I Can't Seem To Focus ?

davidbridges

davidbridges

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David Bridges
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Hi,

Ive been getting quite annoyed at my pictures since ive had a D-SLR, ive had a few alright shots but most of them seem to be slightly out of focus. For most of my shots i use manual focus, and through the view finder and on my screen the shots seem in focus, but as soon as i get them on the computer they are out of focus. Is there anything that i can do but use auto focus ?

Thanks for reading

Dave
 
Hmmm which camera etc are you using David ?

Most Canon cameras have a dioptre adjustment on the eyepiece, not sure how the other cameras deal with this ?, it may be this is slightly out and what looks in focus actually isnt, also the AF screens arent really designed for MF, not like the old MF cameras anyway and soemtimes it is easy to miss the focus. Dependant on the camera this screen can be replaced with a true MF one with the split circle etc.
 
What camera are we talking about and what lens?

What happens with auto focus?
 
use auto focus ?

Why are you using manual focus ?

Or bump it to F-22, bet you it'll be in focus then.
 
Well im using a Canon 350d with the 18-55 kit lens and a cheap ef 90-300, even at f22 it still is never razorsharp, i dont use auto focus on my telephoto zoom because its too slow for things like wildlife and sometimes cant decide where its going to focus, and when i use my 18-55 i was told by an A level photography tutor to focus a third into the shot at a high f stop so it would make the whole scene in focus but auto focus would just focus at the foreground and the backround. Although looking back at his quote my camera does say it has multi point focus ?
 
davidbridges said:
Well im using a Canon 350d with the 18-55 kit lens and a cheap ef 90-300, even at f22 it still is never razorsharp, i dont use auto focus on my telephoto zoom because its too slow for things like wildlife and sometimes cant decide where its going to focus, and when i use my 18-55 i was told by an A level photography tutor to focus a third into the shot at a high f stop so it would make the whole scene in focus but auto focus would just focus at the foreground and the backround. Although looking back at his quote my camera does say it has multi point focus ?
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The first thing to do Dave is enable just one AF point so you decide where the point of focus will be. The centre one is probably best but you can change it as required.

Having all AF points enabled is undoubtedly the cause of your problems. You'd normally enable them all for tracking a moving subject.
 
lol, use auto focus on your 18-55, it'll be fine. Here's a chicken pic with the Kit Lens.

img0682zh9.jpg


for the 90-300, for wildlife, I'd set a focus point, and only snap when something comes into the DOF.
 
Using manual focus is a much nicer way to work, as you can frame and focus in one movement. There's no messing about with placing the focus point over the bit you want sharp, pressing a button and then going on to framing your shot.

As for getting shots sharp. The first thing should be to rule out a problem with the camera. Trying some shots on a tripod with high shutter speeds and also letting the AF have a go should prove if the camera is faulty, it does happen.

If the camera is doing what it should, sometimes all it takes to get rid of problems like these is to slow down and be aware of each step you're taking. I'm not saying you're doing this but sometimes rushing through taking a shot, perhaps not stopping to gently press the shutter but punching it and almost lowering the camera in the same movement can stop you getting sharp shots.
 
lol, use auto focus on your 18-55, it'll be fine. Here's a chicken pic with the Kit Lens.
Click to expand...

Now I've tried that with and without my glasses but it's not looking too sharp. Does look bloody tasty though. :D
 
Thanks for your advice, but if it is possible could you be more specific on what i should do, on my menu ive got AF mode ONE SHOT, AI FOCUS, AI SERVO which one should i be using if im going to be manual focusing alot, and how do i chose and get rid of my focus points ?

Thanks again

Dave
 
Been having similar problems with my 350D :thinking:
 
Ive seen people with the 350d and the kit lens who get stunning sharp shots, i just wish i could get that, its driving me insane
 
Dave -do you wear glasses? Should you be wearing them do you think - these things kind of sneak up on you. Just eliminating the obvious first. :)
 
CT said:
timeline.jpg


:D
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hmmmm, gonna have to dig my heels in a bit more. I didn't realise I'd been pulled so close to the present. ;)
 
When i was doing my work experience the guy who i was doin with was wearing glasses and he change my thing what do you call it dioptre i think and i could focus my eye to what he had change it to, but i can also focus when its positioned to people who have 50-50 vision or whatever that is called. Does that sound like i could need glasses ???
 
Getting back on topic for a mo. :embarrassed:

There have been a few threads about focus and vision issues the last few days and I'm not sure about it all. I still don't see how any wrong adjustment on the camera diopter settings or a need for glasses can make an image look sharp to the eye when it's not in focus on the sensor (see, I didn't say film ;) )

Sure you can end up not ever being able to see a sharp image in the viewfinder but that's different surely?

I've had a chance to handle some of these types of canons and the are incredible bits of kit that produce great images...... but they are built like kids toys. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that there are more than one or two out there with a slight chip misalignment.

Process of ellimination has got to be the best course of action here, no?
 
I hope thats not the case, i know i wont be getting another D-SLR in a hurry
 
Is it not under cover anymore?
 
I'm apparently slightly short sighted and was given glasses just to sharpen my vision a smidge..But some photos I do they are pin sharp..the next they are all fuzzy..and that's not wearing my glasses (I look a silly muppet with them and I can't seem to get contacts in)
It may just be a camera problem not sure :shrug:
 
LOL I'm not an optician Dave. :D

The best thing to do is look through the viewfinder -dont bother trying to focus - just turn the little diopter adjustment wheel until the exposure info in the viewfinder is nice and sharp. If you can get it sharp you're fine and nicely set up. If you can't then you can get accessory diopter lenses that fit over the viewfinder in various strengths, but it's possible you may need glasses in that case.

I wear specs and it's a pain in the butt. I can set the viewfinder up to be sharp either with or without specs, but not to be able to see the LCD screen info whichever option I choose, so my specs are up and down like a fiddlers elbow.

The thing is though once you've attained focus you get a green confirmation light in the viewfinder and as long as that's lit you'll be in focus regardless of whether the screen appears sharp to you or not.

Kidding aside Daz is right, MF is a good way to work but you really need to make sure you're getting a sharp image in the viewfinder or you'll never judge optimum sharpness properly.

Someone with a 350D should pop up and tell you how to change the AF point if you really don't want to read the manual. :D
 
well the reason im asking all this is because im going to up to kingussie for a long weekend this bank holiday and i dont want all my shots to be crap. I came back from cornwall a tad dissapointed as my shots are a bit out of focus ect
 
I've been taking a look the photos you've posted david to see if there are any clues to be found but they are all pretty small.

There are certainly no obvious problems showing up in what you've posted but seeing a larger shot from your camera would be helpful. Even a crop from the sharpest part of the image but left at full size.
 
CT said:
LOL I'm not an optician Dave. :D

The best thing to do is look through the viewfinder -dont bother trying to focus - just turn the little diopter adjustment wheel until the exposure info in the viewfinder is nice and sharp. If you can get it sharp you're fine and nicely set up. If you can't then you can get accessory diopter lenses that fit over the viewfinder in various strengths, but it's possible you may need glasses in that case.

I wear specs and it's a pain in the butt. I can set the viewfinder up to be sharp either with or without specs, but not to be able to see the LCD screen info whichever option I choose, so my specs are up and down like a fiddlers elbow.

The thing is though once you've attained focus you get a green confirmation light in the viewfinder and as long as that's lit you'll be in focus regardless of whether the screen appears sharp to you or not.

Kidding aside Daz is right, MF is a good way to work but you really need to make sure you're getting a sharp image in the viewfinder or you'll never judge optimum sharpness properly.

Someone with a 350D should pop up and tell you how to change the AF point if you really don't want to read the manual. :D
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AHHHH a conformation light, just did that now thanks ALOT for that !!!! Yeah i read the manual, obviosuly not very well:lol:
 
Do a simple test for us - take a pic in Manual Focus. You should still get the focus confirmation light. Take the shot when it's lit and post the pic, we'll have more idea what's happening. :)
 
Ok no problem, taking the shot right now
 
As I understand it, if the fixed features in the viewfinder or any part of the subject appears sharp, there is nothing wrong with the combination of your vision and the dioptre adjustment. The image is projected onto the screen, and if your eye is unable to focus on the screen, you will never see any sharp image of anything. If the subject appears to be sharp in the viewfinder, there's no problem there.

Have you eliminated camera shake? Plop the thing on a tripod and try AF and manually focussing on lots of different things at wide open aperture. Have a close look at the results.

It's possible that the camera is slightly front-focussing or back-focussing - it happens. It's not because it's a DSLR - in fact, if it weren't one, you'd have spent far longer shooting and developing before finding out the focus was off! The film plane and screen can be non-equidistant from the lens in any camera. Use this chart, and find out if the focus is off by a particular amount. If it is, I think it's a relatively simple thing to adjust the position of the sensor.

Hope that helps.

edit: ahh, half of this is redundant due to posts that happened while I was writing this :)
 
Oh dear, im trying to take a shot, its fairly low light, and the light is not appearing is this just normal, or is there anything wrong ?
 
It's normal.

Do you have a table lamp. A shot of the shade or the base with the light falling on it should work ok. :)
 
It should come on Dave in MF as long as you have Single Shot AF selected on the camera (not servo). It does on both my Canon's so I'd think its throughout the range.
 
quickly - set to the centre focus point and take a picture of some text at an angle at the widest aperture in plenty of light (use the onboard flash if required) and with a decent shutter speed. Open the image in something like zoombrowser in order to see where the camera focussed. If the red square is not anywhere close to the point of focus then you need to investigate further.

With regard to manual focussing using the 350D - it's pretty diffficult with the small magnification of the viewfinder. Perhaps you need to look into different options to give yourself a fighting chance. Some have used the nikon dk-21m viewfinder magnifier on the 400d (presume it works on the 350d) but there are also other options
 
Does the camera confirm that the focus is ok?

I've never had a 350, but all the other Canon dslr's I've had to date will flash the focus point indictator as a confirmation when in MF.

There has been many times when I thought I'd got a decent focus and found that a "smidge" more or less would get the camera to confirm.
 
In the past I have met a number of people who have changed from a 35mm MF camera such as a Canon AE-1 or Pentax ME Super to an AF camera (digital or film) only to feel that there new £XXX camera is not as sharp as there old one.
In every case I have seen the lens has changed from a 50mm f1.8 or similar to a basic zoom such as the Canon 18-55mm.
A Canon 50mm f1.8 EF sells for around the £100 mark and offers only one focal length, the 18-55mm sell for around £100 and offer a 3:1 range of focal lengths. Pick one, a sharp fixed prime lens or a less sharp more flexible zoom. The other choice is to buy a good quality zoom and pay the extra, this could be a mid range or even L series Canon or one of the better Sigma/Tamrom/Tokina lens.
As for David's original problem, if you can borrow a prime lens from somewhere I think your problem will go away.
 
Well i discovered one problem i had, i had put my AF point to the far right so anything a pointed at in the center it wouldn't focus on. But in general my AF especially on my ef90-300 is too slow, all i need to do i think is take a bit more care when focusing
 
I had that happen once.. the centre af point had been moved to the top right one so nothing was in focus exept the stuff behind the subject!!
If Id have seen this post earlier I wouldve said....sorry!!
 
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