Canon R6 AI Focus (PULSING) - EF Lenses

[rascher]

I googled it, found that a lot of people are getting bad, blurry images from an anomaly in the eye focus mode. A focus pulsing occurs when keeping tracking active in the animal's eye.

The video below, from 10:00 on onwards shows exactly this problem.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lmjC07v8yI&t=471s  

In the Canon R6 manual it says that (ALL) EF lenses work with the use of the EF-EOS-R adapter. But nowhere in the manual does it report incompatibilities or focus issues related to the smart focus mode (eye focus).

drive.google.com/file/d/1RFP_2LmEDNksaPlnz7IiWuZjmFId8y2q/view?usp=sharing  

Link with images of a 100% static animal and still the focus shows (pulsing)

[Tronhard]

Hi and welcome to the forum:

I have both the Sigma 150-600c and 60-600s lenses and have tested them fairly rigorously against the EOS R5 and R6. There are two observations that need to be considered with your impression.  I have already looked at the video you refer to and your impression is being slightly misled.  Duade observed that the pulsing occurs ONLY at minimum focusing distance on the 150-600c.  I also have engaged with Duade on his observations to confirm this - that engagement is in the top of the responses area, but to quote it here:
Me: Well, I was shooting with the R5 and R6 and didn't notice the pulsing you were referring to with either lens, however I was shooting at some distance and that brought me to confirm with you something that I had wondered. You didn't SEEM to get significant pulsing at distance, but certainly it had an impact closer to your minimum focusing distance. Is that your experience?

Duade: Yes, that is my experience and maybe that why the motorbikes were much better, not sure why that might be. Cheers, Duade" 
So, to summarize.  Duade had that issue, but only at minimum focusing distance and still got a decent percentage of keepers.  I: using the R5 and R6, did not have an issue.  One difference was that he was using the lens with a tripod and possibly did not turn off the OS on the Sigma lens.  I was shooting hand-held.  In that case the issue might be that the OS has to be disabled when on a tripod when using the eye tracking or with Canon IBIS stabilization.  I personally did not have any issue with the 150-600c or with the 60-600s units.

My second observation is with your interpretation of the statement by Canon on the  use of EF and EF-S lenses with R-series bodies.  Canon do NOT make any promises about the behaviour of 3rd party lenses on their R-series bodies for the excellent reason that they have no control over the design and build of these units. Their statements about compatibility apply only to Canon native lenses, which is reasonable.  

As Duade himself stated, Sigma announced that their lenses for the EF mount were not designed for the RF systems.  They will, in due course produce RF mount systems, but in the meantime I think you can use the lenses with some degree of confidence

I recently posted some shots taken while testing the Sigma lenses and you can find that post HERE 

I hope this will put your concerns into context.

[rascher]

Did you see the attached images? The images speak for themselves! I used a Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 L USM lens. Duade also reported that this PULSING also happens with the RF 100-500mm.

[Tronhard]

Hi Rodrigo:

I just had a look at your images - sorry I initially missed the link (it's 5am her in NZ and I need coffee)!  I have downloaded your images.

I have not seen or read that Duade states that he had that experience with the RF100-500 on the R5 or R6. In the video you referred to, Duade was using the R7, which HAS had focusing issues with both EF and RF lenses - but that is using a slightly different tracking system adapted from the R3 and it uses a crop sensor, so the lens is effectively working outside it's designed parameters.

I respect your experience, but again, I will reiterate that my results differ. Certainly, I did not get 100% keepers, but considering I was shooting birds in flight at speed and I doing so hand-held, one cannot expect that - between those two variables there will be images that don't come out sharp.

So, to try to find out the context of your experience.  Given you are using the R6 and not the R7, my questions relate to your setup. 
Were you using the camera hand-held, or on a tripod? 
What were the status of your IBIS and eye tracking? 
What firmware is your camera using?

Let's see if we can get to the bottom of your issues.

[rascher]

Hi Tronhard,

Were you using the camera hand-held, or on a tripod? 

- I tested it with a tripod + trigger and also without a tripod. Same result.

What were the status of your IBIS and eye tracking? 

IBIS disabled in tripod tests.

What firmware is your camera using?

Firmware 1.6.0

[jrhoffman75]

Perhaps I am missing something, but the images in the ZIP file are not people with eyes. They are not even the kinds of animals that the camera manual discusses (cats, dogs, birds) and they are not vehicles.

Did you have "None" selected in the AF option menu?

[rascher]

Hello John,

I selected Animals mode. Animals are animals in general. The camera identifies the eyes of ANY animal, even a dragonfly

[Tronhard]

First, thank you for answering my questions so promptly - it is helpful to have as much data as possible.

Actually, John has a good point about the kind of subject you are shooting, compared to what the tracking is designed for. The system first looks for faces and bodies and then seeks the eye for the types of animals specified.  Looking at your images of an insect, there is no obvious face and the location of the eye, which is protruding from the head into clear space, is unusual for an animal - eyes are usually in the middle of a head which is why the algorithm looks for the face first and then zeroes in on the eye - combined with the camouflage pattern of the rest of the animal could be an issue.  These algorithms are not universally fool proof. 
Is this the only subject on which you have tested the issue?  To get consistent results, I would recommend shooting other animals and see how the results turn out.

[rascher]

Hello Trevor,

I photographed other animals, birds and lizards. I get every 20 images 4 or 5 sharp. With my old 5D mk3 I would never have such bad results…. In the images that I made available, the algorithm perfectly found the eyes of that animal, it's its own eyes, it's impressive, but the focus doesn't stay…… in the images in which the eyes were focused, the animal's body was not sharp! using f10 aperture!!! How is this explained? this insect's entire body should be in focus, it's a small insect!!! The depth of field is totally unrealistic!!

[Tronhard]

If it is that bad then I would suggest the camera is not working to spec.  I have one R5 and two R6 units and have used all of them with a wide range of Canon EF lenses without issue - see my profile for my gear list.

Without being able to see this in action I cannot offer any more information or context than I already have.   I would suggest you contact Canon for support under warranty. You can call 1-800-OK-CANON to do so.