Canon T1i with Youngnuo 50mm

[vivdub]

Hi,
I have been using T1i with Younguo 50mm since quite a time.
The lens is pretty good but at times misses focus.
On full body shots its too bad but decent enough for headshot.

Now here is my question.

1. Is T1i sufficient for some professional work, leaving besides some very low light situations ?
2. Adding a better glass will make some improvement in auto-focus and sharpness ?

I also have a micro 4/3 olympus but there are certain clients who consider you only if you have DSLR, although my olympus is much better.

I have some sample shots taken with both of this gear and can share the link if any one wants.

Thanks

 

[KmH]

What makes professional work such is the photographer's technical skill and artistic knowledge - composition, control/use of light direction and quality, control of depth of field, image finishing (editing), color grading, etc - not what camera/lens is used.

Better glass may or may not give better focus sharpness. Better glass may more pleasant looking bokeh if the depth of field used is shallow.
It depends on the specific make/model of lens and the genre of photography you want to do.

 

[ac12]

Learn to use your AF to the best of its capability.
If the lens is missing focus, my guess is that is due to an error on your part.

• Are you absolutely certain that you had the active focus point on the subject?
  
• And was the active focus point on something that the camera could focus on?

When I shoot, if the image is out of focus, it is 99% of the time because I missed the subject with the active focus point.

Auto focus (AF) is a blessing and a curse.
It is easy to use and gives you functionality that is difficult to do manually.
But you NEED TO KNOW how AF works on your camera and its limitations. And with all the features and options, it can be complicated and difficult to understand.
AF is simply a tool and if you use it incorrectly, it will give you bad results.

Better glass will almost always improve the image.
But will that be an improvement that you can see? In some cases the improvement is so small that it cannot be seen under normal situations.
In LOW light, a FAST lens will auto focus better than a slow lens.

More important than glass is technique.
Example, if I cannot compose a picture well, a $10,000 camera and lens won't help me.

 

[vivdub]

What makes professional work such is the photographer's technical skill and artistic knowledge - composition, control/use of light direction and quality, control of depth of field, image finishing (editing), color grading, etc - not what camera/lens is used.

Better glass may or may not give better focus sharpness. Better glass may more pleasant looking bokeh if the depth of field used is shallow.
It depends on the specific make/model of lens and the genre of photography you want to do.

I know.
But here, clients and even photographers ask If I use full frame even before seeing work , which is absurd.
I have uploaded 2 files.
IMG 9494 e
IMG 9503 e
I kept focus point at eye, still they are not in focus, and its not with one image, neither its due to shutter speed.
What could be the cause ?

 

[vivdub]

Learn to use your AF to the best of its capability.
If the lens is missing focus, my guess is that is due to an error on your part.

• Are you absolutely certain that you had the active focus point on the subject?
  
• And was the active focus point on something that the camera could focus on?

.....

I understand, I keep at eye basically.
Check these.
IMG 9494 e
IMG 9503 e

Eyes not in focus, even when I focused there, this happens majorly in full body shots.
May be it is not getting enough contrast to detect ?

 

[KmH]

In the second the focus is behind her. Note how sharp the fence is.
The light quality and direction in both is poor enough on her that yes, there may not have been sufficient contrast for the AF module in your camera to function at full performance.

For the first image what, if any, global edits did you do, and what, if any local edits did you do?

 

[vivdub]

In the second the focus is behind her. Note how sharp the fence is.
The light quality and direction in both is poor enough on her that yes, there may not have been sufficient contrast for the AF module in your camera to function at full performance.......

For the first one, I don't use lightroom so no global and local edit concept.
I corrected exposure, increased shadow, increased greens, color grading , then skin retouching.

For the second one, if the case is as you mentioned it shall happen again, how to fix this ?
At what point would you have kept the focus ?

 

[ac12]

Learn to use your AF to the best of its capability.
If the lens is missing focus, my guess is that is due to an error on your part.

• Are you absolutely certain that you had the active focus point on the subject?
  
• And was the active focus point on something that the camera could focus on?

.....

I understand, I keep at eye basically.
Check these.
IMG 9494 e
IMG 9503 e

Eyes not in focus, even when I focused there, this happens majorly in full body shots.
May be it is not getting enough contrast to detect ?

Again, are you absolutely certain that you had the active focus point on the subject's eye?

In #1 the focus appears to be on her breast.
In #2 the focus is not anywhere near the face.​

This tells me that you are not putting the active focus point on her face.

Also on some cameras (older models and lower end models), the side focus points are not as accurate as the center focus point. In which case you have to do the "focus, hold focus and recompose" method.

First, we need to do a test to make sure the camera and lens will focus properly.

• Go shoot a brick wall. (at 1/250 sec, to eliminate camera movement)
  
• The wall has to have contrast so the AF has something to focus on, and for you see is in focus. IOW, a plain concrete or painted wall will NOT work.
  
• Shoot head on, so the wall is flat to you, not at an angle.
  
• The brick wall is FLAT, so there should be no issues with the camera/lens not being able to properly get focus.
• Make sure that you see where the camera's active AF point is. For this test, you want it in the center.
  
• If the brick wall is out of focus, you have a lens or camera problem.
• Repeat this test several times, focusing on something else in between shots. Here we want to test if the AF is reliable and repeatable.
• Repeat the wall test with your other lens.

Read the camera manual on how the AF works, how it interacts with the other controls, and the various AF options.
Then go out with a friend and practice, practice, practice, until you can reliably get what you want in focus.

 

[vivdub]

Again, are you absolutely certain that you had the active focus point on the subject's eye?

Yeah

Also on some cameras (older models and lower end models), the side focus points are not as accurate as the center focus point. In which case you have to do the "focus, hold focus and recompose" method.

I used the side focus points only.

Will try to do wall test and see.

 

[ac12]

Do the wall test first with the center AF point, then with various side AF points.

BTW, what exposure mode are you using?
Auto, P, S, A, M?

 

[vivdub]

Do the wall test first with the center AF point, then with various side AF points.

BTW, what exposure mode are you using?
Auto, P, S, A, M?

ok Will try.
Using manual.