Sample Pic (unable to get Sharp Focus) nbaresejr

[egritz]

from another thread, nbaresejr asked me to share a picture demonstrating how I felt my pictures on my Sigma 17-70/2.8-4 are not sharp. Using a Canon T2i. (wanted to create a separate thread to keep the threads topic-relevant)

I tend to try and shoot zoomed out some to keep my settings faster & higher ISO, and then crop during processing, but I am not happy with the focus / lack of sharpness.

Here is the SOOC, only thing post-processing here was converting to JPG:

1/200 sec, f/8, ISO-200. Center Weighted Average, 21mm focal length

(Sorry for the gigantic size...wanted you to be able to see the blurry face...can also view it a bit smaller & then zoom in: http://www.elegantgowns.com/upload/IMG_6224.jpg ).

 

[photo_chick]

The point of focus looks an awful lot like it's smack on her hands. But if you think the lens is having issues perform a proper focus test. You can post all the images in the world but you can't really diagnose your problem without a good focus test.

Other questions... How are you focusing? Are you choosing the point? Are you giving the lens adequate time to focus? Are you using BBF? Is this a moving subject and if so are you relying on tracking? Also cropping in can lead to softer looking images depending on the software you're using, how much you're cropping, and what else you're doing to the image.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Check out this article...

http://photographylife.com/how-to-quickly-test-your-dslr-for-autofocus-issues

 

[nbaresejr]

The point of focus looks an awful lot like it's smack on her hands. But if you think the lens is having issues perform a proper focus test. You can post all the images in the world but you can't really diagnose your problem without a good focus test.

Other questions... How are you focusing? Are you choosing the point? Are you giving the lens adequate time to focus? Are you using BBF? Is this a moving subject and if so are you relying on tracking? Also cropping in can lead to softer looking images depending on the software you're using, how much you're cropping, and what else you're doing to the image.

I agree with Danielle.

Looking at the face in the image it looks really soft but the hands are in focus.

Still alot of variables for us to sort through.

 

[DoDaLeCa]

Without the EXIF it's hard to tell what's going on? There's a lot of ways to set up the focus point selection and tracking so without more detail it's hard to say what's happening.

Did you take more than one shot here? Are other shots better focused?

 

[AndrewWG]

The exif info is under the pic above but it is center weighted averaging, f8, 1/200 sec, 21mm, no flash on the Canon t2i.

Seems to me that unless you have somewhat shaky hands, the lens is probably a bit soft. I tend to try to shoot with a higher shutter speed than 1/200 when I can but the reality is that 1/200 should be fine.

I should also add that this is pixel peeping as the image as a whole isn't bad looking when it isn't being looked at this blown up. That said, I would also not be happy with it's softness. I am a pixel peeper....

My 2 cents.

 

[egritz]

The point of focus looks an awful lot like it's smack on her hands. But if you think the lens is having issues perform a proper focus test. You can post all the images in the world but you can't really diagnose your problem without a good focus test.

Other questions... How are you focusing? Are you choosing the point? Are you giving the lens adequate time to focus? Are you using BBF? Is this a moving subject and if so are you relying on tracking? Also cropping in can lead to softer looking images depending on the software you're using, how much you're cropping, and what else you're doing to the image.

I do see the hands now that you point it out. I am already planning to test the focus tomorrow on my day off work, while the kiddo naps. I am not using BBF (haven't learned how yet). This pic was a very slowly moving subj, I focused on her face (I thought) and tracked her with the camera.

Without the EXIF it's hard to tell what's going on? There's a lot of ways to set up the focus point selection and tracking so without more detail it's hard to say what's happening.

Did you take more than one shot here? Are other shots better focused?

The EXIF data is just below the image the only thing I left out was the Exposure bias was 0.

I took 3 pictures in this specific series, none appear to be focused.

I thought (perhaps mistakenly) with f/8 or above and 1/200 shutter speed that I would have better focusing.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

If you determine with the focus test that there wasn't an issue with your camera/lens back-focusing or front-focusing, here's something else you might want to consider.

What focus mode are you using? One Shot, AI Servo, or AI Focus?

Assuming there was a little bit of motion going on here because of the hand-held shot and the moving pony, if you were in One Shot, the distance may have shifted slightly between the time you obtained focus and when you snapped the shot. Give AI Servo a test and see if you have better results with sharpness. Under AI Servo, the camera will continue to adjust focus at the selected focus point up to the actual instant the shutter is released.

 

[DoDaLeCa]

From EXIF I was trying to see what focus point selection was (did you select a single point, was it on an expanded point or was it on the full zone 9? points where the camera selects the point of best contrast nearest the camera I believe).

As well what was the focus drive mode as someone else had mentioned - as there are different modes depending on whether the subject is stationary, moving or stationary then moving)?

Were you holding the camera stationary with the girl moving or were you trying to track her with the camera?

 

[egritz]

If you determine with the focus test that there wasn't an issue with your camera/lens back-focusing or front-focusing, here's something else you might want to consider.

What focus mode are you using? One Shot, AI Servo, or AI Focus?

Assuming there was a little bit of motion going on here because of the hand-held shot and the moving pony, if you were in One Shot, the distance may have shifted slightly between the time you obtained focus and when you snapped the shot. Give AI Servo a test and see if you have better results with sharpness. Under AI Servo, the camera will continue to adjust focus at the selected focus point up to the actual instant the shutter is released.

This picture was taken using One Shot...I just recently looked into the focus modes (learning learning learning) and so I actually played with AI Servo this past weekend at another pumpkin patch and it was really weird - I felt like it was not locking in (but sounds like that is right?), even when there wasn't much movement so I switched back to One Shot. I will try to play with AI Servo this weekend a bit, have another pumpkin patch playdate on Monday (Gotta love the fall) Any other tips I should try while there?

 

[egritz]

From EXIF I was trying to see what focus point selection was (did you select a single point, was it on an expanded point or was it on the full zone 9? points where the camera selects the point of best contrast nearest the camera I believe).

As well what was the focus drive mode as someone else had mentioned - as there are different modes depending on whether the subject is stationary, moving or stationary then moving)?

Were you holding the camera stationary with the girl moving or were you trying to track her with the camera?

One Shot, If i remember correctly I was tracking her with the camera.

 

[DoDaLeCa]

One Shot, If i remember correctly I was tracking her with the camera.

One shot is for stationary subjects. Maybe try AI servo on moving targets and half press the shutter button down to get the focusing started while you're tracking prior to fully pressing the button down to take the picture.

The other thing is to manually select the focus point if you aren't because you are never sure what the camera is going to pick as the focus point and it usually isn't what you want (I think it takes nearest point to the camera).

 

[photo_chick]

I do see the hands now that you point it out. I am already planning to test the focus tomorrow on my day off work, while the kiddo naps. I am not using BBF (haven't learned how yet). This pic was a very slowly moving subj, I focused on her face (I thought) and tracked her with the camera.

One shot and tracking with the camera won't keep re-focusing on a moving subject. I suspect you just had the camera focused in the wrong place. But it's impossible for anyone to tell that at this point. That's why we run a proper focus test.

Read your manual, learn how the AF modes work. Also read up on how your camera locks focus. It can help you choose objects in the scene that will help the camera out when it goes to focus. And learn how to manually focus. There are times when AF systems just don't get the job done.

Also adjust your diopter. A huge part of consistently nailing the focus is not relying on your AF system to tell you its in focus. Don't trust the red box flashing, you have to really look in that viewfinder and make sure it's focused. If the diopter is off it will affect your visual confirmation. To adjust it take the lens off, point the camera at a bright wall. Adjust until the etchings on the focusing screen look their sharpest.

The EXIF data is just below the image the only thing I left out was the Exposure bias was 0.

I took 3 pictures in this specific series, none appear to be focused.

I thought (perhaps mistakenly) with f/8 or above and 1/200 shutter speed that I would have better focusing.

There is a lot more information in your EXIF data than that. Most of it won't tell you if your lens is causing your focusing issues, but it can sometimes help tell you if you as the user are contributing to the focusing issues. And really in this case where there is an area of sharpness it's not all that helpful. We know the camera focused on something, you just have to figure out if the lens was focusing where you told it to, and if not why.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

and so I actually played with AI Servo this past weekend at another pumpkin patch and it was really weird - I felt like it was not locking in (but sounds like that is right?), even when there wasn't much movement so I switched back to One Shot.

You don't get the beep telling you that it's locked in, like you do with one shot. I'll agree that it takes some getting used to. My personal style is to use one shot so that I can lock focus, recompose, and shoot. But I need to force myself to start experimenting with using different AF points and see if AI Servo will help me get a higher percentage of keepers.