still struggling with 7D focusing

Rebel t3i

Rebel t3i

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Tony
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struggling with getting any shots in focus
It appears to me that the actual focus point is further back that the focus point the camera shows / uses
Is it me probably lol
don't have this problem with the 600d
tried varying lenses I have and even kept it simple using a nifty 50 still an issue
seems that the good shots I do get are just pure luck
 
jamesoliverstone said:
you might want to look at calibrating focusing, It sounds like it needs adjusting.
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Was thinking that last night
what's the procedure for this any tips and pointers
sad state of affairs when my little old 400d takes better shots with it's kit lens than the 7d with my nifty 50 and 17-55 f2.8
 
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google is my friend found a link or two on how to do it will give it a go later
 
Rebel t3i said:
like the sound of that
will try that later
Top man
wonder if this is why the old guy sold his 7d kit to me
3k shots 6 months old all out of focus and he never had arthritis at all :lol:
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Could be....

Mine is lovely and sharp.....

Good luck, I hope it works out....
 
don't get me wrong I get the odd lovely sharp image it's just that it seems purely random to get one like that
1 in 100 shots may be top notch the other 99 are out of focus on the subject

It definitely focuses on the wrong point, that point is perfectly in focus though I'll give it that rolol
 
Rebel t3i said:
like the sound of that
will try that later
Top man
wonder if this is why the old guy sold his 7d kit to me
3k shots 6 months old all out of focus and he never had arthritis at all :lol:
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To be honest if it is six months old, I'd send it in to Canon for a service and calibration. If it really is out they should do it free of charge...
 
People who (suspect they) are suffering from front or back focus problems would do well to read this....

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2008/12/this-lens-is-soft-and-other-myths

....and once they understand the issue better, then assuming they have a camera with AF microadjustment (such as the 7D) might consider taking the time to try to remedy the problem for themselves. It's not like it's a new feature that nobody really knows about and I'm sure Canon didn't include it just for decoration. It's there to be used, if required.

Of course, it is possible that there is a problem which goes well beyond the scope of AF microadjustment to fix, but I''d at least see if I could sort things out for myself before taking bolder steps.

FWIW FoCal gets a +1 from me too. I'm looking forward to Release 1.5, which should be entering beta testing soon.
 
I have a 7d and use a number of canon lenses.

If you fine tune, am I right in thinking the camera remembers the settings?

Im not sure if I have an issue, I get some good and some bad, whats the likely hood that something like focal will be worth it?
 
The camera will remember the settings for each different lens model, and if you use a teleconverter or two it will remember the settings independently when they are fitted too. However, if you have half a dozen identical lenses - e.g. Canon 50/1.8 - you can't store different settings for each of the same type.

IMHO FoCal is worth the money if you have several combinations of lens/body and want the most effortless, quick and reliable method for calibrating them all. If you only have a couple of lenses and don't plan on a big expansion then maybe not. Since I have three bodies and nine lenses, making 25 possible combinations (The Ef-s lens I have won't fit two of the bodies) then it is a very useful tool.

More than just automating and simplifying calibration, it also highlights how consistent (or not) the AF performance of your gear is - something which might not be obvious with manual calibration and could throw a spanner in your efforts in some cases.

It has other features too, such as analysing the sharpest aperture for each body/lens combination, and more besides. It was released in January at version 1.0 and version 1.5 is on the way, having added more cameras, features and performance tweaks along the way. While on the 1.x release series the upgrades have all been free. When it moves to V2.x there will be an upgrade fee, but it's so good as it stands, in my experience, that I can't imagine what V2.x might bring that I would need or want.

Oh, and the licence will cover up to five bodies (serial numbers) and you are allowed 10 changes of registered serial number, so that should keep it future proofed for body upgrades for a bit, unless a new camera is released in the future which might require a full version upgrade rather than a point release.
 
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dejongj said:
To be honest if it is six months old, I'd send it in to Canon for a service and calibration. If it really is out they should do it free of charge...
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Have you tried calling Canon? They were very helpful for me when I had a problem (turned out to be me/user error). Point is they can walk you through some test to determine if it's something you are doing or it needs to be sent in for service. This is where I would start. Hope it helps. Good luck.
 
Use a 7D with selection of Canon lenses and not micro adjusted any of them.

They were fine on my old 40D's too, bit tough if they weren't because that didn't have any adjustment

Do wonder how many people have a dabble with the micro adjust and make things worse than they were originally

Here's a thought, have you tried resetting the camera to factory default and see what happens from there
 
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mipevo6 said:
well worth it.....

http://www.reikan.co.uk/focal/
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+1 for this. I bought it at the weekend and calibrated 5 lenses to my 7D, all of which needed a little Micro Focus Adjustment. I had previously tried to do it manually with print out targets and the 'cereal box & ruler' method, but even after that my adjustment wasn't as accurate as this software. It's a lot quicker too - approx 3-4 mins per lens once you're set up.

If you use this link, you'll get a discount - www.reikan.co.uk/focal/mpb45 - I picked up the Plus version for £25, which is a saving of £15 and gives you fully automated calibration. Literally, setup and 1 click of your mouse and off it goes
 
Sorry for the bump but with this software what happens if you have say a 50D and later get a 7D, do you have to pay for an upgrade again?

Or if say a 7d2 comes out, will you have to buy the whole thing again?
 
Are you using Focal Standard, Plus or Pro - the Plus seems the best bet? Can you use it with the T/C as well?

Thanks


tdodd said:
The camera will remember the settings for each different lens model, and if you use a teleconverter or two it will remember the settings independently when they are fitted too. However, if you have half a dozen identical lenses - e.g. Canon 50/1.8 - you can't store different settings for each of the same type.

IMHO FoCal is worth the money if you have several combinations of lens/body and want the most effortless, quick and reliable method for calibrating them all. If you only have a couple of lenses and don't plan on a big expansion then maybe not. Since I have three bodies and nine lenses, making 25 possible combinations (The Ef-s lens I have won't fit two of the bodies) then it is a very useful tool.

More than just automating and simplifying calibration, it also highlights how consistent (or not) the AF performance of your gear is - something which might not be obvious with manual calibration and could throw a spanner in your efforts in some cases.

It has other features too, such as analysing the sharpest aperture for each body/lens combination, and more besides. It was released in January at version 1.0 and version 1.5 is on the way, having added more cameras, features and performance tweaks along the way. While on the 1.x release series the upgrades have all been free. When it moves to V2.x there will be an upgrade fee, but it's so good as it stands, in my experience, that I can't imagine what V2.x might bring that I would need or want.

Oh, and the licence will cover up to five bodies (serial numbers) and you are allowed 10 changes of registered serial number, so that should keep it future proofed for body upgrades for a bit, unless a new camera is released in the future which might require a full version upgrade rather than a point release.
Click to expand...
 
I have the Pro licence. I don't know the ins and outs of what you gain or lose with the other versions.

I can't imagine that the software cares whether or not you have a TC fitted, other than perhaps to advise you of a recommended testing distance. That is not a concern for the software. It is more the concern of the camera body being aware that there is a TC and being able to store the AFMA value separately with the TC fitted.

FoCal should just do its thing with or without the TC - so long as you observe the constraints of combined aperture value for the camera body in question. e.g. if your combination of lens and TC becomes slower than f/5.6 then only the 1 series bodies will focus.
 
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