topic Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4 in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

DhandaNot — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 15:42:24 GMT

Focus is perfectly on the eye which was detected by the camera. But the image is not in focus. Why? I have enclosed the unprocessed JPG file too (cannot share RAW here). This was shot with the camera using a beanbag.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

wq9nsc — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 16:00:14 GMT

Did you take more than one frame to compare how the camera was handling this scene? In this one, the lens is focused around 1/3 of a meter too close to the camera based upon my read of the terrain in focus in front of the subject.

The only mirrorless camera I use is a smaller Canon because I am currently sticking with 1DX III DSLR bodies for sports but on very rare occasion I will find an image where one of my 1DX series bodies missed focus when I had the focus point exactly where I wanted it. I suspect this is due to the predictive algorithms used because I am shooting fast moving subjects and it is extremely rare, for example one image out of 1,200 I shot between two bodies at a high school football playoff game Saturday. I would be concerned if it is frequently missing correct focus and especially if it is consistently missing focus on the same subject and setting because that would indicate an issue with the camera or its firmware. But camera focus is dealing with a lot of variables combining both electronic processing and mechanical movement of the lens element at extremely high speed so there will be a few misses and that will happen both with mirrorless using the image sensor to drive the AF subsystem or with a DSLR where a dedicated AF sensor is used.

Rodger

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

Waddizzle — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 16:10:53 GMT

I see many things that I would do differently if I were having issues capturing sharp photos.

Start disabling things. You have too many unknowns at play. I would recommend disabling or changing the highlighted settings.

First and foremost, disable the IS in the lens. You are using a form of camera support.

I would also open up the aperture and raise the shutter speed to at least 1/1600.

I had previously asked whether or not the lens has a filter. If so, what type? Take some test shots without the filter.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

Waddizzle — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 16:19:21 GMT

“ I would be concerned if it is frequently missing correct focus and especially if it is consistently missing focus on the same subject and setting because that would indicate an issue with the camera or its firmware. But camera focus is dealing with a lot of variables combining both electronic processing and mechanical movement of the lens element at extremely high speed so there will be a few misses and that will happen both with mirrorless using the image sensor to drive the AF subsystem or with a DSLR where a dedicated AF sensor is used. “

Great advice. Not every photo will be perfect. There are a lot of settings and variables that can make a difference between a sharp photo and a soft one.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

DhandaNot — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 09:48:07 GMT

I was sitting in the car and the subject was about 15 meters away. 1/640 was fast enough. The F stop was 7.1 as I wanted the Patagonian Mara mother and kids all in focus.

I cannot understand why you ask me to disable animal detection and eye detection. I was shooting in the wild and that mode is meant precisely for that photography.

I am sorry I am not able to digest your recommendations. 🙏

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

DhandaNot — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 09:52:58 GMT

This photo is from a series and quite a few shots were out of focus and it was after a while it got the focus right. That morning I had many instances where the gear was missing the focus and that too on stationary subjects like bird sitting on a perch.

What got me puzzled is that day the camera was missing focus on many "sitting ducks".

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

Waddizzle — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:58:15 GMT

“ I was sitting in the car and the subject was about 15 meters away. 1/640 was fast enough. The F stop was 7.1 as I wanted the Patagonian Mara mother and kids all in focus.

I cannot understand why you ask me to disable animal detection and eye detection. I was shooting in the wild and that mode is meant precisely for that photography.

I am sorry I am not able to digest your recommendations. 🙏 “

The fact that you have started a new thread about the identical topic tells me a lot. it says that you disagree with the advice you have been given. You won’t even say if you are using a lens filter or not.

If you choose to ignore the advice and suggestions that you are given by myself and others, then I don’t know what to say. My participation in this discussion has ended.

Good luck resolving your issues.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

DhandaNot — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 15:24:51 GMT

Yes, I started a new thread for similar problem. This thread had a new photo on which the problem was seen. The photos shared in earlier post were with TC used on the lens.

The photo in this thread is shot with 500 mm Prime alone, no TC. I started this thread because I wanted this particular photo to be analysed.

I am sorry I missed the question about the filter. No there is no filter on the lens (neither in the front nor the drop in type) I would never use filter for this lens and the wildlife / bird / action photography.

You asked me to remove the IS on the lens, I must say I found it difficult to accept. I have used this lens for some 8 years now (on 7D Mii & R6) and I have not seen the kind of problem I have seen now when I started using R1. I have been in the field with many others and I have never heard of this advise to switch off the IS on the lens. With birds and animals as subject even when one uses beanbag or tripod the camera needs to be moved to keep the subject that is also moving either walking or flying in the frame.

My guess is that, I have misunderstood some setting in R1 which caused this focus issue.

The Patagonian Mara was a plain simple subject with a clear eye, decent light, I would not expect even the simplest cameras to miss it, but the R1 with 500L did miss.

I look forward to inputs and suggestions from everyone, including you. I sincerely thank you for your time in perusing my post and responding to it.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

DhandaNot — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 15:34:52 GMT

As I said I find it hard to accept the suggestion to switch off the IS, I also disagree with the suggestion to raise the shutter speed to at least 1/1600.

When faced with light challenge when birds are found sitting in dense foliage, I have taken usable shots with the same lens on a monopod with much slower shutter speeds.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

wq9nsc — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 15:46:32 GMT

Just pondering, but as a sports photographer I wonder if eye detect biased AF is the proper tool in a lot of situations? The camera AF system processes the scene and drives the AF system very quickly but the extra processing required in eye detect does add overhead and time and in a situation like this where the subject is distant and the depth of field is shallow but not crazily so, maybe the AF system will provide better results focusing on the subject as a whole (or a large part thereof) rather than having the focus system biased towards identifying and focusing upon the subject's eye.

For portraiture, except for special creative shots, eye biased focus is clearly the way to go. For the type of fast action sports I shoot, often the subject's eye won't be visible and using a larger frame selection area the camera would pick the wrong eye.

Our current level of cameras with AI enabled/enhanced features offer a huge array of tools but it doesn't mean using a specific one is the best for the situation even when it is available. Experienced aircraft mechanics have a huge chest filled with tools but they don't use the newest and coolest one for every job, just the tool(s) that are most appropriate for the situation.

Rodger

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

deebatman316 — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 16:35:54 GMT

First of all what is the Full and complete name of the lens you’re using. Canon has made multiple versions of that lens. Older lenses aren’t fully compatible with all features in the EOS R series. They simply lack the hardware to do so. This is what you maybe seeing. Older versions of the lens DO NOT support DPAF or Eye Detect AF. The AF motor is not fast enough to keep up with fast action. Also the aperture motor is also too slow for such high fps. That the camera can achieve but the lens simply cannot. Also what mount adapter are you using Canon or 3rd Party. If Canon which exact mount adapter you using.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

Waddizzle — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 20:54:42 GMT

Last try. All we are trying to do is determine if your gear is working properly. I have one final suggestion. Turn off the electronic shutter and the continuous-high drive mode. The AF in the lens cannot keep up.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

johnrmoyer — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 03:19:17 GMT

I disagree with the advice to disable IS on the lens. Most lenses can work properly on a tripod with IS enabled.

When shooting wildlife from an automobile window, I find that I need to turn off the engine or the vibration from the engine will sometimes be at a frequency that IS cannot handle.

I see from metadata that your JPEG was produced by "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 15.0 (Windows)" and is not the JPG file created by the camera.

If your lens is very old, then it is possible that the IS on the lens cannot handle being used with a tripod, but for most lenses it is fine to leave IS on.

The red box indicating focus seems to me not quite centered on the eye which happens when either the camera or the animal moved or eye detection failed.

I have EOS R5 and not R1 and I have EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +2x III and on EF 500L, so some of what I write might not apply to your equipment.

This photo was made from my car window handheld with no beanbag. The bird was moving and one shot out of six seemed good enough to keep to me. For the others, there was some motion blur or the bird moved in a way the camera could not track while focusing or the bird's head was turned. Even if the red box is on the eye, the bird might have moved between the time the position of the red box is saved and the time when the photo is made. The raw file was processed using Canon DPP software.

https://www.rsok.com/~jrm/2025Oct17_birds_and_cats/2025oct16_egret_IMG_4613c.html

Great Egret (Ardea alba) with fish at Lake Thunderbird in Norman, Oklahoma, United States on October 16, 2025

Camera Model Name	Canon EOS R5
Lens Model	EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +2x III
Focal Length	800 mm
Exposure Time	1/500
ISO	500
F Number	11.0
Camera Temperature	37 C
Measured EV	13.50
Measured EV 2	26.5
Focus Distance Upper	50.04 m
Focus Distance Lower	39.39 m
File:Other	FileName	IMG_4613.dr4
CanonVRD:Image	AngleAdj	0.3
CanonVRD:Image	WhiteBalanceAdj	Daylight
CanonVRD:Image	PictureStyle	Fine Detail
CanonVRD:Image	ColorSaturationAdj	1
CanonVRD:Image	UnsharpMaskStrength	2
CanonVRD:Image	UnsharpMaskFineness	2
CanonVRD:Image	UnsharpMaskThreshold	2
CanonVRD:Image	LuminanceNoiseReduction	1
CanonVRD:Image	ChrominanceNoiseReduction	1
CanonVRD:Image	DLOSetting	60
CanonVRD:Image	DPRAWMicroadjustBackFront	0
CanonVRD:Image	DPRAWMicroadjustStrength	8
CanonVRD:Image	CropRotatedOriginalWidth	8220
CanonVRD:Image	CropRotatedOriginalHeight	5507
CanonVRD:Image	CropX	381
CanonVRD:Image	CropY	642
CanonVRD:Image	CropWidth	7200
CanonVRD:Image	CropHeight	4800
CanonVRD:Image	CropAngle	0.3

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

Waddizzle — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 05:59:08 GMT

“ I disagree with the advice to disable IS on the lens. Most lenses can work properly on a tripod with IS enabled. “

The intent of the suggestion to disable IS and other AF settings was for troubleshooting, to determine if the gear is working properly, There are too many moving parts.

The suggestion to dramatically increase shutter speed and disable the high speed frame rate are corrections. I consider these to be “must do” changes.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:43:24 GMT

There are several reasons to disable IS, besides, already mentioned, trying to figure out where exactly the problem is.

-When on a tripod(did you use a support/beanbag in the car?) the IS can work against you, some lenses detect this but not all and general recommendation is to turn of IS on a tripod.

-When panning(not in this case but your other posts were BIF) the IS works against the movement of the lens, it's designed for small movements/vibrations. For horizontal panning you can use setting 2(if the older lens has this), this only corrects vertical movement but my birds always go up and down as well as left/right. Besides, with higher shutterspeeds IS is not needed.

But I agree with you, this shot should have been in focus.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

DhandaNot — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:53:45 GMT

I am not a sports photographer. I am a wildlife photographer. 🙏

Canon R1 does have Vehicle Detection as a mode (similar to animals and eyes) So, if you are shooting car racing then you could try that.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

DhandaNot — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:55:18 GMT

Are there any Wildlife photographers who can have a look and advise?

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

wq9nsc — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 13:06:26 GMT

Wildlife and sports (and I shoot wildlife also) are the most demanding subjects/environment for a camera. And the considerations about relying upon eye detect apply to both scenarios. Eye detect focus is extremely reliable WHEN you have a significant part of the frame filled with the target eye which is the situation with fashion, most theater, and journalism situations. With wildlife, you are often at extreme focal length yet still only have a small part of the sensor "covered" by the eye and even with IS there is often going to be subject movement along with eye blinks. Using a more traditional focus setup gives the camera a lot more data to work with instead of forcing it to try to focus upon an eye when that is difficult. Photography is a hobby with me, my consulting work is in risk management and it applies to photography also where you want to maximize the probability of a good capture and minimize the possibility of a fail. That means using the best setup available for a given situation and there isn't one setup that covers all situations within sports or wildlife.

The image below was captured with a 1DX III using an EF 800 f5.6 with a 1.4X extender shooting over a bit of land heated by the sun so there were "atmospheric" issues. But the camera had no trouble tracking the eagle and keeping it in focus using an AF setup that gave it plenty of data for both tracking and precise focusing.

Rodger1DX III EF 800 f5.6 + 1.4X 1/1,600, f8, ISO 500

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

DhandaNot — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 07:47:04 GMT

I will try Wildlife photography without eye detection to check and compare.

Re: Why is the image not in focus - Gear: Canon R1 and EF500L F4

jrhoffman75 — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 14:06:20 GMT

@DhandaNot wrote:

I will try Wildlife photography without eye detection to check and compare.

Here is what Canon states.