topic Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

magmo — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 08:53:23 GMT

Hi, I have had a Canon EOS 50D for a long time and decided to upgrade to a 7D Mark II since this fitted my need for indoor sports photography. I also purchhased a used Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L USM. But I am not happpy with the images, they are not sharp but have a soft focus. I saw that a focus screen (EH-S) is available suitable for lenses with f2.8. Does anyone have experience of this focusing screen?

The images shoot indoor is usually at 1/800, f/2.8 and ISO 6400

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

Ray-uk — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 10:23:22 GMT

Changing the focus screen will have no effect on the sharpness of your pictures, the EH-S screen is designed to make manual focusing easier with wide aperture lenses. I have one fitted and the difference is minimal and not something I would recommend.

There could be a variety of reasons for your soft images, I think you need to take some ordinary shots (not action or sports) in a well lit situation using ISO 100 and a wide aperture, post one of those on here and we should be able to suggest how to overcome your problem.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

magmo — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 12:25:55 GMT

Thanks, here are 2 images taken today. Both are shoot with Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 L USM. Focus point has been on word "Canon" on the lens in the image (not the lens hood)

f2.8, ISO 100, 1/160 at 200 mm

Second image
f/4, ISO 100, 1/160 at 200mm

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

MikeSowsun — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 12:45:42 GMT

To me it just looks like low contrast, but the focus may be a little off as well.

Did the problem only start with the 7D Mk II and 70-200 combo?

Did you try Autofocus microadjustment (AFMA) with the camera and lens combo.

Do you shoot jpeg or RAW?

Do you have other cameras and lenses to swap out?

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

magmo — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 13:03:46 GMT

@MikeSowsun, I have not tested the lens with another camera. The lens has been in for service/repair at Canon and when they checked it out they said the optics where just fine, but also said that I could send in both the lens and my camera for a proper AFMA. I always shoot Jpeg and Raw.

Below is the same shoot but with the Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8 L USM

f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/200

Second image
f/4, ISO 100, 1/100

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

Ray-uk — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 13:18:17 GMT

I think you might get a small benefit from MFA for this lens because looking at the first image the "10" marking is slightly sharper than the "14" which is where you were focused.

However it doesn't look that bad to me and I believe a lot of your problems may be coming from the fact that the 7D2 shots will need slightly different post processing techniques than what you used for your 50D. If you are shooting raw then you can make these changes during PP but if you are shooting jpg then you will need to alter the in-camera settings to acive this.

I use both a 50D and a 7D2 both in raw and do have to treat the shots from each camera differently to get maximum quality, usually in terms of contrast and sharpness adjustments.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

magmo — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 13:27:38 GMT

Yes, I will send both the Camera and the 70-200 lens to Canon for a professional MFA. I dont think it is neccessary for the 24-70 lens. But in your opinion this is as good as it get and what I can expect from this combo, right?

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

Ray-uk — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 13:36:49 GMT

Yes, the results from the 24-70 look very good, certainly nothing wrong with the camera.

The differences between the 50D and the 7D2 in terms of image quality are not that large under normal conditions, what of course you do gain from the 7D2 is greatly improved functionality.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

magmo — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 13:42:45 GMT

Maybe I had too high expectasions on the camera. I honestly thought it would perform better in low light indoor shooting. Maybe I should go for the FF 6D Mark II instead?

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

ebiggs1 — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 14:28:56 GMT

"...what I can expect from this combo, right?"

Sometimes the hype exceeds reality. Send it in for piece of mind. As to whether you should buy the 6D Mk II, there is always trade offs. You may gain some better high ISO ability with the 6d2 while sacrificing some resolution. 6 fps vs 10 fps, etc. and so forth. So you need to weigh both systems to determine which satisfies your goals better. I don't like to, and rarely do, put cameras in a single classification but the 7D Mk II is probably the better sports camera.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

Waddizzle — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 19:36:38 GMT

@magmowrote:
Thanks, here are 2 images taken today. Both are shoot with Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 L USM. Focus point has been on word "Canon" on the lens in the image (not the lens hood)

f2.8, ISO 100, 1/160 at 200 mm

Second image
f/4, ISO 100, 1/160 at 200mm

There is probably nothing wrong. You are focusing on a fairly close subject using 200mm and f/2.8. You DOF is quite narrow.

http://www.dofmaster.com/doftable.html

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

magmo — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 08:39:30 GMT

@waddizzle, I disagree there are 2 versions. One with f2.8 and one with f4. If it is a DOF issue then the f4 version should have been in focus or at least better than the 2.8 version which is not the case.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

Waddizzle — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 09:40:29 GMT

@magmowrote:
@Waddizzle, I disagree there are 2 versions. One with f2.8 and one with f4. If it is a DOF issue then the f4 version should have been in focus or at least better than the 2.8 version which is not the case.

Do you know how to use and read that table?

It is not a matter of whether or not you agree with me. You are disagreeing with the facts. I do not know what distance your subject is, but your DOF is probably less than half of an inch with the f/4 lens, and even less at f/2.8.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

magmo — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 09:43:15 GMT

Anyway, if I focus on the word canon the focus should not be a bit back as displayed on the images

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

lly3988 — Tue, 20 Mar 2018 18:15:30 GMT

Did you shoot the images handheld or on a tripod ?

Have you tried liveview focusing ? Take some images with liveview focusing or even manual focusing and compare to the results of focusing using focus points.

Magnify the images taken with different focusing methods and compare them. Then you may consider whether you need to AFMA for individual lenses.

Try shooting in a controlled enviroment, may be avoid some lighting conditions that will reduce the contrast of the subject or even confuse the focusing sytem of the camera.

Focus screen will not help you in auto focus at all. Try manual focus with subject magnify in the liveview to acieve critical focus. If softness persists, you might also have problem with your lens(es). Glasses may have to be re-aligned by Canon.

Good luck.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

magmo — Tue, 20 Mar 2018 18:20:30 GMT

Hi, i used a tripod. I am not happy at all with the picture Quality/sharpness and really expected more from a lens like this. I will send it to Canon after this weekend and will post the result when I get it back

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

Waddizzle — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 12:16:31 GMT

@magmowrote:
Hi, i used a tripod. I am not happy at all with the picture Quality/sharpness and really expected more from a lens like this. I will send it to Canon after this weekend and will post the result when I get it back

You might want to send the camera and the lens, too, if you can.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

magmo — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 12:17:31 GMT

Hi, yes I spoke to the service center and I will send both the lens and the camera to them.

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

Waddizzle — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 12:19:00 GMT

@magmowrote:
Hi, i used a tripod. I am not happy at all with the picture Quality/sharpness and really expected more from a lens like this. I will send it to Canon after this weekend and will post the result when I get it back

I figured you used a tripod. What focusing mode were you using, One Shot or AI Servo? IS, on or off?

Re: Canon EOS 7D Mark II Soft focus

magmo — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 12:19:09 GMT

One Shot