Blurred/unfocused pictures

[JonathanM]

Hi, I take photos that I use for my paintings and the last two shoots I've done, I've ended up with a good bit of blurry photos. It hasn't been that much of a problem in the past. My camera is an Eos rebel xsi. 

I've attached some examples of the blurry ones...

[cicopo]

If they weren't shot from a tripod then it's most likely camera shake due to a low shutter speed.

[TCampbell]

The lens has to deliver a focused image to the imaging sensor in the camera.  

The first image appears to be soft throughout the image and could simply be an issue of missed focus.

the second appears to be back-focused... I'm noticing the child's face appears soft, but his ear appears to be focused.  Then I inspect the shirt and see that parts of it appear soft (collar near the front) and yet other areas appear much sharper (back edge of collar, child's left sleeve (on our right), and lower right area of the image seems more focused.

Are you using auto-focus?

If yes, which AF point did you choose?

Which AF mode are you using (e.g. "One Shot", "AI Focus", or "AI Servo")?

[theandies]

Is it possibe to change the AF focus points in DPP?  I'd like to change this picture from the focus points on her nose to her eye.  This is obviously not the original, this is a screen cap so I could show the AF points.  Yes I do have the .CR2 image.

[Waddizzle]

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@theandies wrote:

Is it possibe to change the AF focus points in DPP?  I'd like to change this picture from the focus points on her nose to her eye.  This is obviously not the original, this is a screen cap so I could show the AF points.  Yes I do have the .CR2 image.

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Negative.  It is what it is.  Canon DSLRs are not the right type of camera to capture a 3D light field. 

Curious?  Do a web search for "ilum Light Field Digital Camera"

[JonathanM]

Hey thanks everybody!

I was thinking it was more of a focus issue because of the uniform blurriness. It was shot on AF "one shot", however, I was using continuous shooting as this kid was all over the place and I needed a national geographic approach to capture a decent expression 🙂

Could the one shot AF and continuous shooting be the problem? 

[cicopo]

YES. You need to use AI Focus for moving targets. If you don't the AF stays locked on the point it first locked onto for each burst.

[theandies]

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@Waddizzle wrote:

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@theandies wrote:

Is it possibe to change the AF focus points in DPP?  I'd like to change this picture from the focus points on her nose to her eye.  This is obviously not the original, this is a screen cap so I could show the AF points.  Yes I do have the .CR2 image.

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Negative.  It is what it is.  Canon DSLRs are not the right type of camera to capture a 3D light field. 

Curious?  Do a web search for "ilum Light Field Digital Camera"

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That's what I was thinking.  My crappy cell phone camera has a depth sensor and it can do some 3D stuff but nothing like a  light field camera.  That is some cool technology.

[ebiggs1]

"You need to use AI Focus for moving targets. If you don't the AF stays locked on the point it first locked onto for each burst."

This is only true if you are in continuous shooting mode,  If you press and releanse the shutter button, it refocuses each time.

[ebiggs1]

Jonathan.

Your samples look completely OOF to me.  Just entirely missed focus point.  If it were me, I would select just the center focus point. Turn all the others off.  As a matter of fact I rarely use anything but the single, center point focus.  Focus on the eye.

Use One Shot, not AI-Servo.

Also it could be camera shake because they look like indoor shots.  This means both you and the camera and the child must be still and steady.  The suggestion of a tripod is a good one. Another option is more light.

Does this camera/lens combo deliver sharp photos when you are outdoors in good daylight?  If it does than what I explained is the problem.  If you never get sharp pictures than you may have faulty equipment.