topic Re: Focus issue with action shot in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Focus issue with action shot

jcreative — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 20:29:38 GMT

Hi everyone. We are having an ongoing issue with photographing running dogs. Almost every time, even with high shutter speed and in AI servo mode, the face of the dog is not in focus. We are focusing on the face, but it appears that the camera/lens is not locking on the face because, as you can see from this example, the tail is in focus, and the face isn't - leading me to believe the camera is not tracking the face. Can you also let us know which focus mode we should be in?

Canon T3i, stock 55-250 lens

Please help 🙂 Thank you

Re: Focus issue with action shot

kvbarkley — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 20:26:01 GMT

What camera and lens?

Re: Focus issue with action shot

jcreative — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 20:29:11 GMT

Sorry - t3i and the 55-250 lens that came with it

Re: Focus issue with action shot

kvbarkley — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 22:13:17 GMT

That rules out micro-focus adjust.

Re: Focus issue with action shot

jrhoffman75 — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 23:15:42 GMT

Are you putting center focus point on face and giving camera about ½ second with shutter depressed halfway to "do the math"?

Re: Focus issue with action shot

cicopo — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 00:09:22 GMT

Tend to agree with the above technique. AI Servo needs to be tracking for a bit in order to calculate where the AF thinks the target will be by the time the shutter does it's job.

Re: Focus issue with action shot

ScottyP — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 00:23:38 GMT

Something running towards you is hard for the autofocus to deal with. T3i also does not have terribly sophisticated autofocus. Try dogs running perpendicular to you, and practice panning. Holding the button halfway to let the AI servo autofocus work on it is good too.

Re: Focus issue with action shot

Waddizzle — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 00:34:56 GMT

Can't the T3i do back button focus, and lock focus onto a subject until you press the shutter?

Re: Focus issue with action shot

ebiggs1 — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 15:56:33 GMT

"Something running towards you is hard for the autofocus to deal with."

This is the problem.

This is the answer.

Put the, "... center focus point on face and giving camera about ½ second with shutter depressed halfway"

Plus, I would use just the center focus point. Turn all the others off.