topic Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

My canon EOS R5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Shaneradin — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 18:29:51 GMT

hey all, I’m very lost and I really need help. I have a canon r5 with a 15-35 24-70 70-200 all lens are 2.8 rf. Whenever I shoot with the 70-200 or the 24-70 zoomed in my pictures are slightly blurry. Just to give context I sent canon my camera 5 times and they said nothing was wrong with it each time. The pictures are never under exposed and they are all shot at 2000 shutter speed. I really hope someone can help me.

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Danfaz — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:31:21 GMT

Hi, you'll be asked to upload some examples and what all your settings were so folks can try and diagnose.

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Shaneradin — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:42:47 GMT

Ahh yes sorry here are a few in a good drive.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10s0EAaRY2bTDOc6NmcARQM1a7OKk_XYx

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Shaneradin — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:43:17 GMT

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10s0EAaRY2bTDOc6NmcARQM1a7OKk_XYx

link to 3 examples of blurry photos from 3 different shoots.

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Tronhard — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 01:43:28 GMT

Hi.
I have downloaded your photos and my first question is why are you shooting at f/2.8 on a bright day? It appears to me that your photos actually do have a point of sharp focus, but your depth of field is very shallow, so a lot of the image you would likely want to be in focus is not within that DoF.
Given have moving subjects and in some cases (e.g. the two players) , I would have gone with something like f/8 - you will still get a decent background blur but you will get more of the subjects in focus.
For example, in the following image, taken with a Sony RX-10IV, which is has a 1" sensor and thus an equivalent f/stop is f/10: There is still good separate from the players and the grass behind, but the critical elements: both players and the goal posts, are within the DoF.

What kind of focus tracking, if any were you using please?

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Shaneradin — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 01:43:04 GMT

Hi, yes sometimes I bump it to f/4 but I like to stay at 2.8 to keep that really shallow depth of field. I’ve never had an issue with it before though. It was like all of the sudden my photos are blurry. My focus settings are set to track the eye of humans.

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Tronhard — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 01:49:22 GMT

Well, looking at the images, the eyes are in focus for both individuals and for the chap in the black shirt but your other characters are not. So, to me your camera is selecting focus correctly for one person, but with more than one, and such a shallow DoF, you are likely to get other people out of focus.
Do you shoot in RAW as well as JPG?

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Shaneradin — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 01:52:31 GMT

I shoot raw. On pictures with only one person in them, if you zoom in there is a slight blur to the pictures. That’s where I’m confused about.

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Tronhard — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 01:56:15 GMT

Could you please share the RAW images then.

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Shaneradin — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 01:57:51 GMT

Unfortunately I do not have the raw images. Is there anything else I can do to help u help me?

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Tronhard — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 03:26:49 GMT

OK... let's see. Let's see if we can start an experiment... Can you go out with your camera and take a set of RAW images of some static objects and some of people - they don't have to be moving, in fact having some static and some still might be a good idea.

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Shaneradin — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 02:01:06 GMT

Will do god bless you. Do I just reply to you back on this thread?

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Tronhard — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 02:09:03 GMT

Yes please.

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Shaneradin — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 01:05:55 GMT

Hey Trevor, did a shoot today. Here is the link to the some of the photos.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/159AAxnHqHH6JBqBBN58ydQiDhZqNhFhS

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

FloridaDrafter — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 03:39:21 GMT

Hello, Shaneradin!

I don't normally recommend a firmware update when someone is having issues with their camera, but in this case it may be applicable. You are still on 1.5.2 and IIRC, Canon addressed some focusing issues with later updates. Current for the R5 is 1.9.0.

I only downloaded 3 of your 6 posted Raw files (xxx9124, xxx9283 and xxx9429). 9429 looks great and you really won't get any better than that. To my eye, xxx9283 looks soft from motion blur even though your shutter was 1/800th, and I'll note that focus was on his shoulder (I turned on your focus points in DPP 4). Focus was squarely on the eye in xxx9429. Also, to my eye. xxx9124 looks almost oof as apposed to motion blur. I will note that the better shots were not wide open (f/2.8). So far it's been my experience that RF glass is pretty sharp wide open, which hasn't been true with DSLR's and EF glass, not all, but the majority of what I have. You may consider closing down your aperture a bit, and if need be, raise your ISO. The R5 will tolerate a lot of ISO with little to no noise, trust me, I shoot a lot of low light with the R5.

Trevor will probably have better tips as I am more of a birder and macro shooter now. I have done other types of photography, just not with the MILC's

Screenshot of 9429 showing Focus Box.

Screenshot of 9429 showing Focus Box on shoulder.

**EDIT** I will add that these screenies are zoomed to 100%.

Newton

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Tronhard — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 03:27:52 GMT

FWIW, I agree with my respected colleague Newton, I think the best thing is to do the firmware update. I have my R5 at 1.9.0 with no issues, if that is any help.

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Shaneradin — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 20:50:37 GMT

Hi all, here are some pictures I took today at a track meet after I had updated my camera. I took a few and left today because I couldn’t get much with blurry shots.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mE7y-HDjNa0yzAyL8eTe6SD0yNZLPfIV

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Tronhard — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 21:55:39 GMT

Looking at the images, I note that the dominant f/stop is f/2.8 which does not give a great depth of field. In the case of image 461, the focus point is behind the subjects face and onto her hair. In the majority of the others there is sharpness but it is razor thin. I usually would associate f/2.8 with subjects under which one has control, such as a portrait.
So, without prejudice, is this something (i.e. shooting sports with a f/2.8 aperture) you have always done with other cameras and had success, or is this a relatively new situation for you. Would you be prepared to try shooting at something like f/8 and see how that turns out, even if only as an experiment to eliminate that variable.

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Shaneradin — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 21:57:45 GMT

Yes I can do another shoot with higher aperture. And yes I’ve always shot 2.8 always and just recently starting to have an issue.

Re: My canon r5 is taking slightly blurry photos

Tronhard — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 22:09:53 GMT

Thanks for your fast response!
I would suggest, as an experiment, trying to shoot similar images with a higher f/stop and let's see how that works out.