R7 missing Focus, poor quality photos compared to my DSLR - What am I doing wrong?

[alyssal]

I have an R7 with a 24-70mm lens. It does not perform well when used for photos. Images are often minimally blurred or fuzzy, especially if zoomed in all the way - if I compare them to my DSLR cameras like my 6Dii with 85mm. Am I doing something wrong? Is there settings I should change? Most of the time I shoot outdoors so my shutter speed is well into 320 - 2000, aperture is usually set to 3.2 - both cameras. My DSLR's have never failed me and I always get crisp images. But, even on objects standing still the R7 is just not getting it. Horse photos taken with both cameras to compare. So far my mirrorless journey has been a let down when it comes to getting solid, crisp images. Every time I use the R7 my images seem to be either blurred or fuzzed out, if that makes sense.

[justadude]

This is a long video, but highly recommended. This is an interview with Canon legend Technical Marketing Consultant Rudy Winston on the auto focus on Canon's mirrorless cameras. He explains every focus setting you want to know about... as well as those you may not care about. But the bottom line is, if this video does not address your focus questions, then it is because you weren't paying attention. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIxK8B-_Kn8 

[kvbarkley]

Are you sure you are focusing in the right place?

What do you mean by "zooming in all the way?" If you are looking at 100%, there might be some fuzziness, but the higher resolution of the R7 means that in practice, when viewed at the same distance the differences should go away.

[alyssal]

Yes, that means I just use the R7 and the lens at about 70 mm on the lens, so the full distance it can go. In the horse photos I uploaded, I try and put the focus point on the horses eye, no matter what camera I'm using. It just seems the R7 just can't find it? Or that it'll get it, and then the next one it won't. So it's very hit and miss. Usually with the 6dii I only get a couple that are out of focus and usually everything else is crisp.

[alyssal]

To clarify on these horse examples specifically, I set it on his eye for the autofocus point with the R7. He is standing perfectly still, but even at a standstill a lot of times it would catch and not put perfect focus on his face area. The 6d Mark II, I have it on the multispot autofocus, that seems to really work well. I've tried different autofocus points with the R7, but it seems like it never gets the spot or it second guesses itself if the horse moves a little bit and I have to put it back. When I use it for video, it seems to track well for video. But for photos it'll feel like I'm getting it in focus, and when I zoom in on the camera it seems in focus. But when I put it in Lightroom, it looks fuzzy. 

[stevet1]

alyssal,

One thing you might do is take the same picture with your 24-70 at steps increasing your aperture one stop at a time.

See where you are happy with the "crispness".

f/3.2 might not be where you get your best results.

Steve Thomas

[deebatman316]

Hi @alyssal are you shooting with native RF lenses or adapted EF lenses. If using adapted EF lenses what Mount adapter are you using. Is this the Canon brand Mount adapter or a 3rd Party Mount adapter. If these are EF lenses what are the Full & Complete Names of all the lenses you’re using on the EOS R7. Note older EF lenses are NOT fully compatible with all features are found in the EOS R series. Many of these old lenses use slower AF motors and are NOT COMPATIBLE with DPAF (Dual Pixel AF). They were released during a time where mirrorless cameras weren’t available. They were designed for PDAF (Phase Detect AF). Which is what DSLRs use during viewfinder shooting. Also no DSLRs could shoot more than 12 FPS. This wasn’t possible with DSLRs only mirrorless cameras can shoot 40 FPS.

[alyssal]

Hi, yes it is an RF 24 - 70. Both the lens, and the R7 were bought new from BH photo.

[alyssal]

I can do that. But the clients I have typically ask for a blurry background, and I try to go as low as I can without sacrificing the subject focus. It seems like 3.2 has been a sweet spot with the DSLRs, but maybe the R7 and this lens combo are different?

[wq9nsc]

An easy compare on the two photos is using the gravel the horse is standing on.  In the R7 photo, sharpest focus is beyond the horse by a few feet instead of directly under the horse as in the DSLR photo.  It would be interesting to know what the R7 was choosing as its focus point(s) when that image was captured.

Rodger