Weird autofocus/sharpness issues: Any ideas?

Pegasus_Thrust

Pegasus_Thrust

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View attachment 42654 Evening, I have had a couple of issues recently when looking at the results of a wedding shoots in LR. Basically sometimes my subjects seem to be ever so slightly out of focus with the focal plain seemingly being slightly behind. The type of composition of shots this tends to happen on is a group shot for example or at an equivalent distance but with just the B&G in it.

I am shooting a D800E (grey import Jan '14) with a nikon 24-70 2.8. I use single shutter and back focus using single point focus adjusting for where I position my subject. Close up I always go for a face (bride) but further away I try to aim tangible chunk of body of the bride or sometimes for contrast I aim it at the groom- it always locks on anyway.
I have initially panicked that it might be the left hand side issue, but to be fair it seems to occur when the subject is central and right also, add to this 80-90% of the time it gets it bang on sharp and my camera I presume was one of the later batches and therefore doesn't have the issue.
I also understand there is a large margin for error using single point and I know that sometimes I miss it but when it's certain staged photos I am quite sure I am on the money with it.

Anybody any ideas of anything I could check or tweak?..... or whether anyone is aware of any circumstance/scenarios using the settings above might not be best? ..... I have survived the last 2 weddings with it but it has reduced my keeper options annoyingly.

Attached is one of the group shots it happened to, pretty much the exact same shot last week it did the same..... there is no way I could miss with my focal point given the mass in front of the wall.
 
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Sorry, I had been struggling to post this thread due to the site issues, I tested the post first before daring to put a pic in. Basically in the pic the wall is pin sharp and the subjects are soft..... but how and why this has happened I don't know. I would have most definitely had the B&G before the focus point through the viewfinder.
 
TBH the bigger issue for me is the composition with them blinking into sunlight and harsh shadows.
 
No idea what the "left hand side issue" is but it certainly looks like you focussed on the wall.

The weird bit for me is how the right hand bridesmaid is OOF.
 
The left hand side issue was identified with the first batch of D800/Es where it was focusing innacurately down the left hand side (so I have read)

This is my point though, I haven't focused on the wall- I would have had to deliberately move my focus point right out to the extremes of the focal points to get the wall rather than the large mass of humans.

Regarding the right hand bridesmaid- yes she is OOF................ but they all are OOF!
 
What is your EXIF data,

And have fine tuned the lens to the camera. some lens when paired to a camera need fine tuning
 
As it doesn't seem to be constant, I presume, we can rule out any back / front focus issue with the lens.

Something like 3d tracking selected?
 
Shaun- It was shot at 1/4000, 320 iso @5.6 at 36mm....... I have got a pin sharp one pretty much the same settings but at 24mm so not sure if that suggests a fine tune wouldn't make sense?

John, it's just in AF-C no other fancy settings selected I don't think.
 
Pegasus_Thrust said:
The left hand side issue was identified with the first batch of D800/Es where it was focusing innacurately down the left hand side (so I have read)

This is my point though, I haven't focused on the wall- I would have had to deliberately move my focus point right out to the extremes of the focal points to get the wall rather than the large mass of humans.

Regarding the right hand bridesmaid- yes she is OOF................ but they all are OOF!
Click to expand...

Yeah but she is well out!
 
The central focus point is dangerously close to rather dark area. With AF-C on, if it lost focus in the dark area it might have run off to infinity and failed, then started running back to try and find a focus. Do your settings permit shooting when focus has not been acquired? Your camera may differ, but all my digital cameras have been less reliable focusing static subjects with AF-C, which is why I reserve it for moving targets.
 
chris malcolm said:
The central focus point is dangerously close to rather dark area. With AF-C on, if it lost focus in the dark area it might have run off to infinity and failed, then started running back to try and find a focus. Do your settings permit shooting when focus has not been acquired? Your camera may differ, but all my digital cameras have been less reliable focusing static subjects with AF-C, which is why I reserve it for moving targets.
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This is what had been in my mind and the infinity thing makes even more sense.... and I had thought about switching to af-s for these, but obviously I'd be very scared of leaving it in AF-S!!!

Incidentally is there a way of finding which focus point was selected in LR6?..... I found a plugin but it seems to only work with 5.
 
Try loading the image(s) into Capture NX-D and check Image > Show Focus Point
 
Digisatman said:
LR6 & focus point don't work for me ?
System requirements: the plugin currently works in LR 5 only, and currently only Canon and Nikon DSLR are supported
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Working fine for me on LR CC.
Thought it wasn't working, then realised, I was looking at a photo taken with my Samsung NX30. :rolleyes: Checked a NIKON D610 photo and it's working fine.
 
Pegasus_Thrust said:
Incidentally is there a way of finding which focus point was selected in LR6?..... I found a plugin but it seems to only work with 5.
Click to expand...

Can you put the shot back on your camera. I shoot Canon but it puts a red rectangle over the focus point used. Do Nikons do the same thing?
 
Can firm I have re downloaded and re installed again ( 4th time of asking) this time it works on my old cameras not on the D7200 yet :-(
 
Right I got the plug in to work, the focus point is bang on the grooms tie...... any more ideas based on this?

(deffo going to use single server this weekend)
 
I would say keep off AF-C for this type of work, it would be very rare to need it I would think, AF-S will give much less opportunity for the focus to 'drift'.
 
subject movement by the girl on the right ?
 
At the risk of sounding like a broken record. If you want to stick with AFC just use BBF, and stop the bloody camera refocusing. If you're shooting the same scene why is there even a consideration of the camera focussing between shots. It's asking for trouble.
 
And now I've done the nice advice
Pegasus_Thrust said:
... But as you mention I did try to have a word with the Parish council before the wedding to see if they would be able to build a new door on the other side of the building but they declined.
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The light is more important than the doorway and should have been your first consideration . You're doing yourself and your clients no favours shooting in those conditions.

If there's no chance of moving, (there should be - you're in charge), then some fill flash would reduce the shadows but do nothing about the squinting, but frankly the other side of the church should do nicely.
 
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gramps said:
Try loading the image(s) into Capture NX-D and check Image > Show Focus Point
Click to expand...


If you focused... locked focus, then recomposed, that is useless. It only shows you which focus point was used, not where it was before you recomposed.


Are you using AF-C set to release priority? For shots like this, you really want AF-S, with a single AF point that you decide where to put it.

There's no way your camera is this far out. This is almost certainly user error.
 
Pookeyhead said:
If you focused... locked focus, then recomposed, that is useless. It only shows you which focus point was used, not where it was before you recomposed
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It's a simple check to do David, get down off your high horse!
 
gramps said:
It's a simple check to do David, get down off your high horse!
Click to expand...


What the hell is your problem? LOL. What exactly in my quote makes you think I'm on a high horse? I'm saying that loading it up into Nikon Capture NX to see what focus point you used is useless if you focused, locked AF and then recomposed. It shows you what AF point was used, but not where that AF point was prior to recomposing.


You really are a grumpy old git, do you know that?
 
and if it showed the AF point on the back wall it might have answered his question?
 
gramps said:
and if it showed the AF point on the back wall it might have answered his question?
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Not if he'd recomposed after locking AF it wouldn't..


It appears he's using AF-C, and I reckon he has release priority set in custom menus, hence he's randomly missing focus.

User error.
 
So you are guessing too :)
 
gramps said:
So you are guessing too :)
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I'm guessing he has release priority set in conjunction with AF-C, yes.

I am not guessing that's it's user error, no.
 
Right, I had another go on Saturday and whilst using AF-S for the group shots seemingly has improved things there are still occasions where the sharpness just isn't there. I am checking where my focus point is/was and it's in a good position and I am not recomposing before pressing the shutter.
I have now started to look also at the images my second body a D3 with a sigma 70-200 attached produces and I have this set in AF-C constantly and..... it just hasn't missed any of them when technically the subject is further away/smaller/moving. I am slightly angry to admit it but I prefer the picture quality/look it produces without any PP also.

The D800 when it is sharp is unquestionably excellent so I don't believe it's the body from a fault POV. But could it be the D800 not being suitable for where/how I am using it?......ie. with it's high res. Anyone any more ideas or advice?...... I am now thinking of binning it off for a D3s.
 
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That's one of the potential problems, with a very high resolution camera, any deficiency in your camera technique will be amplified.
 
What could be that deficiency though? Just checking out one of the shots it was 1/8000s 36mm f4.5 AF-S with a single focus point aimed at the chest of the bride (hitting half skin half dress) and the point of focus looks to be about 2ft behind.
 
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