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Blurred/unfocused pictures

JonathanM
Apprentice

Hi, I take photos that I use for my paintings and the last two shoots I've done, I've ended up with a good bit of blurry photos. It hasn't been that much of a problem in the past. My camera is an Eos rebel xsi. 

I've attached some examples of the blurry ones...IMG_0448.JPG

IMG_0448.JPG

11 REPLIES 11

cicopo
Elite

If they weren't shot from a tripod then it's most likely camera shake due to a low shutter speed.

"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."

TCampbell
Elite
Elite

The lens has to deliver a focused image to the imaging sensor in the camera.  

 

The first image appears to be soft throughout the image and could simply be an issue of missed focus.

 

the second appears to be back-focused... I'm noticing the child's face appears soft, but his ear appears to be focused.  Then I inspect the shirt and see that parts of it appear soft (collar near the front) and yet other areas appear much sharper (back edge of collar, child's left sleeve (on our right), and lower right area of the image seems more focused.

 

Are you using auto-focus?

If yes, which AF point did you choose?

Which AF mode are you using (e.g. "One Shot", "AI Focus", or "AI Servo")?

 

 

 

Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da

Is it possibe to change the AF focus points in DPP?  I'd like to change this picture from the focus points on her nose to her eye.  This is obviously not the original, this is a screen cap so I could show the AF points.  Yes I do have the .CR2 image.

 

Callie.JPG


@theandies wrote:

Is it possibe to change the AF focus points in DPP?  I'd like to change this picture from the focus points on her nose to her eye.  This is obviously not the original, this is a screen cap so I could show the AF points.  Yes I do have the .CR2 image.

 

 


Negative.  It is what it is.  Canon DSLRs are not the right type of camera to capture a 3D light field. 

 

Curious?  Do a web search for "ilum Light Field Digital Camera"

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."


@Waddizzle wrote:

@theandies wrote:

Is it possibe to change the AF focus points in DPP?  I'd like to change this picture from the focus points on her nose to her eye.  This is obviously not the original, this is a screen cap so I could show the AF points.  Yes I do have the .CR2 image.

 

 


Negative.  It is what it is.  Canon DSLRs are not the right type of camera to capture a 3D light field. 

 

Curious?  Do a web search for "ilum Light Field Digital Camera"


That's what I was thinking.  My crappy cell phone camera has a depth sensor and it can do some 3D stuff but nothing like a  light field camera.  That is some cool technology.

"You need to use AI Focus for moving targets. If you don't the AF stays locked on the point it first locked onto for each burst."

 

This is only true if you are in continuous shooting mode,  If you press and releanse the shutter button, it refocuses each time.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

JonathanM
Apprentice

Hey thanks everybody!

I was thinking it was more of a focus issue because of the uniform blurriness. It was shot on AF "one shot", however, I was using continuous shooting as this kid was all over the place and I needed a national geographic approach to capture a decent expression 🙂

Could the one shot AF and continuous shooting be the problem? 

YES. You need to use AI Focus for moving targets. If you don't the AF stays locked on the point it first locked onto for each burst.

"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."


@cicopo wrote:

YES. You need to use AI Focus for moving targets. If you don't the AF stays locked on the point it first locked onto for each burst.


I'm thinking cicopo meant to write "AI Servo" instead of "AI Focus".

 

The default focus mode is called "One Shot" mode.  In this mode the camera will focus the shutter button is pressed half-way and will stop focusing once it has been able to lock focus.  If anything moves AFTER focus is achieved, the camera will not re-focus (that subject would be out of focus because it is no longer at the focused distance.)

 

Incidentally... as a side-note, if you allow the camera to use any focus point it wants, it will tend to pick the focus point which is able to achieve focus at the NEAREST distance to the camera.   If you allow the camera to use any focus point, make sure your intended subject is nearer to the camera than anything else in the area of a foccus point.   You can force to the camera to use a specfiic focus point and this offers you more control.  

 

One other nuance of "One Shot" focus mode is that it uses "Focus Priority" which means the camera will refuse to take a shot until it can lock focus (this is why some people will claim their camera refuses to take the shot when they press the shutter button.) 

 

There's another focus mode called "AI Servo".  This mode is used in situations where the focus distance between camera and subject is changing (in other words, action photography such as sports, children at play, wildlife, etc.).  When the shutter button is pressed half-way, the camera will begin focusing... and it will continuously re-evaluate focus as long as you continue to hold the shutter button half-way pressed.  As the subject distance changes, the camera will keep adjusting.

 

It has a nuance feature called "Release Priority" (recall that "One Shot" mode uses "Focus Priority").  "Release Priority" says that the camera WILL take the shot when you fully press the shutter button and it will do so (and this is the important bit) whether or not the camera has been able to achieve focus.  That means if you quickly mash the shutter button down completely, the camera will take the shot before it has even had a chance to focus and you'll end up with out-of-focus shots.  So the technique is the half-press, wait for the focus, and then fully press the button to shoot.  But as the subject moves, the focus will continue to be updated.

 

And then there's "AI Focus"

 

You might think the smart thing to do is to just put the camera into "AI Servo" and leave it there.  It turns out that's not a good idea if you know the subject is stationary.  "One Shot" mode really is better for stationary subjects and "AI Servo" really is better for moving subjects.  There's no one mode which always works best.   And that's where "AI Focus" comes in.

 

"AI Focus" evaluates the subject distance for a few moments to determine if the subject distance seems to be changing.  If it is NOT changing, then it behaves as if you selected "One Shot" mode.  If it is changing, then it behaves as if you select "AI Servo" mode.  In other words, it always tends to just do the right thing on a shot-by-shot basis.

 

So it's not really a unique focus mode like "One Shot" and "AI Servo" mode... it's a really a mode that causes the camera to auto-select the behavior of focus.

 

So why not just leave the camera in "AI Focus" mode all the time?

 

It turns out the camera needs small amount of time to determine if the subject is moving, you might need to capture a shot at a "decisive moment" and if the image is captured merely 1/2 second too late, the moment is gone.  For these situations, "AI Servo" really is the better choice.  You KNOW the subject is moving so there's no need to ask the camera to evaluate whether the subject is moving.  

 

In other words...

 

If you know the subject is stationary, select "One Shot" focus mode.

If you know the subject is moving, select "AI Servo" focus mode

If you do not know what type of shot you will encounter next, select "AI Focus" mode.

 

 

Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da
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