Eos 6D mk2 photos not sharp

[Kiddyboy]

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

[coachboz68]

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@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.

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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.  

[Waddizzle]

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.

[ebiggs1]

Or a combination of both

[Waddizzle]

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.

[Waddizzle]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:
Or a combination of both

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

[Kiddyboy]

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

[Waddizzle]

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@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

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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.

[ebiggs1]

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