topic Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

Kiddyboy — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 05:37:26 GMT

Hello

New to Canon as my 6D MK2 is my first Canon and only had since Xmas.

Having real problems with my photo's being less than satisfactory.I just cant get anything crisp

example as below,settings are

ISO-160

F5.6

1/400 - Aperture priority mode

single focus point and on auto.

subject about 4Metres away with Canon 100-400 lens set to max.

any advise would be greatly appreciated.

David

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

wq9nsc — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 15:05:03 GMT

Looks to me like the lens is front focusing because the sharpest point is the dirt in the foreground. Use the micro AF adjust procedure in the manual to dial in the focus. I use a slightly different process to quickly dial in a new lens and during setup I shoot three frames at several adjustments each side of 0 which lets me quickly zero in on the exact point.

Also use as much shutter speed as you can, IS helps but when light permits I prefer going with shutter over IS.

Rodger

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

ebiggs1 — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 15:05:19 GMT

"any advise would be greatly appreciated."

Of course!

"subject about 4Metres away with Canon 100-400 lens set to max."

What does that mean, set to max?

"ISO-160

F5.6

1/400 - Aperture priority mode

single focus point and on auto."

Your setting are not horrible but not great either. If you were using Av than you need more ISO to get the SS up to 1/1000+.

ISO 400+

f5.6

1/1000 is now possible.

When I do photography like you were trying to do I almost never let the ISO go below 400 and use ISO 800 a lot even more sometimes. This keeps the SS up where it needs to be for long tele lenses.

Another possibility you just missed focus but more likely you let the camera move because the SS was too slow. Two things to keep in mind, 400mm hand held isn't easy and requires practice to get good at it. Second 100% crop will show every mistake, every little thing.

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

ebiggs1 — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 15:12:02 GMT

" Use the micro AF adjust procedure in the manual to dial in the focus."

This is possible but at this point, a new to photography person, don't do this a s a first thought solution. It can do more harm than good if you don't fully understand it. Adjust your settings as suggested, higher ISO and Av lens set to f5.6 and practice, practice practice.

BTW, use One shot and just the center point. Turn the others off.

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

shadowsports — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 15:17:02 GMT

Hi,

A couple of the guys who post regularly here have this lens. I don't, but know its well liked.

What I see, it looks like the lens front focused in the image and didn't capture the intended subject.

Normally, we tell people to capture more than one photo and with different settings. A hand held shot at full zoom even with IS and 1/400 might not be as sharp as a one shot with Av at f8 or more and with a tripod.

Try taking sets of 3 shots with different settings. This will make it easier when evaluating your images.

**Edit, everyone has beat me to it... what I get for making coffee....

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

kvbarkley — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 16:10:45 GMT

Can you show us the image with the focus points highlighted? I think that will be just as instructive for you as us.

As Shadowsports said, it looks like it focused on the rock in front of the bird.

AF will focus on the closest thing in one of the selected focus points.

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

wq9nsc — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 16:43:30 GMT

Rick wrote:

"**Edit, everyone has beat me to it... what I get for making coffee.... "

I learned long ago not to respond to questions without first making and consuming coffee Or as an old college prof used to quip, the early bird may get the worm OR that early bird might mistake cat excrement for a worm if not fully awake 🙂

And I agree with KV about focus point(s), any image with a focus question needs to include those.

Rodger

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

jrhoffman75 — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 17:51:11 GMT

DPP reports focus point on bird.

EXIF data reports AI Servo. In my experience that can sometimes cause problems if subject isn't really moving. There isn't a true focus lock and camera shake can be confused as subject motion.

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

ebiggs1 — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 18:06:11 GMT

If not used properly and understood properly Ai-servo can cause lots of problems. Use One shot until you fully understand your gear. Keep the more advanced stuff for later as you become more familiar how stuff works.

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

Waddizzle — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 18:06:34 GMT

”example as below,settings are
ISO-160
F5.6
1/400 - Aperture priority mode
single focus point and on auto.

subject about 4Metres away with Canon 100-400 lens set to max.”

First of all, if you are using a UV or CPL filter, then stop using it. For whatever reason that lens really does not like filters of any kind. It does not seem to mind using Clear protective filters. I use B+W Nano filters.

Your shutter is way too slow for wildlife, particularly small jittery wildlife. You want shutter speeds of 1/1000 or much faster. Often times smaller animals may appear to be still, when in fact they trembling in fear like a tuning fork. Your eye does not see it but the camera does.

If you are using Av mode, then you will want to manually set ISO to 800 - 1600. Set it high enough to yield shutter speeds that are fast enough for the lighting conditions.

Shooting wildlife is challenging. You need to have a good feel for how the camera focuses, and how a given lens responds to the camera. Fortunately, the EF 100-400mm II focuses much faster than your camera.

I concur with using only the center AF point and One Shot mode until you learn the camera’s AF system But those settings are best used for non-action like your example. So for now, stick to static shots like your example.

As far as the bird not being focus, ignore it. Not every shot you take will nail focus. Keeper rates can vary widely from photographer to the next. If you are just starting out, do not expect National Geographic worthy shots every time you take shot. Maybe more like 1 or 3 out of 100 might have the potential.

Be aware of your depth of field at all times. At 400mm, a subject 4 meters away will have a pretty narrow depth of field length. Forwards and backwards body lean could have moved the DOF off of the bird.

I would chalk this shot up as missed focus. Hand held shooting wildlife is really an advanced technique. I would advise using a monopod for these type of static shots. I use one for nearly all wildlife photography, except for birds in flight.

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

coachboz68 — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 17:20:10 GMT

@Waddizzle wrote:

Your shutter is way too slow for wildlife, particularly small jittery wildlife. You want shutter speeds of 1/1000 or much faster. Often times smaller animals may appear to be still, when in fact they trembling in fear like a tuning fork. Your eye does not see it but the camera does.

Just another possible point to support the above quote... to me, the bird's left foot/leg seem to be far more blurred than the right, indicating movement. And if you see that much blur from movement at 1/400 on that left foot, then there's a good chance it was doing one of those twitchy speed-of-light movements that those little birds do. I cannot tell for certain, but some of the dirt on the same plane as the bird seems to be in focus (as well as slightly in front), therefore, personally, before I started the microadjustments, if you find that situation again, stick a quarter in the ground where the bird is, shoot it again using center-point one shot, and see what that looks like. Depending on those results, I'd then move to the microadustments.

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

Waddizzle — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 17:45:10 GMT

The AF point may be on the bird, but the DOF at 4 meters (13 feet) is only 1 inch.

This shot is simply missed focus. Like I said above, he could have leaned back one inch, and the shot is OOF.

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

ebiggs1 — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 19:50:42 GMT

Or a combination of both

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

Waddizzle — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 02:35:32 GMT

I just happen to have a similar shot with the same camera, lens, and distance to subject. The only difference is that this wa shot at 100mm, instea of 400mm. The trooper was less than 10 feet away! I focused on his nose.

The original shot of his face straight out of the camera did not look so good. His hat, nose, and profile were sharp, but most of his face was soft due to the very narrow DOF, and noisy due to the lack of light. But I loved the blown out background.

So, I darkened the shadows just enough to almost completely hide the details of his face. I liked the way the light caught his right eye. I could not let this shot go to waste.

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

Waddizzle — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 02:41:12 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
Or a combination of both

That is the way I see it. One part critter shake, and one part body shake. Nothing to see here.

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

Kiddyboy — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 08:24:58 GMT

G'day guys

I appreciate the responce and have taken on board.

I do have a UV filter on the lens ,that i have now removed,and reset the camera to default as was new.

Made some adjustments as suggetsed and already there's a vast improvement in quality,what i failed to mention was that the photo taken was with a tripod,a cheap and nasty free give away one,but a tripod none the less.Not the reason why but not all that helpfull either.

Do have a more sturdy one on order awaiting delivery.

Going to spend the weekend learning to walk with the camera,not run .

Cheers guys

David

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

Waddizzle — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 11:47:31 GMT

@Kiddyboy wrote:
G'day guys
I appreciate the responce and have taken on board.

I do have a UV filter on the lens ,that i have now removed,and reset the camera to default as was new.
Made some adjustments as suggetsed and already there's a vast improvement in quality,what i failed to mention was that the photo taken was with a tripod,a cheap and nasty free give away one,but a tripod none the less.Not the reason why but not all that helpfull either.
Do have a more sturdy one on order awaiting delivery.

Going to spend the weekend learning to walk with the camera,not run .

Cheers guys
David

I still reocmmend that you use a Clear protective filter, though. I use B+W Nano Clear filters without any issues.

Cheap tripods can actually teach you a lot about how to buy a tripod! I like the Manfrotto 055 Series, which for a few dollars more are a major step up over the Manfrotto 190 Series. Personally, I shoot with Induro and Benro tripods that have video bowls or flat plates, instead of a center column. The two companies have the same parent, and parts are mostly interchangeable between the two brands.

The best way to learn is to get out and shoot. One reason why beginners have problems using AI Servo, instead of One Shot, focusing is that AI Servo does not wait for a focus confirmation. But, this behavior is adjustable when you shoot in Continuous Drive mode by using the "Image Priority" settings in the AF menus. There are two settings, and I set both to "Focus", which means the camera will now wait for a focus confirmation in AI Servo mode.

Re: Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

ebiggs1 — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 17:25:18 GMT

Ditch that filter. A cheap tripod can be worse than no tripod.