Blurry photos due to auto focus?

I have only taken a single photo with 9pt Auto AF - I find it that bad...
If that is what you are using, I have no doubt you would only have a 20% success rate...

I just tried taking a couple shots with it for the heck of it, and it doesn't even focus on the closet thing sometimes - It goes all over the place, picking a different focus point almost every time I half press the shutter button (or push the * button in my case )

Bottom line is - try to get used to selecting the focus point you want to use... I leave mine set to the center one exclusively b/c that is the only cross type...
I find that works for me - focus + recompose

I wonder if there is a thread in here that would explain... "How to Properly Focus", I've search and I could not find one. That way we can point people to it. There are so many threads like this thinking there cameras are failing them.

Here is a You Tube link for the 7D Focusing and Recomposing.

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=6nBVeWszWrU

For the record I hate focus and recompose and think with 19 AF points you should use them rather than using center point and recompose.

You are not just limited to the center point, here are other points that help you focus . But of all ppl know if you use auto af, it will pick he closest object and focus on it whether you want I or not.

JeffreyG wrote in post #10575700
If you are not deliberately selecting the focus point to use and then placing that focus point over an area with contrast on the subject where you want the focus to be, your results will be a crap shoot.

egordon99 wrote in post #10576002
Absolutely. How is the camera supposed to know what your subject is? The AF sensors don't really "see" anything except phase differences in the light. You NEED to explicitly select the ONE focus point that is closest to your intended subject.

Veemac wrote in post #10581701
What JeffreyG (and several others) said. Using Auto AF point selection is letting the camera choose what to focus on instead of YOU choosing what you want to focus on.

Just to clarify for the OP. The above quotes are not telling you to abandon Autofocus and exclusively use manual focus. They are suggesting that you need to manually select which focus point(s) the camera uses in Autofocus to focus on the composition.

killwilly wrote in post #10581806
When I first had my 450D I aways used multi focus points, but since I started using centre focusing, my shots have improved enormously.

Pretty much the first important thing you pick up when you start with DSLRs

I found the issue, sadly 3 days to late, and i missed many once in a lifetime shots. The focus being put back on AI Servo fixed the issue.

I've done that before. Try shooting BIF with the darn thing in One shot mode. Not a recipe for good results. Glad you worked it out.

What you guys were talking about with single point auto focus, how do you turn that on with the T2i? It seems the only options I have are the 1 point manual focus, and 9 point auto focus

NothingRemains10 wrote in post #10599942
What you guys were talking about with single point auto focus, how do you turn that on with the T2i? It seems the only options I have are the 1 point manual focus, and 9 point auto focus

With all new bodies, Canon provide an accessory called the "instruction manual"
It's packed full of useful information which comes in quite handy sometimes.
Have a read of it. You'll be surprised at what you will find in it.
You will find page 68 very enlightening.

NothingRemains10 wrote in post #10599942
What you guys were talking about with single point auto focus, how do you turn that on with the T2i? It seems the only options I have are the 1 point manual focus, and 9 point auto focus

What do you mean by 1 point manual focus? You hit the button that highlights all the AF points, and you use the buttons to move between them to select just one, or you tell it to use all of them. The only thing that controls manual focus vs auto focus is the switch on the lens.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #10661210
What do you mean by 1 point manual focus? You hit the button that highlights all the AF points, and you use the buttons to move between them to select just one, or you tell it to use all of them. The only thing that controls manual focus vs auto focus is the switch on the lens.

I think the poster meant "1 point I choose, 9 points the camera chooses".