90D Autofocus

[chief]

Has the 90 d for a while now and have had really good results until recently. I shoot birds in flight mostly and have noticed the 90d has really slowed down in acquiring and focusing on bird. All settings are the same as they where when te 90d would lock on bird fast and autofocus. Anybody else experiencing this?

[Tronhard]

Hi and welcome to the forum:

I have a 90D myself and have used it with no changes in performance.   So, we need to do some investigation as to what has changed to give this result.  Can you please specifically answer the following:

What configuration do you normally use when shooting, so:
lens(es)? Are any of them newly acquired?
ISO settings: auto ISO? If so what range?
What mode settings M, Av, Tv etc.?
Battery or batteries - how old, what is its charge capacity rating?
Battery Grip: if so, what brand?

Has anything happened to the camera that might impact its operation - being knocked, rained on etc.

With this information we are much more likely to be able to narrow this down and find a solution for you.

[chief]

I shoot in manual, auto servo, single point focus with back button focus, new batteries, no grip,  Auto ISO or ISO to be determined on conditions, Tamron 150-600 G2. latest firm ware.Everything has been the same since acquiring camera, never been dropped. I Have a !DX Mll  and started to think maybe the 1dxspoiled me but then took out my old 80d with same configuration and lens and locked and focus as it always did. To say the least I am stumped.

[Tronhard]

Hmmm... Well your setup doesn't sound unreasonable and the fact that you can shoot successfully with the same configuration would seem to suggest it is something in the camera.  I will set up my camera to match yours, albeit with a different lens and experiment.  It's winter and the weather is crappy so this might take a wee while!

[jrhoffman75]

Not a frequent problem, but sometimes if you have accumulated some dust/particles in the mirror box they can land on the AF sensor assembly.

Remove lens, lock mirror up and use a Rocket Blower or equivalent to blow off anything that might be residing on the AF sensor. The sensor is at the bottom rear of the mirror box.

[vpr]

I just recently bought the 90D with kit lens. I am really troubled, I see the potential of the camera when I do manual focus but I can't always do manual focus, so I use the autofocus. Both on the live view and view finder I get really soft focus issues. It is either hit or miss with the camera autofocus. It makes me angry because my smartphone makes crisper shots. I mean it could be user error, but since I saw many videos on youtube regarding soft focus on the 90D I think it might not be just me. Makes amazing video, but the photos could be way better! 

[chief]

thanks everybody for input, Tronhard can not wait to hear what you find out, to vpr do not get discouraged I have found it to be a great camera until recently which is vexing to say the least. In my world I have found user error to prove Occams razor. But not this time,One solution I found was to place an order for the new R7, but I still want to figure this out.

[ebiggs1]

There is really nothing inside the camera besides using the Rocket Blower that you can do.  I would reset the 90D. Menu, tools, clear all settings and clear all custom settings. The last is very important. Make sure you clear all custom settings. Now reset up everything to your requirements and try it again.

[Waddizzle]

Be sure to check the switches on the lens, too. 

[Tronhard]

Hi again:

Well... I'm almost sorry to report that I went out with several lenses and a range of settings and the camera worked perfectly throughout - giving consistently good results.   🤔 

As a principle, things that have worked, will continue to work unless something occurs to the system.  So, somewhere, something has changed as has been suggested, and it could be as simple as dust of some part of the system.

Without sending it in for a check-up, all I can suggest is what the others have already done: cleaning EVERYTHING, and resetting the camera settings.  I'm sorry, but I cannot replicate your issue. 😕