I suck at focussing my 5D -- Canon Digital Cameras in photography-on-the.net forums

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Mar 04, 2011 17:15 | #1

Just got a 5D MKII and focus has been tricky. I upgraded from a 40D, so I'm wondering if drastic increase in resolution is highlighting an existing technique flaw. I was wondering if anyone else had this problem when making a huge jump in resolution? I'm manually focussing and I select the appropriate focus point, but it still seems to be off slightly. Here are my images. Am I just being a pixel peeper?

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Thorrulz

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Mar 04, 2011 17:31 | #3

What's your shutter speed? Handheld or tripod? Just a couple of things to take into consideration.
Also what Aperture are you shooting with?

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T Kubik
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Mar 04, 2011 17:51 | #4

This shot was done with prophoto strobe at 300ws, shutter speed 250 f4.5 on a tripod

-Tom
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kjonnnn

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Mar 04, 2011 17:54 | #5

What did you focus on?

Have you tried using the autofocus on the same spot for comparison?

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T Kubik
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Mar 04, 2011 18:04 | #6

I had the AF point about a half inch below his eye below his eye and focused there.I figured at 4.5, I was easily going to get his eye ball in there. I did not try auto focus.

-Tom
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ni$mo350

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Mar 04, 2011 18:06 | #7

Might need to MA..

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T Kubik
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Mar 04, 2011 18:09 | #8

ni$mo350 wrote in post #11957459

Might need to MA..

Never heard that. Que es?

-Tom
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JeffreyG

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Mar 04, 2011 18:09 | #9

The sample shot is backfocused about 2 inches. Did you manually focus or use AF?

If manual, well....you missed. I personally find all EOS cameras very tough to focus manually. The ground glass is smooth and there are no focus aids. If you really want to use manual focus then think about getting a third party ground glass with a real focus aid.

If auto-focus, then this particular shot backfocused. Try a few more. If it keeps missing try some other lenses to see if the problem is with the lens or the body and then get the offending item calibrated and a Canon service center. If the problem is with one lens (especially if it is a prime) then you can use the MA feature to adjust the focus.

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duntov

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Mar 04, 2011 18:10 | #10

Have you tried the same shot at F8 by chance? May appear sharper at that aperture?

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ni$mo350

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Mar 04, 2011 18:13 | #11

T Kubik wrote in post #11957469

Never heard that. Que es?

https://photography-on-the.net …95&highlight=micro+adjust

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kjonnnn

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Mar 04, 2011 18:17 | #12

I'd do another test. Pick a spot. Manually focus with one image, use AF on the other. If you really want see where its focusing, use a shallow DOF.

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Edsport

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Mar 04, 2011 18:33 | #13

Looking at the cropped photo it appears focus was not on the eye but beyond it, you can look at left of the eye and it appears the foucs was more on his hair...

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T Kubik
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Mar 04, 2011 18:37 | #14

I shot this with an 85 1.8 that I rented from school and I'm wondering if the lens just needed MA, as stated above. I did a focus test with my 24-105 and everything looks great. I'm going to keep practicing and implement live view for focus. Thanks for the help guys!

-Tom
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mrgooch

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Mar 04, 2011 21:07 | #15

A half inch below his eye is not a good place to be focusing. It's just a patch of uniform skin color.

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