help with 7d focus issues with test shots

Rebel t3i

Rebel t3i

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Tony
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still trying to get to grips with the 7d auto out of focus system
below are a selection of shots which I feel show the focus issue I am having
My problems are more apparent when shooting in burst mode
the example shots are taken in burst mode


IMG_4254.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr


IMG_4253.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr


IMG_4252.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr

these next 3 shots seem better


IMG_4297.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr


IMG_4296.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr


IMG_4295.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr
any help would be appreciated
 
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Out of curiosity can I ask what lens you're using ?
A similar thing happens randomly on my 7D, but only ever when I use my Tamron 70-300VC lens. I've never seen it with any other lens I have.
 
To be honest not sure what you mean 7d auto out of focus system, Tony, on the first pic you used F2.8 so the focus will be shallow, Ive only checked the exif on the 1st and last, to me your prob lies in depth of field at those apertures :thumbs:
 
I tried to get light room 4 to post up the exif data but it didn't want to play ball and I was loosing the will to live
the lens is a canon ef 70-200 f2.8 L
which has no issues on my 600d
I really am struggling with the 7d no matter what lens I use, I also have the efs17-55 f2.8 and again only have issues on the 7d
out of the test shots today some 566 the biggest issue was in continuous shoot mode single shot was not to bad so getting somewhere with the complex auto out of focus system
 
Just Dave said:
To be honest not sure what you mean 7d auto out of focus system, Tony, on the first pic you used F2.8 so the focus will be shallow, Ive only checked the exif on the 1st and last, to me your prob lies in depth of field at those apertures :thumbs:
Click to expand...
that will give you the exif data for the two subjects I was surprised the camera had selected f2.8 for both subjects as the squirrel was in bright sunlight
I just feel the bird shot just hasn't focused on the bird yet that is where the cameras spot focus was set
camera was set in p
I am just after any tips and help to try to master this complicated 7d
The camera came with 7d for dummies which is very useful but I am still struggling
 
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its flickr thats blocking the Exif if you go to the pic and on the menu actions at the bottom View Exif Info :thumbs:

are shooting the same subjects ie birds and squirrel

Ive had my 7D for a year and never come across with the auto out of focus system wheres that what am I missing?
 
so were shooting with centre spot as the focus point, if so thats your problem all the subjects are off the centre spot, assuming their not crops
 
I seemed to be having problems today more so in continuous mode
single shot wasn't to bad in comparison
 
so as simple as that then dave
what focus set up do you suggest as there are many and the bird would have died of old age by the time I had set the focus system up lol
images are jpegs and I have done no additional processing or cropping
 
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IS was enabled
did think about switching it off
camera was hand held
 
The bird was taken at 1600 ISO but the squirrel was at only 200 ISO, I wonder if that could be an issue.
Did you do much NR on the bird shots?
Try taking some similar bird shots but at a much lower ISO.
 
correction I was in AI servo mode speed set to normal hard to remember at may age when you have taken 550 + shots lol
The bird shot was in a different location and was shadowed by trees
was thinking of changing the metering mode for the bird shot as the bird looks over exposed in some areas
the images are j pegs and I have done no additional processing
 
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Technique Tony ;) You might get lucky and get a good exposed sharp shot of such a small subject handheld, but Imho a Tripod is what you need to invest in :thumbs:
 
I have tripods and a mono pod
what I am struggling to get to grips with is that my 600d gets far more keeps than my 7d
I just can't fathom out what the **** to set this 7d to
what works on one shot doesn't work on another
My eldest son also has the same problem and he is far better photographer than me not that that is difficult
I just used these 6 shots as an example as they were taken close to each other
I have many more single shots that are pooh too
we were joined by a jay and whilst the 600d with a sigma bigma 50-500 non IS took some reasonable shots in p mode the 7d achieved none with the 70-200 2.8 IS
 
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As I say Tony, tecnique nothing wrong with the Squirrel shots imo. Not sure what distance the Gt was taken at, 20-30ft maybe :shrug: You also say taken in Jpeg no editing, Raw and editing imho :thumbs: You have shallow dof at 2.8 as mentioned, you have movement of bird to contend with and even handheld with IS it does not compensate for squeezing that button at the precise moment your subject has stopped perfectly still. If you are still struggling then I see you are in the Staffs area, plenty of good folk in the bird section from that area, put up another call for help and I am sure a meet with someone would give the the chance to compare and test before ruling out a problem with the camera itself. Btw did you purchase the 7D new or S/H?
 
camera was second hand 6 months old wondering if that is why the old guy sold it
Not saying the camera is faulty just that it takes some mastering
here are some amusing shots of My fat dog that went missing last week and why she may be fat
whilst my other two jack russels were squirrel chasing Chubby decides she has found
something far more interesting


IMG_4275.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr


IMG_4276.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr


IMG_4277.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr


IMG_4278.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr


IMG_4279.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr


IMG_4280.jpg by Tony Turbo, on Flickr
 
You seem to have focus issues, expsure issues, and camera shake/subject movement problems too. Basically, the kind of subjects you're shooting need top technique and sound understanding - there's not much room for error ;)

For the AF, set it on single-shot, centre point only, and pin it to the subject's eyes - simple and best set up for the subjects you've shown. Then spend some time with the handbook as the 7D's AF system and numerous options take some learning, but they're mostly about tracking different kinds of moving subject. There are some handy videos and tutorials on all this.
 
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perhaps the 600d is just more suited to my abilities I do however love the 7d's machine gun mode
I have read quite a bit and watched a number of tutorials perhaps I am just too old for such and advanced camera
may be something like the 650d would be more suited like the touch screen
was watching DR testing the 1dx v the nikon last night now that is a camera with a price tag to match
The 1dx seemed to have no focusing issues unlike me and my 7d
http://www.youtube.com/user/DigitalRevCom
 
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I would do a reset of the custom functions Tony seeing as you got it S/H and then work your way through the manual :thumbs:
 
Definitely setup a shot out of ai servo and burst mode, with an object that is static. Then perhaps put it back onto ai servo and burst mode and compare them?
I don't suppose you have uv filters on your lenses do you? My 70-300L had "focus problems" until I took the filter off :)
 
Have you tried the spot focus mode? I generally use it for birds on the ground. Also if you are shooting at 2.8 your depth of field is very thin if your subject is quite close.
Best bet is to remove yourself from the test and stick it on a tripod and go from there. I must say that if I fire off a burst in ai servo only half of them will be any good and I class that as acceptable :)
 
have to use spot focus most of the time to get anything decent
which has made the rest of the complex advanced auto focus system redundant
which is why I bought it
I get better pics with my galaxy S3 lol
and the 7d can't even make phone calls either roflol
 
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done a google search for some more focusing tutorials and have just spent the last 2 hours reading complaint after complaint about focusing issues with 7d's
seems that some have had it cured by canon eventually exchanging the camera
some have had sensors replaced and calibrations but this appeared to be a temporary fix
some have found that removing the main battery and cmos battery for a min hour fixes the issue
If I had read all this before I would have bought a nikon lol
So we are going to remove the batteries and see what happens
 
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Stick with it!

It's too easy to blame the camera, 8fps will always show some out of focus shots, f2.8, pretty low light as in the shots of your dog is not an easy feat to shoot.

I know, I've been there too!

:thumbs:
 
the thing that gets me is that my 600d manages perfectly ok
and no matter what setting i try and what lens I use the 7d seems to just be erratic when it comes to in focus shots
The pics of my over weight jack Russell clearly show that the focusing issues is not due to it being a small subject matter roflol
batteries are out stop clock is on for the min 1 hour recommended
 
Hi Tony

I have had a 7D for just over a year now, and I do symapathise that you are having problems.

Coming from about 30 years of film SLR use I thought I knew how to take pictures but my 40D a few years ago and now my 7D have forced me to reasess ALL aspects of my photographic technique.

The 7D is indeed a great camera but is MERCILESS in exposing poor technique weather it be focusing or exposure and often a combination of both. I would say most of the "my 7D is not working properly" posts you see on the internet are user error.

It might have a brain the size of a planet but when you press the shutter the 7D has no more idea of what you are trying to take a picture of than it did before (ie none) I know they say it analyses several zillion possible likely subject possibilities and asesses all the colour data etc, and I think in certain situations that does help (some it does not!) but really it's up to you to TELL the camera what you want it to do, and even then you have to be on the look out for the camera slipping up.

Classic one is not realising that the focus points are are bigger than the squares in the viewfinder and some of the adjacent ones overlap considerably.

Read this

Using servo focus on static objects can also lead to problems as the camera is expecting the subject to move when infact is stationary.

To convince youself of the cameras capabilites get a sturdy tripod and take some pictures using live view to focus, use the lens at it's sweet spot F value and make sure you set the exposure suitable for the subject.

Looking at the pictures of the dog I don't think there is a problem with your 7D. Persevere - it's a great camera.

HTH

David
 
or I could just use manual focus David lol
done the static subject test that you mention on a tripod also did the same shots same lens with the 600d on the same static subject
compared the images and both cameras had done a superb job
but taking a picture of my range rover vogue on a sunny day would hardly tax any camera even my phone lol
I have also read about the focus points so am aware they are larger that they appear in the view finder
 
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As mentioned Tony a test with it on a Tripod is a good idea, if you get the focus point on a similar sized target and at a distance near enough to what you shot the Gt at that will also help. Try a few handheld also to compare, try a few with you firing the camera on Tripod as well as a remote if you have one. Whilst you say the lens is ok on the other camera, have you tried any bird shots with it? Do not rule out you might need to add a bit of microadjustment on the 7D either.
 
cheers for that Rich but done all that including micro adjust
I am more impressed with the images I get from my samsung galaxy S3 i phone clone lol
 
If I were you I'd put everything back to default. Put it on a tripod and set up something that has a stepped depth of field and the take some images and look at them on the computer. If you're going to micro adjust a lens then you have to get a good base set up to start from or it's a waste of time.
 
Rebel t3i said:
cheers for that Rich but done all that including micro adjust
I am more impressed with the images I get from my samsung galaxy S3 i phone clone lol
Click to expand...

What adjustment settings have you put in for the 70-200L? It's easy to make it worse!
 
Make sure the AF priority is set so that it won't fire when it is out of focus. That should help with the keeper rate too.

I'm assuming the 7d has an intelligent AF mode which switches between single and continuous depending on the subject? Try that mode rather than having it in continuous so it will follow something when it moves but not get confused when the subject is static.
 
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