problem but it wasn't as severe as that on the first model so I learned to live with it.
A couple of years down the line I purchased a 50D only to notice the same thing - this time the severity of the effect was somewhere between that of the two 450Ds which I'd owned. Given that I'd purchased it in Japan I learned to deal with it and simply got used to applying a manual offset to whatever my eyes or the spirit level was telling me.
Only on cleaning the sensor of my 50D recently did I notice the obvious cause - the sensor itself is slightly misaligned relative to the body of the camera. Although the distances are very small it's quite clear on my model that the black space between the top right of the sensor and the body is smaller than that on the left hand side.
Similarly the bottom right has a larger gap than the bottom left, which is consistent with a slight twist when the sensor was positioned. (Once again, we're talking about very small distances here, but the angle is tilt is similar to what I've observed when examining shots).
So, to anybody who thinks that poor horizons on Canon models may be down to their own skill, or perhaps a dodgy spirt level shoe, then it may be worth thinking again. According to my tests I'm absolutely convinced that this is a problem with many Canon SLRs which manage to make it past Canon's QC checks. I've learnt to deal with it, but it's disappointing considering the price of these units.
Yes, I realise that it's easy enough to straighten horizons during post-production, but it shouldn't be necessary if shots have taken with care, plus, there is a price to be paid when this is done in terms of the quality of the final resized output image.
I thought that I'd just make this post to communicate some of my findings with respect sensor alignment on the 450D and 50D models (the only two Canon SLRs which I've owned).
Soon after purchasing my first 450D I noticed that most shots were slightly misaligned despite careful efforts to keep the horizon level during the shooting process. After reading similar reports online I got Amazon to exchange the body. Sure enough the new 450D exhibited the same problem but it wasn't as severe as that on the first model so I learned to live with it.
A couple of years down the line I purchased a 50D only to notice the same thing - this time the severity of the effect was somewhere between that of the two 450Ds which I'd owned. Given that I'd purchased it in Japan I learned to deal with it and simply got used to applying a manual offset to whatever my eyes or the spirit level was telling me.
Only on cleaning the sensor of my 50D recently did I notice the obvious cause - the sensor itself is slightly misaligned relative to the body of the camera. Although the distances are very small it's quite clear on my model that the black space between the top right of the sensor and the body is smaller than that on the left hand side.
Similarly the bottom right has a larger gap than the bottom left, which is consistent with a slight twist when the sensor was positioned. (Once again, we're talking about very small distances here, but the angle is tilt is similar to what I've observed when examining shots).
So, to anybody who thinks that poor horizons on Canon models may be down to their own skill, or perhaps a dodgy spirt level shoe, then it may be worth thinking again. According to my tests I'm absolutely convinced that this is a problem with many Canon SLRs which manage to make it past Canon's QC checks. I've learnt to deal with it, but it's disappointing considering the price of these units.
Yes, I realise that it's easy enough to straighten horizons during post-production, but it shouldn't be necessary if shots have taken with care, plus, there is a price to be paid when this is done in terms of the quality of the final resized output image.
And when it has been reported by others, it turns out that people are using the AF points as you are, which are a poor guide and badly positioned for this kind of thing, or stabbing at the release, etc.
