how to do MFA? - EOS 7D Mark II pictures coming out dull

[iphonemaster93]

Hi guys

So after a few weeks of owning the 7DMKII, I realize that even when I manually focus my shots (I don't use a tripod and I do automotive photography), If I zoom in to the maximum in Lightroom, the photo is still dull (on the lowest ISO at 1/320 as I realize that 1/320 is when the photos are 'sharpest'). Is this because the lens that I'm using isn't calibrated to the camera (using a 17-55 2.8) or is it because I'm just shooting wrong? I've tried both manual focus and the different AF zones, all of them, when zoomed in on LR, are dull. Thanks!   

[iphonemaster93]

ISO 800, 1/80, F5.6. I usually don't shoot with a tripod and that's why I had the ISO all the way up at 800. 

Here's another one, shot at 1/40, F5.6.

Both photos were shot at ISO800.

This one was shot at 1/125, F5.6, ISO3200. I was advised to start shooting with a tripod now so I'll start doing that. This was at 6PM-8PM, hence the high ISO. My speedlite no longer works and I'm still waiting to get another one of those.

[ebiggs1]

On my flower photos I simply set the Ds3 on P mode.   ISO was 800 and whatever the camera decided to do. Somewhere around 1/200 and 1/400 at f3.5 to f5.6.  These are just quick snapshots.  No set up.

I almost never use ISO 3200?  The Ds3 doesn't even have ISO 3200 as a native selection.  1600 is as fast as it goes.

I also think you need to work on your composition more than the sharpness.  Even a nice sharp picture will be ruined by bad comp. Nobody wants to see a guys butt walking aroung a cool car shot!

Also you might want to downside for the web a little more.  You shots are sround 4 1/2 MB.  Mine are 4 1/2 KB.

[ebiggs1]

Oh, BTW, two more things.  You are indoors so the time isn't really a matter. Is it? 

A tripod will not improve those type shots with those settings.

[ebiggs1]

Here is a picture where night time effects the exposure.  Same lens Siggy 35 Art and Ds3.

This is a tough shot because there is so much difference in the f-stop value of the light and the flowers.  It is larger than the camera is capable of recording.

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Here is a picture where night time effects the exposure.  Same lens Siggy 35 Art and Ds3.

This is a tough shot because there is so much difference in the f-stop value of the light and the flowers.  It is larger than the camera is capable of recording.

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True, but this appears to be a case where the dynamic range of the subject exceeds that of the human eye, not just that of the camera. So the blown highlights don't really look unnatural.

[mangurian]

wow !   I will save your response.   There is so much good info here for us newbies.

[iphonemaster93]

Not sure if I've mentioned this before but I've kind of moved on from Canon (I'm on a Sony platform now) but still have my T3i. However, the concepts and knowledge both ebiggs1 and Robert are more interesting to me now that I'm more keen on highlights/shadows/high contrast shots. Studying the histogram and knowing what camera sensors are/aren't able to capture compared to the human eye/reality is a mind boggling especially when shooting red color under the sun at different times of day and blue/gray indoors with different light variations if not using external light sources.

[Awright1676]

I have greatly appreciated this forum string regarding focusing advice. I have been shooting mostly people for the last 15 years and have an EOS 7D. Primary lens is Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM. I also have a 50mm lens. I have shot thousands of frames with this camera and it's always been reliable until last year or maybe even two years ago - I started having troubles with achieving consistent sharp focus. I always seem to have a wide variety of lighting conditions and various cooperation of my subjects to stay still for a photo - but I was always able to very at least a good variety of sharp photos that I was happy with. I'm not sure when things started to go off the rails, but it has gotten progressively worse and now I might get one sharp focus image out of 10. I even bought a second lens of the same type of of desperation during last years busy season. Only getting 10% usable images means i have to over shoot like crazy and going through them afterwards breaks my heart because I can tell they would have been really beautiful images had they just gotten focused properly. I have done much of the advice already, but this thread gives me yet a few more points to consider. I'm a single mom of two teens and with my health issues photography is one of the only income sources I have and I'm hanging on for dear life because there's no safety net and if the camera is defunct and I no longer even have a photography business going then I'm really up a creek with no paddle! I finally did a firmware update for the first time and I'm sure that helped some things - I've read the manual cover to cover - though admittedly some of it is still just over my head! I have had some mentorship, college level training, a fine arts degree, and 15 years experience shooting people of all ages and stages in studio and on location. I am tempted to do a hard reset if all the settings in my camera and see if that fixes it - I fear in one of the many attempts to fix the focusing issues I changed some setting somewhere and I probably didn't fully know what it was, but again, desperate to get this figured out. This week I finally have the joy of taking my own daughters senior photos and I am sick to my stomach looking through them. I mean I am doing all that I can out there to get that sharp image, but only maybe 25 out of 200 might be good enough to consider, but will still need a lot of post processing work and of all those shots only a handful were sharp how they should be sharp. Heartbroken 😞 I have another senior I have to reshoot because out of 909 shots the ones that were even close enough focus weren't the ones that looked the best for her - so I'm just totally frustrated, embarrassed to keep struggling with this. I think i have no choice but to try a total reset of the settings and see what happens, to rule out that I changed something I wasn't supposed to. I also never use AL Servo - because I thought it would shift focus at times when I might not want it to - I am always handheld and moving around and often have things in the foreground and that would just create more of a problem. Maybe I'll try it again and just shoot so that would work better... I have loved doing this work, but I am at my wits end and ready to throw in the towel if I can't get back to some degree of reliability! Also - I'm a perfectionist, and have terrible rejection sensitivity dysphoria - so literally every time I'm having these crappy results I feel like it is the total end of the world and I have wasted the last 15 years of my life, so it's just rough!!! Wah!!! Anyways - just wanted to add my name on this thread so I can find it again if needed, and maybe someone will go through every menu with me to see if my settings are a mess... maybe an angel is right there waiting to help and I just have to ask!? Help!! 

[stevet1]

Awright1676,

You say you never use AI Servo because you are afraid it might shift focus when you don't want it to.

I personally use AI Servo combined with BBF, or Back Button Focus.

That is where you take the focusing off your shutter button and re-assign it to some other button on your camera. This is done in your Custom Function Menu settings, and more often than  not, it's the AF-ON button. You focus with your thumb, and press your shutter button to take the picture with your index finger. Only re-assign your focusing.. Leave your metering where it is with the shutter button.

With AI Servo, you press it once and let go, and it locks the focus where you chose. If you continue to keep the button pressed down, the camera will continue to keep focusing as you move the camera.

Steve Thomas