topic Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP! in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

KevinG1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 02:05:48 GMT

Im new to photography, started this year with a rebel t6 that I outgrew fast. I seemed to learn pretty quick and have always shot in manual mode. Quality of my t6 photos are great! Clear, crisp, and so on.

decided to upgrade to a 80d, and picked one up through canon refurbished. Well the majority of my shots come out blurry. For example, i do car photography {stills} and lets say the wheels are out of focus, or the lights... cant seem to get consistent clear crisp photos.

Not sure if its me, or the camera. Seems all of my lenses will do it. Mostly shoot with the canon 50mm 1.4 and nothing comes out clear under f2.8. Best around 4.

Ive tried everything. Tripod, high shutter speed, manual focus.. live view, view finder, tried all different focus point methods. The one wierd thing I noticed is when i used live view today, it showed the image on the screen perfectly in focus and crisp. As soon as the shutter went of it became blurry. That was on a tripod, using 2 sec delay.

Hope someone can help me...

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

Waddizzle — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 07:14:38 GMT

Can you post a sample photo, which includes EXIF data? Have you tried a different lens? Have you tried to contact Canon?

I have bought a couple of 80D cameras from the refurbished store, and they have been in great shape. Mine came with the 18-55mm STM lens, which focused very nicely. Items in the refurb store have a one year warranty.

You say that you like to use Manual shooting mode. Give the Green [A] mode a try, with a couple of different lenses, on a bright sunny day. If the photos are still bad, then contact Canon about getting it repaired or exchanged.

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

KevinG1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 10:05:04 GMT

Yes im in contact with canon now, but there response is slow.

I shot a few in CA today that seemed to make it better, but still have out of focus shots.

Ive tried my canon 70-200 f4, 50mm 1.4, and the 18-55. All seem to have the same problem.

Its been raining for the last 3 days. Going to take some better photos today when the sun is out.

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

ScottyP — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 10:41:59 GMT

When you hear "new to photography" and "using only manual" followed by a statement about a problem it raises a question of whether the 3 things are related. Most new shooters start in auto or P then move on to using Av and Tv. But you seem to have been getting by in M on your T6i so maybe there is something else going on.

Depth of field. You are shooting big open apertures. Are you fully aware of the effect that has on depth of field? There is almost no way to get a whole car in focus shooting from 10 feet away if you are at f/2.8 or f/1.4 because the depth of field in focus is very shallow and parts of the car will be blurry. Like when you shoot a person close up at f/1.4 and you can only get one eye or the other to be in focus.

Autofocus. The 80d has a considerably more complicated AF with a lot more AF points. Are you selecting a single AF point (like the center one maybe) or are you allowing the camera to decide what to focus on? If you let the camera decide you might be disappointed it didn't make the choice you were anticipating. Try selecting only one active SF point and put that point on the thing you want in focus and see if it will in fact be in focus.

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

KevinG1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 11:14:42 GMT

Thanks for the response! Ive tried multiple shooting modes and they all do the same. Ive shot in tv ,av, ca, and A+ with all the same results.

The first photo shoot i did, I couldnt get any of my shots in focus until i was about f8.

As. For my shooting methods... probably not the best... i set my iso as low as possible, to keep my shutter speed about 1/30 and higher, usually much faster then that. Then mess with the aperture to go as wide as possible.

Ive used every af method, with different combos of auto focus modes, and manual focus.

I compare this to all the photos ive taken with my t6. Maybe my methods are bad now that i have a more advanced camera?

What i see in the view finder and in live view mode, always come out different once the shutter is pressed. Even on a tripod and shooting 2 sec delay

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

KevinG1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 11:17:52 GMT

I could shoot my t6 with canon 50mm 1.8 wide open every single time and be crisp and spot on with focus

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

KevinG1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 12:19:35 GMT

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

KevinG1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 12:24:02 GMT

photo above was shot in CA or manual, i forgot what one that i used. basically took 2 shots, one in CA and one in manual with the same settings that was used in CA. it was dark out, and this is what i used. 1/60, f2.8 iso is 800, no flash, no tripod. used my canon 50mm 1.4 lens.

now if i was to take that same shot with my T6 and 50mm 1.8, i could take it at 1.8 and not have any problems with sharpness. Hope this photo helps.... but thats the majority of how my photos look. unless i bring my f stop up to 4-8

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

TTMartin — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 14:48:43 GMT

@KevinG1 wrote:

Unfortunately you saved the above image without any EXIF information, so it it hard to tell what is actually going on.

The photo does seem to be front focused. That can be caused by a couple of things, the most common would be for you to be using an auto AF point selection mode and the camera is picking up and focusing on the white lines in front of the car. Another, but, seemingly less likely in this case would be that your lenses need micro focus adjustment on your 80D. I'm guessing it is understanding the more complex AF system of the 80D that is giving you issues rather than a problem with the AF system that needs adjustment.

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

TTMartin — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 14:56:40 GMT

Here are a couple of resources that might give you some help.

Canon EOS AF Microadjustment Guidebook

A Look at The Canon Autofocus System Part 1

A Look at The Canon Autofocus System Part 2

A Look at The Canon Autofocus System Part 3

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

KevinG1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 16:05:49 GMT

I get the same results using different lenses. I tried micro focus adjustments with my canon 50mm 1.4 and it just seemed to get worse

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

TTMartin — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 16:16:39 GMT

@KevinG1 wrote:
I get the same results using different lenses. I tried micro focus adjustments with my canon 50mm 1.4 and it just seemed to get worse

Please take the time to review the links I provided, even if they don't solve your problem, they will make you a better photographer.

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

KevinG1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 16:24:39 GMT

Another weird thing that i just noticed... not sure if its normal or i have a setting off?

Took the same photo, same settings, one using the view finder, one using live view.

When im in live view, the shutter speed sound is much slower then when using the view finder. When using the view finder my image comes out blurry. When in live view, image is clear.

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

KevinG1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 16:38:53 GMT

Yes ill definitely take a look at those links you posted! Appreciate all the help i can get

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

jrhoffman75 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 16:51:08 GMT

If you are getting sharp images in LiveView but unsharp through viewfinder with more than one lens it is very likely a camera problem. LiveView focuses right on the sensor. The viewfinder uses an indirect ethod of focusing (as discussed in the links).

It should be sent back.

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

KevinG1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 17:02:26 GMT

Thanks for the help! Im really struggling with this camera, and feel like it shouldn't be this difficult to use

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

ScottyP — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 17:57:44 GMT

1/60 is a slow shutter for handholding a 50mm lens on a crop sensor. The general rule of thumb for full frame sensors would be a shutter speed at least as fast as the reciprocal of the focal length. On a crop sensor you must multiply the minimum speed x 1.6. So a 50mm lens on a crop needs at least 1/80 second or faster. A 100 mm lens on a crop needs at least 1/160 second or faster. At 200mm you'd need 1/320 or faster shutter.

Here it is front focusing though. It could be the AF system making a wrong guess. See if the AF system can focus right by simplifying things. Use your f/2.8 again but go into the AF point selection and select ONLY the center af point to be active so you can tell the camera what to focus on. Either use a tripod or use a plenty fast shutter speed (1/100 minimum or if possible faster like 1/200 or 1/400 if there's enough light). Place that selected af point on the subject and take the picture. See if it focused where you told it to. If it just can't do that then you probably have a problem with the camera. If it does focus you know the problem is not the camera.

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

ScottyP — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 18:02:50 GMT

One other thing is do the test on a non reflective surface. If the car has a nice mirror finish then the camera may try to focus on a reflection instead of the car. Use something non shiny and something with clear contrast and edges (not a plain smooth wall) as the subject.

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

KevinG1 — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 18:25:28 GMT

I did know that rule about shutter speed, but didnt think of it as a 1.6 multiplier. The photo i just posted wasnt the best choice in showing the problem im having. Its been raining for 3 days and been very dark. I usually shoot with fast shutter speeds.

Even on a cloudy day it still cant get focus. Ive been using single point and putting it rite in the middle of the car, and tried moving it to the hood, or the wheels same outcome.

Re: Refurbished 80d...blurry out of focus photos.. HELP!

Waddizzle — Sat, 28 Oct 2017 00:02:17 GMT

@KevinG1 wrote:
I did know that rule about shutter speed, but didnt think of it as a 1.6 multiplier. The photo i just posted wasnt the best choice in showing the problem im having. Its been raining for 3 days and been very dark. I usually shoot with fast shutter speeds.

Even on a cloudy day it still cant get focus. Ive been using single point and putting it rite in the middle of the car, and tried moving it to the hood, or the wheels same outcome.

Your shutter speed is WAY too slow, IMHO. Do not be afraid to raise the ISO some., like to 400 or 800. I’m guessing that it may start to show too much noise by ISO 3200. The camera could be bad, but I would look at yourself as being at fault before you blame the camera. Put a priority on using as fast a shutter speed as what is practical.

Also, use One Shot focusing mode until you become more familiar with the camera, and general photography as a whole. Learn how to properly hold the camera. Read up on “ Exposure Triangle “ and “ Depth of Field “. Read the camera’s instruction manual. You can download a PDF from Canon Support.

I hate to say it, but you really do not know what you are doing, besides pressing the shutter button.