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Why is my autofocus stopping on blurry subjects?!

drea300
Apprentice

I have a rebel t5, its my first nice camera.  I wanted to take a really close up picture of my sons face, and the auto-focus did its thing but then would stop on a blurry face! whats the deal? I tried auto setting and portrait setting.   

This happened to me another time when i wanted to take a very close up picture of something.  Im using the macro .25m/0.8ft lens that came with my camera.  It also came with a bigger longer lens as well that I believe I should only use if trying to take close up pics of an image far in the distance.  Im obviously new with this and not looking to be a professional photographer, which is why i got this camera figuring it would do all the work for me.  Im just really frustrated I cant even get an in-focus close up shot of my sons face.  whats the deal!

5 REPLIES 5

TTMartin
Authority
Authority

@drea300 wrote:

I have a rebel t5, its my first nice camera.  I wanted to take a really close up picture of my sons face, and the auto-focus did its thing but then would stop on a blurry face! whats the deal? I tried auto setting and portrait setting.   

This happened to me another time when i wanted to take a very close up picture of something.  Im using the macro .25m/0.8ft lens that came with my camera.  It also came with a bigger longer lens as well that I believe I should only use if trying to take close up pics of an image far in the distance.  Im obviously new with this and not looking to be a professional photographer, which is why i got this camera figuring it would do all the work for me.  Im just really frustrated I cant even get an in-focus close up shot of my sons face.  whats the deal!


Unfortunately the higher end the camera, the less it 'work' it does for you, and the more knowledge of how to use the camera is needed. For example higher end Canon dSLRs don't have things like an automatic portrait mode. So if you're going to use a dSLR you really are going need to learn how to use it. That said scene modes like the portrait mode on your camera can be a great way to learn how to use it. But, you have to see what settings the camera is using and learn why.

 

To your immediate problem, will the camera focus if you move a little bit further back? 

 

The minimum focus distance of the lens, may be dependant on the focal length (zoom) you are using.

Also keep in mind the focus system needs both adequate light and adequate contrast to focus. So if you are so close that all that is under the camera's focus points are the nose and the cheeks there may not be adequate contrast to achieve focus.


ebiggs1
Legend
Legend

Did you buy your Rebel T5 in the form of a package from a place like Amazon?  DId it come with some 'lens' that screws on the front of the main lens?  If, yes, that is your problem.  The simple plain truth of the matter is those packages are usually junk.  Sorry but they are.

There is nothing wrong with the camera and its Canon lens.  In fact, that is a really nice combo.  The rest not so much.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

drea300
Apprentice
Yup that's just what it is

ezpop
Rising Star

If you want to shoot very close to the subject and you can get good image result with minimum investment at this stage, I suggest you look into the following two lenses :

 

1. Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM LensMFD 6.3" 
2. Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM LensMFD 11.8" 

 

There are a lot of reviews out there.

 

If you can do it right with Martin's advices, kit lenses can also achieve not too bad results.

 

BTW, your kit lens is Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Lens.

 

macro .25m/0.8ft  is the mark on the lens indicating that the minimum focus distance is .25m/0.8ft

TCampbell
Elite
Elite

Every lens lists the minimum focus distance possible with that particular lens.  There is a mark on the camera body which represents the position of the sensor plane.  The mark looks like a circle with a line drawn through it horizontally (the horizontal line marks the plane of the film (for film cameras) or sensor plane (for digital cameras).  On your T5 that mark is located next to the point where the neck strap attaches to the left side of the camera body (printed on the top of camera).

 

The minimum focus distance (MFD) is measured from that mark.  So if a lens says it's minimum focus distance is (I'll just make up a number) 2 feet away... then the subject must be at least 2 feet from that mark.

 

 

There are, of course, ways to shoot subjects at even closer distances (which should be readily apparent based on the number of close-up images you've probably seen).

 

There are a handful of ways to do this and a variety of price points.

 

1.  One of the least expensive ways is the use of a "close-up diopter" or "close-up filter".  This is a piece of glass that threads onto the front of your camera lens.  Think of it like reading glasses for your camera (because that's basically exactly what it is).  Just like reading glasses, it lets the camera focus closer than is otherwise possible.  They aren't very expensive, but there is a downside...  you might notice a very slight degradation in optical quality near the edge of the glass and an effect called color fringing (the technical name is "chromatic aberration" and is usually just abbreviated as "CA").  This is the effect that you get when you shine a line through a prism (as any Pink Floyd fans would have seen on the Dark Side of the Moon album cover).  

 

Canon makes two different higher quality (but also more expensive) close-up filters that use two optical elements instead of one.  They are optically arranged to create something called an "achromatic doublet" where the second element is shaped completely different and exists for the sole purpose of correcting for the CA problem.  It delivers sharper close-up images than any single-element close-up filter.

 

2.  Another method is the use of something called an "extension tube".  Extension tubes are also very inexpensive because they don't contain any glass.  It literally is just a hollow barrel.  You attach it between the lens and camera body and it's purpose is simply to position the lens farther away.  When you position a lens farther away, you naturally shift the entire focus range of that lens closer.  This substantially reduces the minimum focus distance... but it also shifts the maximum focus distance closer (meaning the lens will not focus to "infinity" when an extension tube is attached.)

 

While you can find some VERY cheap extension tubes, there are some minimums... the cheapest have absolutely no electronics at all and that's not good because it means the camera body cannot communicate with the lens.  Not only can it not control the focus motors (not a big deal if you plan to manually focus anyway) but it also means the camera body cannot control the aperture blades (and that IS a big deal if you want good exposures and more depth of field.)

 

So if you look at extension tubes, make sure they have the electronic contacts to pass through the communication between body and lens.

 

3.  The best way is also the most expensive way... this involves using a true "macro" lens.  Some zoom lenses have a "macro" range, and those lenses focus closer, but not nearly as close as a true macro lens (a true macro is never also a zoom lens).  The least expensive true macro (by Canon) that works with your camera is the Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM.  I think it's around $400 but it does produce incredibly sharp images.  True macro lenses are typically designed to resolve very fine detail and will typically appear to be noticeably sharper than other lenses.

 

There are more ways such as free-lensing, lens reversing mounts, etc. but those have problems of their own.  If you want something a bit more straight-forward I'd suggest:

 

a)  get the close-up diopter a if on a budget (usually $25-75 depending on brand, etc.) 

b)  if funds can stretch a little more, get the Canon 250D Close-up lens.  This is about $90 and it's hands-down the best close-up diopter on the market (nobody else makes a doublet configuration).  

 

BTW, close-up filters have to be ordered in the diameter that matches your lens' filter threads.  If you pop off the lens cap, usually the diameter is printed on the inside.  For the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II lens that came with most Canon T5 cameras, that size is a 58mm diameter thread.

 

c)  If you can afford to spend more money, the Canon EF-S 60-mm f/2.89 Macro USM is a much better solution.  But that's a full lens (not just a filter) and the cost is about $470 (unless you can catch a sale, buy a refurb, find it used, etc.)

 

Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da
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