focus and manual WB

I've owned D30, then the D70 and now a 20D - each one an improvemnet on the other

I'm striving for clear focus and superb white balance performance to reduce the amount of post production work to get a decent image.

The D30 was slow to boot and produced "yellow" or brassy looking images.
The D70 produces OK white balance and focuses sharp and does a good job at fill flash (near natural lighting)

I bought the 20D hoping to see improvements on color - and am struggling to get it right.

I may be expecting too much from these cameras still or I just simply not have my mojo tamed yet.

I have the best luck with simply setting the 20D at sunlight and forget about any other setting. When I set the manual white balance, much in the same way as any other camera in the past, the resultant skin tones are too yellow-red. In PS I have to use hue on RED to move it to the right (green) and then select YELLOW and move that to majenta (left) then lighten the yellow to get pleasant skin tones for both the screen display as well as print out nicely.

I have also replied on a custom paramter setting which is "0" on all settings except "color" - I move that to the far right.

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I also do not get good focus at all. After update to firmware 2.0.0 - focus has gotten weird. All my lenses now have difficulty focusing. I find that ssometimes I HAVE to go to manual mode because focus is going past focus one way and back again and gets into a cycle of back and forth and back and forth seeking focus under sunny or shaded conditions within the range that the camera should handle just fine.

Even when I go to manual focus - close range focusinf seems very fuzzy even though I get a steady "in focus" light.

I'm wondering if anyone esle has there same thoughts or issues?

Jacques

D70? Isn't that a Nikon number?

Many focus problems stem from a poorly chosen depth of field. If you've got the lens aperture wide open, then this is common. Some focus problems are not even related to focus at all, and they turn out to be camera shake problems. Some focus errors are real, but they are brought on by poor lighting conditions or lack of subject contrast, and that may be a limitation of the equipment. Some focus problems start with letting the camera automatically select the focus point.

---Bob Gross---

For accurate color:
1. Calibrate your monitor.
2. Shoot Raw
3. Include a White Card, or Grey Card, or WhiBal card in one of your pictures done in the same lighting.
4. In Raw conversion select the card as your white balance.
5. Camera settings for color, contrast, wb, etc. other then Raw are irrelevant.
6.Select the parameters you like in the raw converter.

Many focus problems stem from a poorly chosen depth of field. If you've got the lens aperture wide open, then this is common. Some focus problems are not even related to focus at all, and they turn out to be camera shake problems. Some focus errors are real, but they are brought on by poor lighting conditions or lack of subject contrast, and that may be a limitation of the equipment. Some focus problems start with letting the camera automatically select the focus point.

---Bob Gross---
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If you 'll read the whole post carefully I gave a sequence of digital cameras I have owned - one being a Nikon D70. I have been shooting images for over 40 years and am way beyond the points you made in your quote. Depth of field is set very high and camera shake is not existent (tripod) - I don't think my cemara knows where the point of focus really is even though I get a light saying it's in focus. I was just wondring if other Canon users had seen the same problem. If not - then I think my camera needs some repair.

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I was hoping to get somone who hates RAW like me who has found a magic way to shoot this stuff so I can travel with fewer CF cards. If I shoot RAW all the time, then I have a major investment facing me - either more CF cards or some external standalone drive (have had extremely BAD experiences with those PODs). CF cards have been superb performers and travelers for me.

I have shot in RAW mode - but see no real differences in the final product when compared to shooting in jpg mode in the first place. I do see differences in TIF and jpg modes with the D70 Nikon though.

So Canon's white balance results are less than desired.

images001

I think the suggestion to shoot RAW is only to make achieving a proper white balance easier -- it ain't better -- many think it is easier. If done improperly Canon's white balance is less than desired -- a statement I think you could make about any camera. If done properly (shooting other than RAW), it will probably mean using a custom white balance in many circumstances -- again a statement I think you could legitimately make for any camera. If that is done properly, following the camera's instructions and using good photography techniques like using a card that is designed to give proper reflectance, putting that card in the same light at the same angle as the subjects, etc., then you should achieve an excellent white balance.
As to your own personal feelings of what is a proper white balance, well, they're your own personal feelings and I would only add that making those adjustments would be easier if you do it in RAW . . .
Jim