70D Focusing Issue!

[PhotosInParadise]

Just got this Canon 70D today plus a 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM lens. Just took several outside photos of my dogs just to test it out. All of them came out this way, the dog seems to be in fairly good focus, front of him in better focus and behind him and up is out of focus. I have cropped the photo a little. But since I have never used this lens nor any with the capability of f/2.8, I didn't know if this is just how it is supposed to look or if this camera maybe has the famous 70d focus issue.

FYI, I always shoot my outside photos in Tv mode with a SS of 1000, Al Servo to capture this little dog that is always running 90-0. I also used Auto ISO. I think the camera chose f/3.5 for the aperture.

Please advise your opinion on the focus issue. Or did I just miss focus.

 

[tirediron]

It's really difficult to say on so small an image, but the grass in the foreground appears sharp; I'm guessing you simply missed focus. F3.5, especially at a longer focal length will be a pretty shallow DoF.

 

[spiralout462]

Try stopping down before you blame the camera

 

[fmshoemaker]

Back button focus is always better as well. I rarely miss focus in sporting events on ai-servo with bbf.

 

[fmshoemaker]

Try stopping down before you blame the camera

[emoji13]

 

[weepete]

Probably a depth of field issue, at f3.5 its a bit thin. Try it at f8.

 

[OGsPhotography]

What was your distance to the dog and what focal length?

 

[robbins.photo]

Hi again PiP..,.

Well, upside is looks like the lighting on this one is a big improvement from where this all started, I can actually make out his eyes. So a big step forward there.

Ok, so two concepts to think about here, one is the camera's autofocus system. My guess is you probably have the camera set in 19 point automatic selection which is the default mode for the camera. In this mode the camera is going to analyze the scene and pick what it thinks should be the focus point from any point available within those 19. In this case it looks like the camera did that, but your intended point of focus (the dogs face) was not what the camera chose.

Ok, so I'm not a canon shooter myself, but on my Nikon it allows me to reduce the number of focus points the camera will consider, thus giving me more control over which focus point the camera chooses.

I actually normally use just one focus point. For an action shot like this I'll leave it dead center and shoot a little wide, I can crop the photo later for the composition I want that way. I will sometimes use up to 9 focus points if I'm going after a very fast, erratic target like birds in flight, however for a shot like this I'd most likely use just one. You will miss a few at first, but you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly and once you do you get great results.

The second issue, as someone mentioned, is your DOF - for a shot like this where you have plenty of light, by stopping down the lens you increase your DOF - that way things that are closer too or further away than the chosen focal point will still appear to be sharp.

Since you have plenty of light, stopping down the lens would be a good option. Shooting at perhaps F8 or F11 would increase your DOF, and in combination with choosing the right focal point will make this a much sharper image.

 

[PhotosInParadise]

Thank you all! I sure don't want to blame the camera, that's what I get for reading all those focus issue stories on the internet, they probably just didn't focus right either. I have attached one I took today using f/8 and it looks fine, IMO anyway. I "photoshopped" the dogs into it so don't laugh at my newbie editing skills, I'll learn!
@robbins.photo - yes I do use AiServo center point focus but I am trying to follow his running so that's probably why I don't get it right, its a wonder I don't have more blur as I am trying to track him than I do.

 

[robbins.photo]

PiP... did some reading on Canon, might want to try the zone AF feature - give the camera a few more focus points to choose from. I got pretty used to using just the one but it does take some practice, for you maybe the zone might work better. The important thing being getting the shot you want, who cares what mode you had to use to get it

So give that a try, see if maybe it works better for you, and if so use it.

 

[PhotosInParadise]

Yes, I have been reading/rereading the manual that came with my 70d and it does seem as if the 9 point center focus zone would be good to use for capturing this running little dog. Gonna try it tomorrow anyway. I was just happy today to see that photo above that didnt have that out of focus upper left!

 

[JacaRanda]

You should practice on something with high contrast and something not moving first.

 

[JacaRanda]

PiP... did some reading on Canon, might want to try the zone AF feature - give the camera a few more focus points to choose from. I got pretty used to using just the one but it does take some practice, for you maybe the zone might work better. The important thing being getting the shot you want, who cares what mode you had to use to get it

So give that a try, see if maybe it works better for you, and if so use it.

Was going to suggest somewhat the same thing. One point on an all black running dog may be kinda tough with the lack of contrast.