What would cause blurry photos at high shutter speeds?

I have an EOS 1D Mark II camera and I'm having some problems getting sharp, non-blurry photos--even at very high shutter speeds. I upgraded from an EOS 10D and I never had this problem with the 10D. I think (hope) that my problem is simply due to the fact that the 1D Mark II is so much heavier than my 10D was and I'm experiencing some camera shake. However, I'm a bit concerned that maybe it's an autofocusing issue and, considering the cost of this camera, I'd really hate for it to be that.

What would cause a photo to be blurred even at very high shutter speeds (1/1600)?? I took a photo of my son ,who was standing stationary, and it came out blurry. I checked the auto-focusing points (with EOS viewer) to see where the camera was focused and those areas that were blurry should have been sharp as the focus points were right on them.

I was using a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. The focal length was 70mm. I was using "One Shot AF" mode and ISO 200. This has happened to me quite a few times and I'm just trying to understand what the heck I could be doing wrong???? I'd taken a previous shot of my son (just a few seconds before the blurry shot) that came out fine (same settings, same AF points, etc). So why would one photo come out sharp and the next blurry?

Can camera shake come into play even at such high shutter speeds?

Thanks. I feel sort of stupid asking such an obvious question, but there are so many on this list with so many years of experience (which I don't have) that I figured it was worth feeling stupid if it will ease my concerns about something being wrong with the camera.

Thanks again...

Aliayson

Was the whole picture equally blurry or just the subject. If it was just the subject with something in the foreground or background being sharp, then that's a focusing issue. If the whole picture was blurry, then it could be camera movement/shakes or a soft focusing lens, depending on the type of blur. Any chance you can post a sample image?

You might also want to try doing some test shots with the camera on a tripod to see if the blur persist even then.

Leo,

the whole picture appears equally blurry, though I've had other "blurry" photos in which parts of my subject are clear and other parts are blurry (and the parts that are blurry are the ones my autofocus points are supposedly focused on). I have tried using my tripod with a bit better results, though not 100%. I'm reasonably sure it's camera shake, I just thought it strange that a stationary subject taken at 1/1600 could end up blurry due to camera shake. I'm certainly not jumping up an down when I take the photo!

I've attached the two photos I referred to in my post. LE8B8087 is the blurry photo and LE8B8086 is the sharper photo.

-- AliAyson

Oops..can't get the images small enough to post so nevermind...

Try uploading the pictures to a webslite like flickr or photobucket and linking from there?

Hi AliAyson,

I found this very old post that described the very same puzzling problem I have with my Canon 6D. Whole pictures sometimes came out somewhat blurry even at very high shutter speeds (1/3200). Wonder if you ever resolve your problem, and how?

Henry.

Henry,

Welcome to POTN!

Post a few samples with EXIF info and we'll be able to diagnose the problem quickly.
Without actual examples, we're just guessing. There are many factors that can make pictures blurry.

Ran into this issue when taking photos at the aquarium... I imagine it's due to camera shake, low lighting, AF issues, another layer of glass, and the water, causing the blurriness.

greenoakla wrote in post #16393496
Hi AliAyson,

I found this very old post that described the very same puzzling problem I have with my Canon 6D. Whole pictures sometimes came out somewhat blurry even at very high shutter speeds (1/3200). Wonder if you ever resolve your problem, and how?

Henry.

What aperture were you shooting at? My bet is that you were wide open and thus had a very narrow DoF, which combined with some camera shake. DoF on full frame is narrower that for a crop sensor camera at the same aperture/distance.foca​l length. This can sometimes take time to adjust too when making the switch. Try using AI Servo autofocus, it may work better than One Shot as it will continually focus, which may correct for any camera shake.

It would be something wrong with your camera such as the focus, a dirty lens

Thanks for all the feedback. Here's a folder with 4 RAW photos taken at 1/3200s or 1/4000s, and one taken with 1/250s:
https://www.dropbox.co​m/sh/fxta7hl7x9gnkgj/j​RtYIfz9SG

The high shutter speeds were used while riding in a moving car, with the hope of freezing the motion and getting sharp pictures. However, when viewed at original size, there seems to be some haze around the edges, giving an unsharp appearance.

In IMG_1172, I was standing still at the vista point and hand-holding the camera like I normally do (I forgot to dial down the shutter). Still, I can see some haze around the edges overall. Photo IMG_1186 was taken at 1/250s, and it looks better!
I always use One Shot AF setting, so focus must be attained before the shots were taken.

Even at high shutter speeds handheld and moving subjects can introduce a little movement. Moving in a car, yes now you are moving a lot =)

"Haze around the edges" can mean various things aside from motion "blur". Do you know how to take/post screen shots? If so, "snip" a small portion of a shot (100% view) that clearly shows the "haze" and post it here!

greenoakla wrote in post #16395837
Thanks for all the feedback. Here's a folder with 4 RAW photos taken at 1/3200s or 1/4000s, and one taken with 1/250s:
https://www.dropbox.co​m/sh/fxta7hl7x9gnkgj/j​RtYIfz9SG

The high shutter speeds were used while riding in a moving car, with the hope of freezing the motion and getting sharp pictures. However, when viewed at original size, there seems to be some haze around the edges, giving an unsharp appearance.

1. Depth of field - Not sure what you focused on but you were shooting at f/4.0 which means that almost nothing in the image is going to be in focus.
2. You were shooting with the EF24-105 f/4 IS USM at f/4 (wide open) and at max zoom. I have that lens and it is far from sharp, especially wide open.
3. You were shooting in one shot AF mode - this probably isn't going to matter with this sort of general landscape shot as it doesn't matter exactly where the camera focuses. But when shooting a specific subject like a tree (while you are moving) or a person who is moving, AI servo is the correct AF mode to use as it continuously refocuses).

This one, I am afraid, is a combination of the 24-105 lens being generally soft, especially wide open, and the fact that you were shooting at f/4 resulting in narrow depth of field.

Henry,

I'll defer to Dan's expertise on the 24-105L since I've never used that lens. But I agree with his analysis that the image quality issues are due to lens limitations and not motion blur.

The difference between IMG_1172 and IMG_1186 shows the value of stopping down a lens.

Thanks to Dan and others for all the advice. I was expecting the extreme high shutter speed to freeze motion (like a strobe does) and give me sharper pictures, but I overlooked the image degradation effect of a wide-open aperture. With the good high ISO of the 6D, I could have stopped down a bit. I'll also try AI Servo next time. Thanks again!

Henry.