why is this not sharp?

I'm looking for critique on this. Any critique is welcome but I mainly want to know, why isn't it sharp?

taken with 100L, handheld, IS on, AV mode
this is cropped from the original. he was about 10 ft away.
f/9
1/80
ISO 800

I don't think I missed the focus point, plus f/9 should be enough to get him in focus. I'm guessing shutter speed is too slow for a moving kid or too slow for handheld even with IS?

IMAGE LINK: https://www.flickr.com …20396969@N03/13​159587664/

100mm on a crop is 160mm field of view. you shutter speed was 1/80, so you probably need to bump that up some. especially since its a person, and they don't tend to be perfectly still.

Yup I'd say too slow a shutter speed. 1/160 would be the minimum without IS and 1/320 would be the minimum for me!!

With real live subjects I try not to go below 1/125th to counter subject movement. IS is useless against something in the frame that is moving.

All valid points above but..

There are many known issues with the 70D. The center focus point has an alignment issue on some models causing a front or back focus.Normally at larger apertures (wider than F/4). Try live view, if this fixes the issue, then this may be your problem.

Also the lens may need some major micro focus with that body. All of my lenses needed anywhere from a +3 to +8 on Canon lenses to a +13 on my Tamron.

So far there is not a firmware fix for it, or a recall from canon. Google to find lots of info on this.
https://photography-on-the.net …54075&highlight​=70d+focus


EDIT:
You can also use the canon software to see exactly where your focus point is in a raw/cr2 image.

It sure looks like camera shake in the flickr image. Also, where did you have the focus point?

Thanks for all the comments. My focus point was right on middle of his face.

timrocks311 wrote in post #16760146
Thanks for all the comments. My focus point was right on middle of his face.

Focus on an eye, not the middle of the face. You need an area of solid, visible contrast under the focus point for it to work. You're not going to get that from his cheek.

It looks to me like the focus was just below the left shoulder. And yes, there is both movement blur and poor focus on the eyes.

^^Yup, that's why I was asking. Even if you had a higher shutter speed this shot may still have been a bit soft. As mentioned, the camera needs something with contrast/hard delineation to lock focus on, rather than a single tone subject.

My thought was that it was back-focused, although subject movement certainly could have been an issue, his sweater on the left shoulder looks sharper than the face.