cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Problem with T4i?

kellphoto
Apprentice

I just bought the Canon T4i and it’s a great camera, but I have found quirk that concerns me. I don’t know if I have a bad copy of the camera or something. Has anyone experienced this? Focus is critical to me, as it is for all of us who are not just snap shooters. I have the camera in Aperture Priority. I have my Canon 50mm 1.8 wide open. I have the camera set on ONE SHOT focus. I am using the center focus point only, not auto. I have tried this many times, and also with my Sigma 30mm 1.4 wide open with the same result. I lock focus on something about that is 1 to 3 inches behind the foreground object. I swear it’s LOCKED ON and confirmed by the camera on that rear object. Then I recompose and shoot. But when I look at the resulting photo, the camera has focused on the FRONT object, leaving the intended object behind it soft. It’s a still life so that rear object has not moved. What should I do about this?

4 REPLIES 4

7D5D
Rising Star
I would not recommend to focus and recompose with any lens wide open. Even on crop body like the T4i, f/1.8 has very shallow DoF. Try duplicating that shot with the same focus and recompose method at a smaller F stop like 5.6 or F8. Also take some test shots at f/1.8 at the same distance without recomposing.

If you find that you truly have a front focus issue, you will need to have an adjustment made and will need to determine if is the lens or body. Canon Support should be able to assist. Since your body does not have AFMA (auto focus micro adjust), you don't want to have your body adjusted for 1 lens if other lens are not an issue.

ScottyP
Authority

7D5D has a point about how chancy it is to recompose when you are shooting wide open.  The DOF is paper-thin, and you can accidentally end up being that critical 1/2 an inch closer or farther from the focal point after you have executed your recomposing turn. 

 

Try instead manually selecting a different AF point.  Look at the shot composed the way you want it.  Then go ahead and select whatever left or right or higher or lower AF point is hovering over your intended focal point, then shoot it that way. 

 

If you are able to get good focus on the center AF point, and the problem only starts when you are recomposing shots, then I do not think your camera needs microfocus adjustment.

Scott

Canon 5d mk 4, Canon 6D, EF 70-200mm L f/2.8 IS mk2; EF 16-35 f/2.8 L mk. III; Sigma 35mm f/1.4 "Art" EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro; EF 85mm f/1.8; EF 1.4x extender mk. 3; EF 24-105 f/4 L; EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS; 3x Phottix Mitros+ speedlites

Why do so many people say "FER-tographer"? Do they take "fertographs"?

Thanks to you both for your help!

Zephyron
Apprentice

Hi, I have the same problem.

 

I also tried Canon 50mm f1.8 and Sigma 30mm f1.4. I found the camera actually focus at closer object that the point I focused at. I didn't even recompose, just point, focus and shoot. And I found the result is acceptable for composing horizontally, but very out of focus for the vertical composition. In other cases, vertical is better than horizontal. But there seems must be one direction is particularly bad.

 

I suspect it is camera defect. Did you solve this problem?

Announcements