Canon 7D focussing problems + reposted microadjustment image link

Hi all

I'm somewhat hesitant to post this for obvious reasons but from todays studio shoot I don't seem to have any tack sharp pictures that I can confidently say are pin sharp. Even when the subject was not moving. I tried photographing a statue in the end with very mixed results. The images dont seem to have a focus point and are all just slightly out. This is when viewed at 100%. I've been photographing for nearly 5 years so dont think its me.

Is anyone else with a 7D having these sort of problems? I was getting sharper images from my 40D. I will be using the 40D with the same studio setup tomorrow and comparing results.

I know the 7D has it's own lens calibration in built, but if my lenses are pin sharp on my 40D then am I right in presuming they should be tack sharp on the 7D?

I've read on another forum that the 7D is having slight back focusing issues and with Single AF Point or Spot AF Point mode, the AF fails on about one out of four shots, sometimes more.

I'd be interested to see what other people think of their images from their 7D when viewed at 100%.

Regards

Ian

You need to talk to Mark Green. Apparently there are some minor issues and new firmware is due any moment. Whether they will cure your problem or not I wouldn't know, but from what he told me I'd say that it might be what you need.
Eric

this is a massive can of worms,.,

just pay a visit to the www.dpreview.com forum on the 7D, and you will see for yourself.
Lots and Lots of people moaning about focus proplems.

to be honest I have taken a fair few pixs and i think they are pin sharp.

also i am not sure if you can view a 18mp image at 100%. i think if you view it at around 66% that gives you the same view for a 10/12 mp camera at 100%.

i took a picture of a winchat in bradgate, me and eric were at the same spot, i was using a 300 , eric a 500. i was able to crop out what i think is a very sharp image and get more details than eric could with his 500, not sure if this was down to the 18mp or i was just lucky.

So far i have been really happy with mine. but i have only been using centre point focus and none of the other modes yet.

from what i have read, there seems to be bad and good copies of the camera.

although in a studio under controlled circumstances you should be getting pin sharp images.
I am sure we might here from canon soon, reading the forum lots of people have sent there 7D back and got replacements.

Where abouts are you based in the UK Ian.

I wil post that winchat picture this evening to show you what i mean.


Mark.G

Also there is a know Ghosting problem too. see below, so far the 7D launch seems to be very problematic !!!


Thank you for using Canon products.

We have confirmed that in certain camera settings and shooting conditions, the phenomenon described below may occur in images captured by the EOS 7D Digital SLR camera.

Canon is currently investigating and analyzing the cause of this phenomenon, and we are planning to release a firmware update to address this issue.

Once the support measures have been established, we will post the relevant information on our Web site.

We offer our most sincere apologies to customers using this product who have been inconvenienced by this issue. Going forward, we will spare no effort in our quality management to make sure our customers can use our products with confidence. We hope our efforts will earn your understanding.

Phenomenon
In images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible. This phenomenon is not noticeable in an image with optimal exposure. The phenomenon may become more noticeable if a retouching process such as level compensation is applied to emphasize the image.

Affected Product
EOS 7D Digital SLR

Support
This contact information is for residents of the United States and Puerto Rico only. If you do not reside in the USA or Puerto Rico, please contact the Canon Customer Support Center in your region.
Thank you,
Customer Support Operations
Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Thanks Mark

Ive heard about the ghosting problems but fingers crossed mine has not been affected. Seems like Canon have jumped the gun again before thoroughly testing their equipment. Looks like its going to be a similar case of the Mk3 recall if it carries on like this.

Cheers
Ian

Hi Ian,

Firstly, let me say that I have had the 7D for just over a month and so far it has been better than the 50D that it replaced. I have just been checking all my lenses for AF to see whether they need micro adjustment and none of them do.

What settings for AF were you using? Are you shooting in Single Shot or AI Focus or AI Servo and what subjects are you shooting? Did you use Multipont, Zone, Single point, Single Point expansion, or Spot? What Aperture were you set to?

It isn't really the lens you are calibrating with Micro Adjustment it is the relationship between the lens and body (the body is adjusted) so the fact that your lens was good on the 40D doesn't mean it will be on the 7D.

Let us know what the settings were and we may be able to help.

P.S. a lot of the noise on DPReview is irrelevant as there are many users there who do not understand the camera or are not prepared to read the manual etc.

Rob

Rob I do agree about dpreview, there are quite a few nutters on that forum who dont have a clue ,!!!

Hi Rob

Thanks for the posting. The settings I were using are listed below:

File Name _MG_4073.CR2
Camera Model Canon EOS 7D
Firmware Firmware Version 1.0.7
Shooting Date/Time 28/10/2009 13:32:31
Author Ian Butler Photography
Owner's Name
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/250
Av( Aperture Value ) 14.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
ISO Speed 100
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Focal Length 100.0mm
Image Size 5184x3456
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
FE lock OFF
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode One-Shot AF
AF area select mode Spot AF
Picture Style Faithful
Sharpness 0
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Color tone 0
Color Space Adobe RGB
Long exposure noise reduction 0:Off
High ISO speed noise reduction 0:Standard
Highlight tone priority 0:Disable
Auto Lighting Optimizer 0:Standard
Peripheral illumination correction Enable
File Size 22471KB
Dust Delete Data No
Drive Mode Single shooting
Live View Shooting OFF


The aperture was ranging between f/5.6 and f/16 and hardly any were sharp. The sharpest one I had was of the Harlequin I posted yesterday and thats still not as sharp as I would have liked. I've attached a 100% crop of the ladybirds head where the focus was aimed at. At this point the ladybird wasnt moving which is why I was shooting one shot AF. This is the sharpest image from the session but it is still slightly out as I was manually focussing so this could be down to user error. Its still a lot sharper than the ones where auto focus was used though!
I've had the same problems with my 17-40 F4, and my 70-200mm aswell in that there doesnt seem to be anywhere on the photograph thats pin sharp. Its really strange. Its as though it looks as if the CCD is just slightly out and the image is falling short giving a slightly out of focus look.

Any information regards to this would be invaluable as I'm tempted to send it back.

Cheers

Ian

Just been doing a couple of microadjustant experiments and im having to put +20 into the camera to get the focus anywhere near focussing. I'm definately not the sharpest techy in the box but this doesnt seem right. I'll see if i can put the results down somehow in +-5 increments see if anybody can figure it out.
Cheers
Ian

Right then.. to prove my point ive put a chart of images on my wesbite... http://www.ianbutlerphotography.co.uk/Microadjustment.htm

Ive readjusted the lens through -20 to +20 and somewhere between +15 and +20 being the sharpest.

I was using AI SERVO and SPOT AF and with a tripod. I focussed on the number 6 on all images until the focus stopped searching and then took the photograph.

If anybody can shine any light on this it would be brilliant.

Thanks in advance.

Regards

Ian

hi ian winchat image original see if you think the crop is sharp.


Mark

and here is the crop

I definately wouldn't evaluate sharpness with the subject occupying such a tiny part of the frame as shown above. I think expecting a crisp frame filling image from such a massive crop is quite unrealistic, at least IMHO.

FWIW, You shouldn't use AI focus for any lens testing on static objects - the focus never actually settles and stops, but micro-hunts continuously as the focus & servo system expects the target to be moving. If you want to evaluate focus, then you need to use One-Shot.

Micro Adjustment is not to be done using AI Servo. One Shot mode is required. This goes for normal shooting of static subjects with Canon cameras too. Because of the predictive focus algorithms used by AI Servo (and AI Focus to a large extent) the focus cannot deal with static subjects and tries to move off the subject in the predicted direction of movement. A static subject fools the camera into thinking that it is either moving directly towards or away from the camera so you will get front or rear focus as a result. You will need to do the Micro Adjustments again starting at 0 in one shot mode. Go to +5 and see whether there seems to be an improvement. If not go to -5 and if this is better you know that a negative adjustment is needed. I've not come across anyone who has needed more than an 8 point adjustment though so 15 points does seem high. Also, I see you are running 1.0.7 firmware and there is a benefit to going to 1.0.9.

Hope this helps.

Rob

Thanks for all your replies. I shall redo the test with One shot and see what happens after I install the new firmware (thanks Rob).

My god, this sounds a nightmare & very complicated

Bird ID, it's a female stonechat by the way not a Winchat as mentioned.

Hope everyone is well

Yup, its very complicated as I've just it done it again and its still coming out with maximum sharpness above +15 (around +18 to be exact) for the 100mm f2.8. GRRR! It is definately front focussing a lot which explains why all my studio shots from yesterday don't seem to be sharp! Does this mean my camera's faulty and needs to be sent back? Im going to try it with the 500mm tomoz to see if what if its the same sort of calibration with that.

Hi Ian,

Sorry to hear you are having issues, I've just received one so not looking forward to testing it now , keep us posted.

Cheers,

Lewis.

Hi Ian,

That kind of Micro Adjustment would imply that there is more to your fault than normal. Looks like a trip back to Canon for that one.

Sorry to hear it.

Rob