topic Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong? in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

alyssal — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 13:49:21 GMT

I have an R7 with a 24-70mm lens. It does not perform well when used for photos. Images are often minimally blurred or fuzzy, especially if zoomed in all the way - if I compare them to my DSLR cameras like my 6Dii with 85mm. Am I doing something wrong? Is there settings I should change? Most of the time I shoot outdoors so my shutter speed is well into 320 - 2000, aperture is usually set to 3.2 - both cameras. My DSLR's have never failed me and I always get crisp images. But, even on objects standing still the R7 is just not getting it. Horse photos taken with both cameras to compare. So far my mirrorless journey has been a let down when it comes to getting solid, crisp images. Every time I use the R7 my images seem to be either blurred or fuzzed out, if that makes sense.

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

justadude — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 13:55:29 GMT

This is a long video, but highly recommended. This is an interview with Canon legend Technical Marketing Consultant Rudy Winston on the auto focus on Canon's mirrorless cameras. He explains every focus setting you want to know about... as well as those you may not care about. But the bottom line is, if this video does not address your focus questions, then it is because you weren't paying attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIxK8B-_Kn8

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

kvbarkley — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:45:36 GMT

Are you sure you are focusing in the right place?

What do you mean by "zooming in all the way?" If you are looking at 100%, there might be some fuzziness, but the higher resolution of the R7 means that in practice, when viewed at the same distance the differences should go away.

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

alyssal — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:09:59 GMT

Yes, that means I just use the R7 and the lens at about 70 mm on the lens, so the full distance it can go. In the horse photos I uploaded, I try and put the focus point on the horses eye, no matter what camera I'm using. It just seems the R7 just can't find it? Or that it'll get it, and then the next one it won't. So it's very hit and miss. Usually with the 6dii I only get a couple that are out of focus and usually everything else is crisp.

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

alyssal — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:18:22 GMT

To clarify on these horse examples specifically, I set it on his eye for the autofocus point with the R7. He is standing perfectly still, but even at a standstill a lot of times it would catch and not put perfect focus on his face area. The 6d Mark II, I have it on the multispot autofocus, that seems to really work well. I've tried different autofocus points with the R7, but it seems like it never gets the spot or it second guesses itself if the horse moves a little bit and I have to put it back. When I use it for video, it seems to track well for video. But for photos it'll feel like I'm getting it in focus, and when I zoom in on the camera it seems in focus. But when I put it in Lightroom, it looks fuzzy.

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

stevet1 — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:26:18 GMT

alyssal,

One thing you might do is take the same picture with your 24-70 at steps increasing your aperture one stop at a time.

See where you are happy with the "crispness".

f/3.2 might not be where you get your best results.

Steve Thomas

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

deebatman316 — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:49:28 GMT

Hi @alyssal are you shooting with native RF lenses or adapted EF lenses. If using adapted EF lenses what Mount adapter are you using. Is this the Canon brand Mount adapter or a 3rd Party Mount adapter. If these are EF lenses what are the Full & Complete Names of all the lenses you’re using on the EOS R7. Note older EF lenses are NOT fully compatible with all features are found in the EOS R series. Many of these old lenses use slower AF motors and are NOT COMPATIBLE with DPAF (Dual Pixel AF). They were released during a time where mirrorless cameras weren’t available. They were designed for PDAF (Phase Detect AF). Which is what DSLRs use during viewfinder shooting. Also no DSLRs could shoot more than 12 FPS. This wasn’t possible with DSLRs only mirrorless cameras can shoot 40 FPS.

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

alyssal — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:07:05 GMT

Hi, yes it is an RF 24 - 70. Both the lens, and the R7 were bought new from BH photo.

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

alyssal — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:09:27 GMT

I can do that. But the clients I have typically ask for a blurry background, and I try to go as low as I can without sacrificing the subject focus. It seems like 3.2 has been a sweet spot with the DSLRs, but maybe the R7 and this lens combo are different?

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

wq9nsc — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 17:12:46 GMT

An easy compare on the two photos is using the gravel the horse is standing on. In the R7 photo, sharpest focus is beyond the horse by a few feet instead of directly under the horse as in the DSLR photo. It would be interesting to know what the R7 was choosing as its focus point(s) when that image was captured.

Rodger

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

alyssal — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 18:17:24 GMT

Here's an unedited example from this shoot. Shot in RAW, exported from Lightroom with no edits, 72ppi. Most images shot with my R7 looked like this from that day. 1/2000, f3.2, ISO 160. 64mm lens zoom length for this specific photo. I always put my focal point on the horse's face but it still seems to miss. Thankfully I trusted my gut and switched to my DSLR so the entire session wasn't like this. I'm just baffled by why it's not fully committing to focus where I'm telling it to.

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

alyssal — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 19:11:07 GMT

I'll give it a watch, thanks.

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

stevet1 — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 19:11:37 GMT

alyssal,

Your aperture is a function of the lens, not of the camera. You are using two different cameras, yes, but you are also using two different lenses.

Steve Thomas

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

stevet1 — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 20:04:00 GMT

alyssal,

You are talking about using f/3.2 because your clients like a blurry background.

You are talking about depth of field. Depth of field is not only a factor of your aperture but also the distance you are from the subject, and also the distance of your subject from the background.

I'm including this just for illustrative purposes. I shot this at f/11 from about 2 feet away, with a shutter speed of 1/160, and ISO of 1000. The little car is in focus, but the jeep behind it is just a blur.

Steve Thomas

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

alyssal — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 20:04:55 GMT

Thank you. For shooting horse photos like this though, I need to be squatted about 30-40 feet straight back from the hip to not distort conformation of the horse, which is why I typically always use the 85 f1.8 with my 6dii, or the R7 with 28-70 zoomed to 64mm. Is the 6dii with the 85mm just a better choice for these types of photos then? Is there a different autofocus setting I should try with the R7? I usually use expand AF on both cameras, with main point on the face.

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

deebatman316 — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 20:14:25 GMT

@alyssal with Full Frame cameras such as the EOS 6D Mark II. You get a shallower depth of field at the same aperture as an APS-C camera such as the EOS R7. I don’t believe there is anything wrong with your camera. You may need to stop down to F/4 to get more in focus. Your camera can only focus at one thing at a time. Anything behind the plane of focus will be out of focus. Shooting a narrow aperture will often make pictures look soft or missed focus. When in reality it is in focus but since the depth of field is very narrow. It appears that the camera missed focus when it hasn’t.

Re: R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

stevet1 — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 20:35:29 GMT

alyssal,

Demetrius has given you some good advice.

In one of your earlier posts, you mentioned something about, if the horse shifts a little, you lose your plane of focus.

With an aperture of f/3.2, that plane is very shallow indeed. I too was going to suggest that you try an aperture of around f/4.5 or 5.

P.S. Your R7 shots aren't really that bad, you know. They're actually pretty good.

Steve Thomas