What am I doing wrong...?

[nice-n-cool-trig]

Hello,

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction - I'm fairly new to photography but I'm getting frustrated as a high percentage of my shots are blurred...

The attached photo was taken with my 400D and 50 f1/8 details follow:

Tv: 1/640
Av: 1.8
ISO: 100
AF Mode: One-Shot AF

I was sitting down and the camera was well supported (by me) and we were in a conservatory with lots of natural light... as you can see from the other attachment the AF point is almost over her eye - but the camera has focused on stuff in the foreground... what am I doing wrong? (I've many more shots like this... )

Hope some one can help.
Cheers,
Dave

[OdiN1701]

Well I don't think your subject would move that much - it is possible that your lens needs to be sent off to be calibrated as it could be front focusing.

[lindsaytblum]

Originally Posted by OdiN1701

it is possible that your lens needs to be sent off to be calibrated as it could be front focusing.

That's what it looks like to me.

[dolfinack]

It ain't you. Back to ye olde shoppe for this lens.

[nice-n-cool-trig]

Thanks for the quick replies!

I was afraid it would be something wrong with the lens - where can I get it calibrated (I'm in the UK)?

[gbsonguitars]

Also, try putting the AF mode to AI Servo. It focusses your lens when it "sees" what you're focused on, move. Or, try putting your aperture at somewhere around 2.0 - 2.8. That's what fixed my problem with that lens.

[gbsonguitars]

And, also try shooting in Manual if you're not. That will help even more!

[ninja279]

Are you sure you didn't accidently hold the fire button down when bringing the camera up to your eye? This could have set the focus point at the table? Try using AI servo as stated by gbsonguitars. To really show where the focus is, set DOF to minimum.

[jetcode]

Originally Posted by OdiN1701

Well I don't think your subject would move that much - it is possible that your lens needs to be sent off to be calibrated as it could be front focusing.

what does front focusing and back focusing mean?

[pwm2]

Originally Posted by jetcode

what does front focusing and back focusing mean?

The camera/lens combo either focuses closer than the target or behind the target.

[joedlh]

When you say that a high percentage of your shots are blurred, do you mean that there are some that are in focus? If so, it might not be your lens/camera combination. It could be technique. When you are in one-shot mode, the camera freezes the focal point when you press the shutter release button half way. If you move the camera, it will not refocus. Pay attention to what you're doing. Is your finger on the button as you are raising the camera to your eye? I tried this with my 40D: I established focus with the bottom two focal points in a vertical shot with lots of depth of field. Pressed the shutter half way and raised the camera. The resulting shot showed that the same two points were used for focus, even though the area covered was not actually in focus.

As some have suggested, using AI Servo would correct the situation. However, I don't think this is a useful technique on which one should rely for static scenes like this one. I used to think so, until I tried to take a picture of two subjects standing next to each other and the camera decided that I really wanted a clear shot of the wall behind them

[shniks]

My kids move around a lot, I have a hard time getting good shots of them. Are you sure your daughter didnt move after you pressed the shutter? Try doing some tests of something that isnt moving.

[nice-n-cool-trig]

Thanks for the further replies.

As an example i *appear* to get better (more shots in focus, better exposure, better colours etc) using my 70-210mm f3.5 - 4.5 USM - obvisouly where I can. Could this be because I'm not working with such a shallow depth of focus?

I don't think I moved the camera in the example shot (after composing) as I picked one of the AF points closest to my daughters eye (even if I did recompose I would have focused on her eye initially and only moved a small amount). Which is why I though it was odd that focus was on the table in the foreground. This example shot was one of probably 20+.

Although my daughter was moving a little (her head as she spoke to her gran and her arm a she drew) - why would the camera/lens focus on something in the foreground?

Thanks for all your help/advice... I'm still thinking it's more likely to be the camera operator thats at fault than a problem with the lens .

Cheers,
Dave

[i-dar]

The shallow DOF is not helping this quite inaccurate lens. I never use it with appertures larger than f2.8, and in any case I get three AF confirmation beeps before I shoot.

[SJC from VT]

When I have issues with my photos, I use a tripod and a cable release or the self timer. It usually is me cause they improve with this method. How are your pictures when you use an f8 or f11?