Although my wife says I have a focus problem at times, my inquiry relates to my Canon 7D mark II and Canon 100/400 II and a recent problem: most images are not sharp and in many instances slightly blurry. For several months I had no difficulty and was getting very sharp images whether handheld or on a tripod. The most trouble appears with shots taken at a distance (couple hundred feet to infinity). I have turned off image stabilization and used only auto focus. Same results. I have experimented with different settings. Same. Handheld, which most of my shots are, I try to exceed 1/400th sec. Even at 1/800th or higher I have a problem with focus. At first I thought it related to cold weather but had some trouble in Hawaii with it also. Recently had eagle about 200 feet away and time to take several shots at different settings (including manual focus) and same thing. Anyone had or heard of this problem with this camera and lens?
Jim, here is a Youtube on 8 points to check with regard to intermittent auto focus issues. In the video the person mentions the DOT-FOCUS check. I found that video as well.
I have same body and lens with no issues. Haven't seen those videos but in situations like this always best to do a controlled test. Tape some newsprint on a wall. Put camera on a tripod, stabilization off. Autofocus on the target. Use cable release or self-timer to trip shutter and then see if it's sharp. If it is, odds are it's not gear. Not sure how out of focus your images are but also could be a back focus/front focus issue. Again on tripod. Use a yardstick. Autofocus using single point on one of the tick marks. Inspect image on computer at 100%. Is it sharp on that tick mark or perhaps in front of it or behind it. If either, that's adjustable within reason. Yardstick is crude and a lensalign tool is better but give it a shot. So if it's you, then begin going back to basics and making sure you understand all the autofocus cases on the 7D2. Are you using the same on now with problems that worked before or perhaps did it get accidentally changed? Is there a better one to use? etc etc. Good luck. Please post your findings when you have them.
Hi John, although I do not use digital gear beyond an iPhone once in a blue moon, I did come from a very technical background & career. I watched both videos and they seem to be very well done and made sense to me even though I do not use the really neat digital hardware like you all do.
The first video touches exactly on your points in trying to determine if it is gear related or usage related. If it is determined to be gear related the second video outlines a process to make tests and adjustments to aid in resolving certain out of range focus points. Again, they seem to be good videos and I hope they do help. In the end & like you I'm interested to see what Jim might find overall.
Thanks for all the helpful comments and references. After watching the videos and reviewing the suggested information I went though the processes and it appears things are functioning properly now. One of the potential problems was user error but I have not been able to confirm that. There was potential for my having slightly jogged the manual focusing ring while zooming and not noticing the change in the viewfinder. After thinking of that, I was careful not to do so but still got some out of focus photos. So I did as suggested. One, some or all seen to have worked. Thanks, again.
Discussion
6 replies8 Steps To Check Auto Focus
DOT FOCUS Check
The first video touches exactly on your points in trying to determine if it is gear related or usage related. If it is determined to be gear related the second video outlines a process to make tests and adjustments to aid in resolving certain out of range focus points. Again, they seem to be good videos and I hope they do help. In the end & like you I'm interested to see what Jim might find overall.
Jim, really good to hear back that all is well again. Thank you for the update.