topic 6D MK2 focussing issue in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

6D MK2 focussing issue

nikostis69 — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 14:31:19 GMT

Hi!

I'm experiencing an issue with focus that I can't figure out if it is a malfunction or wrong settings.

Current settings are:

ONE SHOT

Manual mode

Center Spot AF

Sometimes, I half-press shutter button to focus on my subject and when I fully press the shutter button, focus unlocks and wait till it focuses again and when is does, shutter is released.

This is a disaster if you focus and recompose to take the photo decause except for the lag, your focus is then on the recomposed spot and not on the subject.

Any clue?

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

shadowsports — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 14:35:06 GMT

Greetings,

What lens are you using?

Are you shooting Live View of through the view finder?

Stepping out, but others will reply shortly after you answer the questions.

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

nikostis69 — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 14:42:25 GMT

I'm shooting through VF

The problem was noticed while using 50mm / f1.4 but tested 24-105 / f4 and does the same thing.

It's not a constant behavior and this is what I can't understand.

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

Waddizzle — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 14:46:57 GMT

@nikostis69 wrote:
Hi!

I'm experiencing an issue with focus that I can't figure out if it is a malfunction or wrong settings.

Current settings are:
ONE SHOT
Manual mode
Center Spot AF

Sometimes, I half-press shutter button to focus on my subject and when I fully press the shutter button, focus unlocks and wait till it focuses again and when is does, shutter is released.

This is a disaster if you focus and recompose to take the photo decause except for the lag, your focus is then on the recomposed spot and not on the subject.

Any clue?

My camera does not attempt to refocus unless I release the half-press on the shutter. In One Shot mode, the default behavior is for both focus and exposure to lock together until the shutter is fired. But, you must maintain pressure on the shutter. AND, you must fire the shutter before the metering timer expires.

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

nikostis69 — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 15:00:23 GMT

Metering timer refers to shooting in LV.

For sure I don't release the shutter button

The greatest delay between AF locking and shooting is not more than 2-3s (in cases I'm waiting fot the "moment")

But this happens even if I have almost 0 delay.

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

Waddizzle — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 16:34:24 GMT

@nikostis69 wrote:
Metering timer refers to shooting in LV.

For sure I don't release the shutter button

The greatest delay between AF locking and shooting is not more than 2-3s (in cases I'm waiting fot the "moment")

But this happens even if I have almost 0 delay.

The metering timer is not exclusive to shooting in LV. The LV menu allows you to change it, while it is fixed for other modes.

But, that point is neither here nor there. Once you lock focus and exposure in One Shot mode with a half press, the camera will remain locked and loaded until you either fully press the button, release the button.

Once One Shot locks focus and exposure, you should see the focus confirmation icon in the viewfinder, the round ball. This icon remains for as long as you keep the shutter half pressed. The default behavior for the [AF-ON] will also keep focus and exposure locked.

Confirm whether or not you are seeing the focus confirmation icon while you recompose your shots. Your description of the issue is consistent with the shutter half press being released. Maybe you have a bad shutter button. You could also use the default behavior of the [AF-ON] button to keep focus and exposure locked as you recompose, too.

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

nikostis69 — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 16:51:00 GMT

The round ball appears in half-press but goes off in full-press and trying to focus again.

Having a faulty shutter button has crossed my mind...

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

wq9nsc — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 16:57:14 GMT

I have never used the 6D MK2 but I have owned and used a lot of Canon camera bodies and I think the operation of focus lock is pretty standard across bodies. As long as you are in 1 shot (not servo) AF mode, then once you achieve focus at half shutter depression it should stay locked.

Did it suddenly start randomly doing this? It could be an issue with the shutter release button itself where the contact is intermittent at the half depressed position causing it to drop out of focus lock mode. What is the focus indicator annunciator showing in the viewfinder while you are holding the shutter release at the halfway point?

Rodger

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

Ray-uk — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 17:01:25 GMT

It sounds to me that you are releasing the pressure slightly and losing the focus lock without realising it.

If you want to focus and recompose then you are much better setting the camera up for back button focus and taking focus off the shutter button.

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

Waddizzle — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 17:27:31 GMT

@nikostis69 wrote:
The round ball appears in half-press but goes off in full-press and trying to focus again.

Having a faulty shutter button has crossed my mind...

The focus locked icon should go away when you fully press the shutter, but not before you fully press down. Could you be lifting your finger slightly as you get ready to fully press the shutter button? This is easy to do when you move the camera to recompose a shot.

Like I pointed out in a previous post, you can use the default behavior of the [AF-ON] button, instead holding the shutter half pressed, to keep focus and exposure locked.

Also, you [may] want to go to C.Fn.I-8 and select Spor Metering as a metering mode that locks exposure after focus. The default setting is only for evaluative metering to lock exposure.

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

nikostis69 — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 17:17:23 GMT

@wq9nsc wrote:

Did it suddenly start randomly doing this? It could be an issue with the shutter release button itself where the contact is intermittent at the half depressed position causing it to drop out of focus lock mode. What is the focus indicator annunciator showing in the viewfinder while you are holding the shutter release at the halfway point?

Rodger

I have the camera since July 2019 but I noticed this issue the last month. I'm quite sure it didin't occur from the very beginning.

The indicator in the VF appears in half-press showing focus lock but goes off when pressing all the way.

@Ray-uk wrote:

It sounds to me that you are releasing the pressure slightly and losing the focus lock without realising it.

If you want to focus and recompose then you are much better setting the camera up for back button focus and taking focus off the shutter button.

I never had a similar issue in my 5-year career with any of my previous or present bodies (700D, 70D, 6D)

I even have burst always on controlling by my press if I burst or single shoot!

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

nikostis69 — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 17:23:32 GMT

@Waddizzle wrote:
The focus locked icon should go away when you fully press the shutter, but not before you fully press down. Could you be lifting your finger slightly as you get ready to fully press the shutter button? This is easy to do when you move the camera to recompose a shot.

The icon should go off AFTER shutter release. Instead I get the icon off but no shutter release until it focuses again.

There is no way it is my fault as this is the way I'm professionally shooting for 5 years and never had an issue before.

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

Waddizzle — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 17:36:47 GMT

Maybe the shutter in the 6D2 has a different touch, although it feels identical to the 6D to me. Try test shots using the [AF-ON] button, but I can understand not wanting to change your flow when you're shooting.

If all else fails, contact Canon Support and have them check the shutter. It sounds like it should still be under warranty.

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

nikostis69 — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 17:47:43 GMT

I'm not used to using additional buttons when I shoot so this would be a big thing to start doing.

I feel confident that I know my equipment but I just wanted to see if there is anything in the settings I might be missing...

I really think it is a malfunction but it's always good to ask for an extra opinion.

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

wq9nsc — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 17:58:35 GMT

I agree that it sounds like equipment malfunction, I am not aware of any setting that would change the behavior of the focus lock function.

I have tried but failed to like back button focus, it never grew to feel natural for me and using two camera bodies at fast moving sports events I don't need any additional complications which is what back button caused for me. I do make good use of the handy focus stop buttons on Canon's long white telephotos which are extremely useful.

Rodger

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

Waddizzle — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 18:09:09 GMT

@wq9nsc wrote:
I do make good use of the handy focus stop buttons on Canon's long white telephotos which are extremely useful.

Rodger

Having an [AF-OFF] button function is very useful. Except not every lens has one of those switches, which is exactly why I like to program the "BBF' button to be [AF-OFF]. It causes many people to scratch their head and argue that I should use it to turn on AF, not to turn off AF.

Re: 6D MK2 focussing issue

wq9nsc — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 21:48:46 GMT

Ernie,

That is the same way I use the AF button although I admit I didn't think about it until I had my camera for over a year 😞

I reassigned it on both bodies after I realized I didn't like BBF. I don't know why, but the stop buttons on the long lens seem handier to me when shooting but for most sports events the 70-200 2.8 lives on the second body and back button stop works great with that setup.

One of the new features for the 1DX III is the smart AF points setup button that allows fast selection of AF points but during a game I rarely want to change the AF setup while focus, lock, and recompose is very fast and works for me and gets used frequently each event.

Rodger