Canon 10D auto focus problems...

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

08/05/2004 07:29:26 AM · #1

I have had a Canon 10D for about 9 months now and am having a problem with the auto focus.

Recently I shot a wedding and several of the shots required extensive tinkering with the focus. Needless to say, my client will not be happy.

Have any of you had a similar problem and can you share the sollution?

Thanks!

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

08/05/2004 07:34:19 AM · #2

What do you mean by 'tinkering with the focus'?

Two friends have 10D's and have mentioned a slight back-focus problem, but otherwise they both take very crisp shots.

08/05/2004 07:38:31 AM · #3

Originally posted by PaulMdx:

What do you mean by 'tinkering with the focus'?

Two friends have 10D's and have mentioned a slight back-focus problem, but otherwise they both take very crisp shots.

Oh, sorry - it's morning and I haven't finished my second cup of coffee yet. What I mean is that to get some of them back in focus I have to go into Photoshop's unsharp mask and sharpen them by 150% in some cases by over a 3 pixel-radius.

agwright

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

08/05/2004 07:39:47 AM · #4

What lens are you using...

I have 6 lens and there is only two I trust on autofocus (70-200 F4 L, 50mm F1.8)

the other 4 lens are Sigma and which I always use manual focus

Message edited by author 2004-08-05 07:42:42.

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

08/05/2004 07:50:26 AM · #5

Originally posted by agwright:

What lens are you using...

I have 6 lens and there is only two I trust on autofocus (70-200 F4 L, 50mm F1.8)

the other 4 lens are Sigma and which I always use manual focus

I have 4 lenses, 3 of which I used on the day in question - a Tameron AF 19-35, 1/3.5-4.5; a Canon 28-80 1/3.5-5.6 USM; a Canon 75-300 1/4.5-5.6 USM; and a Canon 85 1/1.8.

The prime lens was the only one not used that day.

undieyatch

Olympus E-10

08/05/2004 07:54:22 AM · #6

have you checked mode...... like shooting distance pictures in macro?

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

08/05/2004 07:56:21 AM · #7

Out of those lenses the 85/1.8 is by far the sharpest lens. The others will be fairly soft in comparison. Maybe do some tests with fast shutters and see what you get?

What sort of shutter were you getting on your wedding shots? In terms of your 28-80 and 75-300 - they're fairly small aperture lenses, I wouldn't be surprised if your shutter was too long, causing blurring.

Message edited by author 2004-08-05 07:56:53.

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

08/05/2004 07:57:30 AM · #8

Originally posted by undieyatch:

have you checked mode...... like shooting distance pictures in macro?

DSLRs don't have such a mode, unfortunately. :-)

08/05/2004 08:04:31 AM · #9

Originally posted by PaulMdx:

I had considered that. The wedding in question was shot out of doors and due to the set up I was west facing at a bit before sunset. This meant going between a 1/2 and 1 and 1/2 stops slower than usual.

I really appreciate your input, though I am ashamed at not having considered this at the time. (In my defense, I normally don't shoot wedding, but rather do some freelance feature photography for a small local paper.)

JC_Homola

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

08/05/2004 08:19:08 AM · #10

I occasionally have problems w/ autofocus, even w/ the 50mm 1.4 prime. It's always due to low light. Fortunately w/ that lense you can fine tune the focus manually even in auto mode. It's always been the lighting when I've had problems.