7D focus - what went wrong?

Hi guys,
Firstly, I picked up my 7D a little while ago, and have had no problems with it.
I took a few quick family snaps yesterday, and once downloaded, noticed almost all of them were out of focus. The camera had focused on the background in every shot.
I was shooting in RAW, on a tripod, with centre AF on the lady in the middle's chest and when I saw the results, I reviewed and the focus selection point was most definitely not on the trees behind/above the group.
So what do you guys think I've done wrong here? I don't usually take group photos but have done previously with no problems.
I'm sure it's probably just some setting I've missed but I've attached the photo and exif in hopes someone can shed some light for me
Thanks!

P.S - I tried using my speedlite later on, and still had the same result.


File name
000IMG_1877.jpg
Camera Model Name
Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Date/Time
12/19/2009 05:50:15
Tv(Shutter Speed)
1/100Sec.
Av(Aperture Value)
F11
Metering Modes
Center
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
800
Lens
-
Focal Length
28.0 mm
Image size
5184 x 3456
Image Quality
-
Flash
Off
White Balance
-
AF mode
-
Picture Style
-
Parameters
Tone Curve : -
Sharpness level : -
Pattern Sharpness : -
Contrast : -
Sharpness : -
Color saturation : -
Color tone : -
Color matrix
-
Color Space
Adobe RGB (1998)
File Size
15612 KB
Dust Delete Data
No
Drive Mode
-
Owner's Name
-
Camera Body No.
-

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which af did you have the camera on?

Just a quick guess! If you focused on her chest it is a plain flat area.You need to focus on an area with contrasting color or shade.This is what hoe the AF system works.
Did you sharpen the RAW file? What focus point were you using?

Hi Dave,
AF was single-point in the centre.
Camera was also set to one shot.

I took a few photos, all were focused on whoever was in the centre of the group.
And nope, no sharpening, just quickly converted to jpeg to post.
So even if my AF point is not on the trees behind/above, the camera will still focus on it?
Sorry, just trying to learn before I shoot another group

There are two single points.The smallest one has a dot in the middle.

I'm watching this thread as well. Mine did the same thing shooting basketball Friday night. Red focus square clearly on the face of a player lined up to rebound a freethrow. The focus ended up on the guy next to him and clearly BEHIND the red focus square.

Not sure what's going on with mine, either but I'll bet it's USER error in my case!

dave

If you shot in RAW you MUST sharpen the file before you change to JPG. Your photo doesn't look out of focus it looks soft.

You need to:

1. Verify that it always back-focuses. (Or was this a focus glitch?)

2. If so, is it just this lens? Or all lenses?

3. If it's just this lens, calibrate the lens to adjust for it.

4. If it turns out it does it consistently with all lenses, instead of doing this for all lenses just swallow your heart and ship it to Canon for warranty tweaking.

snyderman wrote in post #9230360
I'm watching this thread as well. Mine did the same thing shooting basketball Friday night. Red focus square clearly on the face of a player lined up to rebound a freethrow. The focus ended up on the guy next to him and clearly BEHIND the red focus square.

Not sure what's going on with mine, either but I'll bet it's USER error in my case!

dave

I'll bet it's user error in my case as well dave, don't worry! When I figure out what I'm doing wrong, I'll let you know..

He shouldn't do any of those things until he sharpens his RAW files first.

Looking at your EXIF data you have outdated firmware. Go to Canon and get the 1.1.0 firmware for your 7D. The shot says you're on 1.0.9.

Mine occasionally does this too, but not consistently. I think they are still working out the bugs with the new AF system.

John the Geek wrote in post #9230368
You need to:

1. Verify that it always back-focuses. (Or was this a focus glitch?)

2. If so, is it just this lens? Or all lenses?

3. If it's just this lens, calibrate the lens to adjust for it.

4. If it turns out it does it consistently with all lenses, instead of doing this for all lenses just swallow your heart and ship it to Canon for warranty tweaking.

Thanks for the food for thought. Will get a group of friends together in similar conditions and try again to see if it's just this lens.
I shoot with this lens/camera combination all the time for portraits of one of two people and never noticed a problem.
My partner and I microadjusted all my lenses when I first picked the camera up.
I think I'll have to reshoot another group, try a few lenses, and if there's still a problem, give Canon a call..
Thanks for the advice.

mrgooch wrote in post #9230378
He shouldn't do any of those things until he sharpens his RAW files first.

If you're referring to me.. he is a she.
But thank you anyway for the sharpening tip. I only started shooting raw a week or so ago.
Still, I don't think it's going to make a difference, in the original raw file, the misfocus is EXTREMELY obvious, not just a little softness..

John the Geek wrote in post #9230380
Looking at your EXIF data you have outdated firmware. Go to Canon and get the 1.1.0 firmware for your 7D. The shot says you're on 1.0.9.

Mine occasionally does this too, but not consistently. I think they are still working out the bugs with the new AF system.

Cheers, will get on to it and see if it makes a difference!