Missing Focus?

[AndyH]

I have started using manual mode on my canon 60d. I adjust shutter and aperature to where the exposure meter is in the middle and the iso is as close to 100 as possible. Keeping in mind, not to go too slow on the shutter. Also, i'm shooting in raw. The problem is I am missing the focus unless I zoom all the way in on the subject. I would post the raw file but I'm not sure how to.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[dxqcanada]

When you say "manual mode" ... are you talking about manual exposure or manual focus ?

 

[astroNikon]

What focusing more and area settings are you using?

 

[AndyH]

sorry, I'm using manual exposure and auto focus (one shot) setting

 

[astroNikon]

Focusing is much more than just point and shoot.
If that is the case then one potential issue is the camera is focusing on something that you don't want to focus on.

I don't know the Canon 60d so I cannot specifically elaborate. But this article may shed some light on it for you ==> Focusing Quick Tip: Single Point AF Methods

If you can provide examples too we can help more.

If you are taking pictures of something small in the overall scene then the camera may not even notice it to focus on it. For instance, let's say you want to take a photo of your friend while there are many people roving around. How does the camera know who to focus on? It doesn't. Sometimes you have to take control and make that decision for the camera.

There are multiple things on a camera you can control, such as:
- Exposure Mode (Manual which is for Shutter, Aperture and ISO)
- Metering Mode (single point up to entire scene evaluation
- Focus Modes and Areas - the linked article reviews the "areas" part of it to focus on what you want to focus on, not letting the camera make a selection.

Lowering a shutter speed may introduce motion blur not only from the subject but also from the person holding the camera. Don't be afraid of ISO unless your camera is fairly old. The newer cameras are very good at low noise ISO thus allowing more flexibility in higher shutter speeds and aperture control.

 

[weepete]

If you are missing focus the generally it could be a few things: shutter speed too slow, not enough depth of field (too small an aperture), incorrect focus mode (single shot mode when shooting a moving subject), focus recompose thowing your DOF out or focal point(s) not being on your subject.

If you posted an example we might be able to help further but it's kinda hard to diagnose through text alone.

 

[Advanced Photo]

Make sure the active (lighted) focus point is on what you want to focus on. Maybe turning the grid on while you get used to the placement of those points better will help you to frame your shots better. Also hold the shutter button halfway and make sure of the focus be for clicking the rest of the way to snap the pic. With a auto manual lens, you can also hand adjust the focus yourself before snapping the shutter.

 

[KmH]

I would post the raw file but I'm not sure how to.

Raw files can't be posted online as images. So don't waste your time.
You've already gotten lots of good feedback regarding focus.

 

[Designer]

The problem is I am missing the focus unless I zoom all the way in on the subject.

This hints at the possibility that the focus point/area missed your subject. My camera (and editing software) will show me the area of focus when the shot was taken. Do some test shots like the ones in question, and check where the focus actually was. I'm guessing that the focus was on the background rather than your subject.

 

[AndyH]

Thank you all for the replies! I am going to read through and practice what you all have said. In the mean time, I converted a raw to jpg for example. I was standing about 30 ft away when I took this shot. ISO 125, aperature f/4, shutter 1/350, focal length 24mm. No flash and time of day was around 5:20pm yesterday. https://goo.gl/photos/xHDw1HidEcfnPhnb9

 

[table1349]

Do you have a filter on your lens. I'm not seeing anything that is sharp in the photo. Also what lens?

 

[AndyH]

No filter and it is a canon efs 18-135mm lens

 

[table1349]

What post processing did you do to the Raw file? Raw images generally will need a bit of sharpening in post processing where as .jpg images are generally processed in camera.

 

[AndyH]

In that example, I didn't do any. I used canon's digital photo professional 4 to open the raw file and then saved it as jpg.

 

[table1349]

Take that raw file in DPP at actual size and sharpen the photo. You have to be careful not to over shape. I use unsharp mask instead for sharpening.


Canon DLC: Video Detail: Unsharp Mask in DPP