focus issues

macvisual

macvisual

Suspended / Banned
Messages
7,193
Name
Peter
Edit My Images
No
Need advice please;

I've been having recent problems with focusing issues since I bought this camera a few months ago...

Whilst minding the grandchildren today I attached my Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM lens to my 5D Mk1 body.

iso setting of 100, sunny day, majority of shots ranging f/ stops from 2.5 - f/4.5 on hi-res j-peg, shutter speeds ranging from around 500/250/400 etc, merering set at 'Evaluative Metering', auto focus mode. 99% of every shot is soft and not sharpe, very very annoying indeed.

I was at a family wedding last weekend and shot around 400 photo's, same issues there to.


What's going on (??), can anyone advise me as I'm getting annoyed now!!!!
 
macvisual said:
auto focus mode
Click to expand...

Have you tried single point focus? Auto focus will decide what it thinks you want to be in focus. In my experience it tends to select the closest item. Try using just the centre focus point only and dont let the camera decide for you. :)
 
To adjust the focus point on the 5D, you press the thumb button on the right and use the joystick to select the point you want to use, pressing the joystick in the centre toggles between centre point and all points.

Also if the kids are moving around a bit it may be worth using AI servo as the DoF at the wider apertures will be quite narrow.
 
Have you post processed to bring the sharpness to what it should be, in-camera setting could be way too low. By definition digital photos need to be sharpened (unlike film photos) or am I teaching Granny to suck eggs?

That combination should produce very good results in good light even with moving children, have you checked what its focusing on in DPP or Zoom Browser?

Matt
 
MatBin said:
Have you post processed to bring the sharpness to what it should be, in-camera setting could be way too low. By definition digital photos need to be sharpened (unlike film photos) or am I teaching Granny to suck eggs?

Matt
Click to expand...

I disagree with this statement. I rarely use sharpening at all, even for printing. I just don't find it necessary, except on rare occasions (difficult subjects etc).
 
MatBin said:
By definition digital photos need to be sharpened
Click to expand...

Why is that? With descent lens (and 85/1.8 is by all means descent lens) it's not necessary at all, imo.
 
Last edited:
As usual, sample pictures would help a lot.

Might be front/back focusing problem with lens. Might be problem in your technique as well, with such a shallow DoF it's enough to move camera just a bit to loose the focus.
 
No I've never used sharpening tool in Lightroom 3 as yet. I got the single point of focus sorted now in centre of focus point, it was set off to the right it seems, so every shot I took it was always very slightly outta focus, I really haven't had much spare time recently to shoot as busy with work etc...

I'll post a photo within next week for you'se to look at, thanks.
 
Johnd2000 said:
I disagree with this statement. I rarely use sharpening at all, even for printing. I just don't find it necessary, except on rare occasions (difficult subjects etc).
Click to expand...

Are you shooting jpgs?

All RAW files require some sharpening, there are many articles on the internet about why.

Long story short, the manufacturers lie to you about the number of megapixels the camera has, then interpolate the files up to size in camera. This interpolation obviously means the image will be soft at 100%, so some sharpening is required.
 
Last edited:
Johnd2000 said:
I disagree with this statement. I rarely use sharpening at all, even for printing. I just don't find it necessary, except on rare occasions (difficult subjects etc).
Click to expand...
You are of course entitled to your opinion, I stand by mine that if the camera is set to a very low level of "sharp" then the pictures will benefit from pp, if however you have a high level of "sharp" already dialled in it may well be unnecessary, in your opinion. AIUI all manufacturers deliberately blur the image slightly through the filter and this can then be removed later (in camera or in s/ware), much like Dolby stereo on old fashioned cassette decks.

Matt
 
I use no sharpening in camera and shoot raw anyway. To my eyes, post sharpening generally looks ugly and adds noise. There are exceptions, of course. A little gentle sharpening for bird shots, for example. Generally though I avoid it.

It has to be said I shoot a lot of fashion and beauty work, so I tend to reach for the softening filters before the sharpener.
 
Craikeybaby said:
To adjust the focus point on the 5D, you press the thumb button on the right and use the joystick to select the point you want to use, pressing the joystick in the centre toggles between centre point and all points.

Also if the kids are moving around a bit it may be worth using AI servo as the DoF at the wider apertures will be quite narrow.
Click to expand...

He needs to adjust to single point focusing not adjust the focus point 2 very different things;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top