I have got a focus problem with my 550d after all grrr

AndyWest

AndyWest

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Andy
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I have not really been happy with my 550d results since buying it. A couple shots have come out good but on the whole 99% of shots have been soft even with my new 24-105mm f4L. I went round my dads today and tested my lenses and his 40d and his lenses on my 550d and there was a fair difference between the 2. The 40d and my lenses were spot on! My camera regardless of lens was oof. So I was right all along! I thought it was the lenses but turns out to be the camera :bang: I'm that annoyed I'm just thinking of packing it all in but I know I don't want to and it's an easy fix so after I calm down I'll see what i want to do.

When I got home I looked on the web and found others with the same issue that could not always be rectified first time and in many cases the camera needed to be calibrated with the lens and using different lenses meant different results. I wish i kept my 450d now :(

So peeps with 550d's check and hope yours is OK :thumbs:
 
That's not good Andy, sorry you having issues.

I'm sure you've already checked, but does the 550D not have Micro Adjustment like the 7D?

Failing that is the body under warranty? did you buy new?
 
No micro adjustment i'm afraid but yes it was new.

Humph :D
 
Are you sure you have a issue ? i would expect a 40D to look sharper at 100% due to the pixel density.
 
Dogfish_magnet said:
Are you sure you have a issue ? i would expect a 40D to look sharper at 100% due to the pixel density.
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Yep! Every camera i have had has been fine but this one i have never been sure about. It's one reason i bought the L glass and although a few images are pretty good they are not fab and the rest well......in the bin.
 
Andy are you sure the camera is actually failing to focus in a consistent manner? I thought I had a similar problem with the 450D I used to own, but it turned out that my expectations for an entry level camera system were simply too high, rather than it being an actual fault. Basically, in good light the AF performed fine every time, but in less than perfect light I found that in order to get absolutely razor sharp results I had to use contrast detect AF in live view. A lot of the work I do is in dull buildings or indoors, and I was finding that even though the camera had focus lock, it may not have focussed ON the subject, but an inch or two behind/in front of it, just enough to throw off sharpness. It wasn't as noticeable on the kit lens (being f/5.6 at the long end), but when I got the nifty fifty, it did become more apparent. I also noticed it on the Sigma 10-20, when entire images were ever so slightly soft as the camera seemed to miss the focus by a considerable amount. Again, in good light both lenses performed 100% perfect.

Basically, after a thread or two that was posted here, it all boiled down to my expectations being too high of an entry level piece of kit. Now, I don't know about the 550D as it has a newer AF system, but it may just be that you too are expecting a little too much from it. My 1Ds on the other hand will not focus lock until it has achieved perfect focus, and I have not had a single OOF picture yet in the two~ months I've owned it, even with the 50mm f/1.4 on full bore (which to get right, is asking quite a lot of an AF system)

Are your results always off or is it just in less than ideal light?

Also, another thing - I have noticed when working on the raw .CR2 files in DPP, that they look a little soft, no matter what. I find that once I have finished working on them and output them to JPEG is when the true sharpness becomes apparent. Don't condemn a picture as 'soft' until you've finished with it in your raw software, as it might be misleading you.
 
No matter what i have done the images have been soft regardless and even if it's just the camera that's no good to me as it will niggle me all the time. My old 40d and 450d were spot on and the sharp images were sharp! others were down to user error.:D
 
AndyWest said:
No matter what i have done the images have been soft regardless and even if it's just the camera that's no good to me as it will niggle me all the time. My old 40d and 450d were spot on and the sharp images were sharp! others were down to user error.:D
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Have you tried turning up the sharpness in the menu detail settings? This worked a treat on my 500D
 
AndyWest said:
No matter what i have done the images have been soft regardless and even if it's just the camera that's no good to me as it will niggle me all the time. My old 40d and 450d were spot on and the sharp images were sharp! others were down to user error.:D
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the pixel density won't be helping the apparent sharpness either. all those megapickels on that APS-C sized sensor... eugh.

So what's the next step Andy if you're unhappy with it?
 
trencheel303 said:
So what's the next step Andy if you're unhappy with it?
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Ta-Da-aaaaaa!

images
 
Arkady said:
Ta-Da-aaaaaa!

images
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ooob blimey! :D

Have you tried turning up the sharpness in the menu detail settings?
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Yup!

the pixel density won't be helping the apparent sharpness either. all those megapickels on that APS-C sized sensor... eugh.

So what's the next step Andy if you're unhappy with it?
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Yeah 18mpxle is far too many!

Buying a 40d from the for sale section as i need a camera for me hols. I know i have said they are too heavy but after playing with my dads and my 24-105 f4L i found although heavy-ish it was nicely balanced and felt SO much better quality built so i'll see how i get on with another 40d.
 
Arkady said:
Ta-Da-aaaaaa!

images
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:puke:

Oh god I am sorry, I wasnt expecting that Rob.

Andy I seen u sniffing round a 40D in the sale section nice choice :D, you should keep your eye open for a 50D some are going at under £500 on here. I dont think I have ever meet a guy that has bought so much kit! :lol:
 
Donki said:
I dont think I have ever meet a guy that has bought so much kit! :lol:
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:D I'm trying to get a good camera and set of lenses then STOP! Not sure how easy that will be :thinking::lol:
 
Oh so cruel! :D :D :D
 
Donki said:
:puke:

Oh god I am sorry, I wasnt expecting that Rob.

Andy I seen u sniffing round a 40D in the sale section nice choice :D, you should keep your eye open for a 50D some are going at under £500 on here. I dont think I have ever meet a guy that has bought so much kit! :lol:
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I'd stay well away from a 50D - I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like the output from that gauging from this and other threads.
 
AndyWest said:
:D I'm trying to get a good camera and set of lenses then STOP! Not sure how easy that will be :thinking::lol:
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agreed, I thought I had it with the 1Ds and 50mm, but the shoddy autofocus pseudo USM crap that's in the f/1.4 is dire... so yet more lens changes for me. I'll find the holy grail eventually :thinking:
 
Dogfish_magnet said:
I'd stay well away from a 50D - I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like the output from that gauging from this and other threads.
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Before buying the 550d I did read a fair few reviews on the 50d and it didn't look good. Most of my images end up at no more than 1024pixels anyway and the majority at 800 due to the size restrictions on this forum so 10 megapixels will be fine.
 
trencheel303 said:
agreed, I thought I had it with the 1Ds and 50mm, but the shoddy autofocus pseudo USM crap that's in the f/1.4 is dire... so yet more lens changes for me. I'll find the holy grail eventually :thinking:
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:eek: are you getting rid of the battleship or just goign to add a few more bits of glass?
 
Dogfish_magnet said:
I'd stay well away from a 50D - I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like the output from that gauging from this and other threads.
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Is this because of the reported high levels of noise because of pixel density? Teh meain reason I like the idea of a 50D is for the good LCD and microfocusing, I wouldn't dream of upgradign to it though unless I could for less than £100.
 
I wanted a 550D and was going to buy today but this has put me right off and I'm now confused at what to get again. Thanks lol. :)
 
Perhaps i'm not too critical, but more than happy with my 500D and 17-55 IS with the occasional change to a 55-250 IS (cheap, but sharp)
when the need arises

Might perhaps get a 7D one day if I have a few spare quid, but for now happy with my lot in life photography kit wise
 
Donki said:
:eek: are you getting rid of the battleship or just goign to add a few more bits of glass?
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LOL no, the battleship is well and truly staying... the 50mm f/1.4 is being flung out of the window for all I care... shoddy AF, build quality not so great either, and I could do with something wider and longer. Seriously, I could pull focus better with an elastic band than the f/1.4 can do with its 'micro USM'...
 
tijuana taxi said:
Perhaps i'm not too critical, but more than happy with my 500D and 17-55 IS with the occasional change to a 55-250 IS (cheap, but sharp)
when the need arises

Might perhaps get a 7D one day if I have a few spare quid, but for now happy with my lot in life photography kit wise
Click to expand...

Same here, I did find increasing the onboard sharpness control helped a bit, but I have had some exellent results from my 500d with 24-105mm lens.:thumbs:
 
trencheel303 said:
LOL no, the battleship is well and truly staying... the 50mm f/1.4 is being flung out of the window for all I care... shoddy AF, build quality not so great either, and I could do with something wider and longer. Seriously, I could pull focus better with an elastic band than the f/1.4 can do with its 'micro USM'...
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£50 then? Good man, moving to PM :lol:
 
B16 VAS said:
I wanted a 550D and was going to buy today but this has put me right off and I'm now confused at what to get again. Thanks lol. :)
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Don't be put off. They sell thousands of these things and not all can be perfect so please don't let this thread put you off.
 
Just a quick question, if you do change the sharpness etc in the camera will it affect the raw file? I thought it only effected the Jpeg?
 
Nothing touches the RAW until after it leaves the camera Andy - else it would not be a RAW. The JPEG preview you get is embedded in the (EXIF?) file
 
Depends on how you convert the RAW. I believe that DPP does pick up the picture styles and apply them but 3rd party RAW converters ignore the info.
 
Andy,

have you done some test shots with the 550D, on tripod, mirror up etc to see what the results are. Its just that I often read of people moving from say 40Ds to 7Ds and finding the same situation. The high pixel count will show up any motion blur etc compared to the earlier models
 
mine seems fine
well at least i think it is
any out of focus and blurred shots are usually down to me
i wouldn't mind seeing an example of what you mean andy
 
AndyWest said:
Don't be put off. They sell thousands of these things and not all can be perfect so please don't let this thread put you off.
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Yeah I know what you mean. This thread couldn't have happened at the worst time though lol.

Did you find that the pixel density affected the pictures at any time using any lens? (i.e. the kit lens).
 
AndyWest said:
No matter what i have done the images have been soft regardless and even if it's just the camera that's no good to me as it will niggle me all the time. My old 40d and 450d were spot on and the sharp images were sharp! others were down to user error.:D
Click to expand...

Are you 100% sure its not the thick AA filter. I would go to Jessops with your camera and one lens, take shots with the same settings on both cameras then go home and compare, it will solve the q once and for all if your camera is faulty and save you the cost of getting it calibrated.
 
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