EOS R7 Focus Issues continue even after Factory Service

[edwardfranklin]

I bought an EOS R7 with kit lens RF-S18-150mm 3.5-6.3 IS STM and a separate RF 100-400 5.6-8 IS USM lens in December 2025. After seeing that my RAW files with both lenses were not tack sharp and talking with Customer Service, my equipment was sent in to the Factory Service Center for evaluation. All products "performed according to specifications" and sent back to me. 

In their notes they suggested some recommendations to see if those ideas helped my images and my focus concerns, but they did not. 

I would expect to see tack sharp images in Photoshop and Lightroom with my RAW files, but I still do not. Maybe my visual expectations are too high (I don't expect it to be top of the line camera), but I expect my images to be sharp. Maybe this camera just doesn't perform well even though "it meets specifications". Canon says I can't return it at this point. I'm not satisfied. I'd like to return it and get maybe a better camera. What can I do?

[edwardfranklin]

I have attached 3 images and corresponding info. unfortunately it didn't take my .CR3 file and had to make a reduced .JPGs, but I hope you can see my issues. please let me know.

image 1 EXIF dataimage 1 of houseimage 2 of fire hydrantimage 2 dataimage 3 of walkway and post dataimage 3 of walkway and post

[edwardfranklin]

LeeP, 
For me, tack sharp when entering images in competitions is vitally important. Also, when doing landscape or other "still" objects, you want to get the detail. I have added some images to one of the replies in this thread to evaluate. Yes, send me your Knowledge Base tips.

[Stephen]

That is great context! The T3i has a vastly different autofocusing system. It relies on a dedicated focusing mechanism inside the camera and isn't as advanced as the current generation of focusing systems. When we learned to shoot on cameras with systems like the T3i, many of us favored manually selecting the center focus point because it was the most accurate. This way of thinking isn't the case anymore. Now, the whole sensor is your focusing grid, and since the sensor is taking the photo it is *much* more sensitive and far less forgiving than the T3i. That means if you tell it only to focus on a single point or spot, it will do just that, and the results are often not what you expect - because the focus will be tack sharp - on that one single area, such as *only* the tip of the nose and *nothing else* or *only* the catchlight in the *left* eye and *nothing else.* 

If your focusing mode isn't set appropriately, your photos will not look how you want them, and yes, the Community does want to see example images, with EXIF information so we can see the settings that were used, and where the autofocus points are. You can share the files using your favorite online file sharing service like Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, or iCloud so we can understand the whole story.

[edwardfranklin]

Enthusiast,
Question: why would I choose a JPEG format when I want to use editing features that a RAW file provides? And also, why JPEG when I want the highest quality file. I don't understand.

[Stephen]

None of these images seems out of focus to me. Maybe it's because there is no subject in any of these images. 

Do you have any "real" photos to share with defined subjects?

I see noise - because they're shot in RAW and not processed. Is that what you're referring to? 

Also, why are you shooting in ISO 100 on a dark day? You don't have to do that anymore. Let your camera do what we engineered it to do!

[Stephen]

To see if it's the photos or the editor. 

[edwardfranklin]

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/t4l36cr74ycrk5j3o7ld0/AFmDFeHRuH4cW0IfwypkNU8?rlkey=15gwtq8372gvku6vc...

this folder has my images for review. thx

[edwardfranklin]

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/t4l36cr74ycrk5j3o7ld0/AFmDFeHRuH4cW0IfwypkNU8?rlkey=15gwtq8372gvku6vc...

here's my drop box folder with 4 images for your review

[jrhoffman75]

I looked at the images in Canon DPP4 and they look fine to me.

In Lightroom 100%, 200% and 400%

100%200%400%

Sharpness degrades a little when you zoom in because you are "manufacturing" pixels, but 100% image is fine in my opinion. 

[stevet1]

Edward,

Thanks for sharing the pictures. I did notice that you had your lens extended to the full 150mm.

I had read that lenses introduce a certain softness when fully extended to its maximum.. I haven't scientifically tested that, but you might try backing off a little to 135 or 140 and see if it makes a difference.

You might also try putting your camera on a tripod, or other stable surface and add a touch of sharpening in your editing process.

Steve Thomas