Pictures seem soft with AF on new T6S

[StanNH]

I just got a refurbished T6S kit, with two lenses, from Canon.  Everything looks new and works fine.  However .... I am finding that many of my first "practice" shots are just slightly out of focus using any of the AF modes.  The weather here has been awful, so these are indoor shots.  I've tried all AF modes, as well as 19 point, center, and single point focusing.  I've gotten some perfect shots using the built in flash, with perfect focus.  Manual focus is, of course, fine.

Aside from the two kit lenses, I have also tried a variety of other Canon and Sigma lenses I have.  Identical results with all.  IS makes no difference.  I have been shooting primarily in P mode, which does not enable the pop-up flash for pre-focusing, so that may be part of the problem in a lower light environment.  I have tried a variety of settings in AV and TV mode as well, using  different shutter speeds and f stops.

I don't recall having similar AF issues with my Canon 40d, nor with my Sony HX40V or even my iPhone, under similar conditions so this has me puzzled.  Canon suggested doing a camera and custom setting reset, but I haven't really changed much since getting the camera a few days ago ... and I noticed the soft focus immediately.

Since I can get really sharp focus on some shots, and not others, I'd really like to figure this out and not have to send it back for service at such an early point.  Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[kvbarkley]

You might try to get something like a lensalign or just a yardstick set at a 45 degree angle. Set a focus target next to the middle of the yardstick - a stuffed animal works nicely.

Take a few practice shots Make sure to use the center focus point only, other wise it might focus ahead of the target.

[RobertTheFat · Accepted solution]

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@StanNH wrote:

I just got a refurbished T6S kit, with two lenses, from Canon.  Everything looks new and works fine.  However .... I am finding that many of my first "practice" shots are just slightly out of focus using any of the AF modes.  The weather here has been awful, so these are indoor shots.  I've tried all AF modes, as well as 19 point, center, and single point focusing.  I've gotten some perfect shots using the built in flash, with perfect focus.  Manual focus is, of course, fine.

Aside from the two kit lenses, I have also tried a variety of other Canon and Sigma lenses I have.  Identical results with all.  IS makes no difference.  I have been shooting primarily in P mode, which does not enable the pop-up flash for pre-focusing, so that may be part of the problem in a lower light environment.  I have tried a variety of settings in AV and TV mode as well, using  different shutter speeds and f stops.

I don't recall having similar AF issues with my Canon 40d, nor with my Sony HX40V or even my iPhone, under similar conditions so this has me puzzled.  Canon suggested doing a camera and custom setting reset, but I haven't really changed much since getting the camera a few days ago ... and I noticed the soft focus immediately.

Since I can get really sharp focus on some shots, and not others, I'd really like to figure this out and not have to send it back for service at such an early point.  Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

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If everything is blurry, and if the problem goes away if you put the camera on a tripod, then it's likely that your shutter speed is too slow. The fact that your flash pictures are in focus would reinforce that diagnosis.

If random parts of the picture are sometimes in focus, then the light level may be too low to autofocus properly. Try the camera outdoors, where the light is almost certain to be better, as soon as you can.

If some part of the picture is always in focus, but not the part that the camera tells you it used to obtain focus, and especially if it's always a bit too close or a bit too far away, then you may need the focus adjusted. You can do that yourself on some cameras, but unfortunately not on any Rebel. So if that's the problem, you'll probably have to have it serviced. And the service center will need to see both the camera and the lens.

[Waddizzle]

"I don't recall having similar AF issues with my Canon 40d, nor with my Sony HX40V or even my iPhone, under similar conditions so this has me puzzled.  Canon suggested doing a camera and custom setting reset, but I haven't really changed much since getting the camera a few days ago ... and I noticed the soft focus immediately."

You need some time to get accustomed to the multi-point AF system.  I would advise manually selecting just the center AF point, and use that with One-Shot mode for most of your shots. 

I agree with the conclusions that your blurry photos are a result of you're working in low light with slow shutter speeds.  The fact that you get sharp photos WITH the flash says everything is probably working just fine. 

You're going to miss the Auto Focus Micro Adjustment, which the T6s lacks.  The refurbished 80D is a steal right now.

[StanNH]

Thanks for the comments, guys.  I went with the Rebel because of weight and all the very positive reviews.  My 40d was just too heavy.  I do some astrophotography through a telescope, and the lighter body is a real advantage to me.

I just came back from an outdoor shoot, with overcast conditions and snow on the ground.  I tried Landscape, Auto, and Program modes.  Many of the shots are spot on, while a few are soft.  All the softer shots were using 250mm with the 55-250mm zoom kit lens, so the slower f stop of the full zoom did result in slower shutter speeds and soft pictures.  The soft shots had no sharp focus point, so it looks like camera shake is the likely culprit, rather than a missed focus point.

I'll keep playing with this, but it does seem like using a single focus point in any of the AF modes does yield better results for me ... and certainly lets me slect where I want the camera to focus.  An AF Micro Adjustment would be a real advantage, but since that's not available on this camera I'll have to work with what I have.

[StanNH]

[StanNH]

[Waddizzle]

"All the softer shots were using 250mm with the 70-250mm zoom kit lens, so the slower f stop of the full zoom did result in slower shutter speeds and soft pictures."

It is hard to judge the focus quality of your shots because the resolution is only 1920 x 1280.  You can upload files up to 5MB in size, but I can only get up to just over 4MB in practice.  I guess there is some overhead associated with each file.

I'm not certain which telephoto zoom lens you have, but if it is the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Lens, then you should be able to get pretty good images from it.

[StanNH]

Yes, these were taken with the 55-250mm IS STM lens.

[cicopo]

I have NOT owned any of the Rebel series but I'm pretty sure you can make the flash pop up (by using a switch) in P, Av or Tv if you want it to fire. You may also have to set something in a menu to instruct it to fire.