EOS Rebel T7 Blurry pics w/AF - Do I need the Canon Alignment Service?

[nhanimator]

I bought a used T7 with the kit lenses. Also bought a new Canon 50mm STM prime lens. With ALL of my lenses, AF photos are more likely to be blurry than not. (The photo below is sort of a sample of what I often get.) 

I've tried using tripods, ensuring my AF area is set correctly (it's centered), making sure I have ISO/aperture/shutter speeds adequate, etc. With my old Nikon, I did the half-press thing to focus, then shifted the camera's target, then finished the shot and never had a problem that I didn't initially cause. But I can't even get dead-on targets to be consistently in focus with this body. 

Manual shots are fine and I have done some astrophotography with a Rokinon 135 and got very good results. 

Since I'm having the problem with all lenses, I expect something is going on in the camera. Is this something that Canon's Alignment Service can rectify? Or am I barking up the wrong tree? (I don't need to send in my lenses as a 'factory' reset will likely get me 'good enough' and the quote comes in at $139, which I'm willing to pay.) 

Thanks for any feedback.

[jrhoffman75]

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@nhanimator wrote:

I bought a used T7 with the kit lenses. Also bought a new Canon 50mm STM prime lens. With ALL of my lenses, AF photos are more likely to be blurry than not. (The photo below is sort of a sample of what I often get.) 

I've tried using tripods, ensuring my AF area is set correctly (it's centered), making sure I have ISO/aperture/shutter speeds adequate, etc. With my old Nikon, I did the half-press thing to focus, then shifted the camera's target, then finished the shot and never had a problem that I didn't initially cause. But I can't even get dead-on targets to be consistently in focus with this body. 

Manual shots are fine and I have done some astrophotography with a Rokinon 135 and got very good results. 

Since I'm having the problem with all lenses, I expect something is going on in the camera. Is this something that Canon's Alignment Service can rectify? Or am I barking up the wrong tree? (I don't need to send in my lenses as a 'factory' reset will likely get me 'good enough' and the quote comes in at $139, which I'm willing to pay.) 

Thanks for any feedback.

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Can you post the actual file or two to a sharing service like OneDrive or Dropbox? Preferably RAW, but JPEG if that is all you have.

[nhanimator]

Google Drive link to photos

Photo 5367 was shot by hand with a slow shutter, so I don't expect it to be super clear. But there doesn't appear to be any significant motion blur and the bottom of the image seems to be more in focus than the target area (center of frame). 

The other two photos certainly don't seem good, however. The target was about an inch below the center wood stake. 

Thanks. 

[jrhoffman75]

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@nhanimator wrote:

Google Drive link to photos

Photo 5367 was shot by hand with a slow shutter, so I don't expect it to be super clear. But there doesn't appear to be any significant motion blur and the bottom of the image seems to be more in focus than the target area (center of frame). 

The other two photos certainly don't seem good, however. The target was about an inch below the center wood stake. 

Thanks. 

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I agree with your assessment of all the photos. What if you try manually focusing using LiveView.

One test you could try is manually focus using LiveView and then carefully switch lens to AF and press shutter button. Does the focus move?

Is the nh in your screen name New Hampshire?