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What is causing these fuzzy photos!?!


melissa_zamzow

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<p>I am new here so I am not sure what all information you will need to help me with this...but....Can anyone tell me what might be causing my camera to take pictures like this? I tested two cameras (mine Canon 40D and my mother in laws Rebel XTI) with two different lenses....I was trying to see if it was my lens or my camera body that was the issue....it appears to be my camera body :( <br /><br />I know you need pictures .... can someone tell me how to post those? <br>

<br />Photos shot in AV mode, ISO at 100 </p>

<div>00ctac-551877984.thumb.jpg.c356323d0fb289512d462716f7f3da44.jpg</div>

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<p>What was the shutter speed? Were you using a tripod? How many shots did you take and were they consistent for each camera? How did it look through the viewfinder? How did you focus? If the shutter speed is low and the camera is handheld, it's easy to hold the camera more steady for one shot than another. More information is needed here.</p>
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<p>Hi Melissa, welcome to the forum!<br>

If Jeff's questions seem to be overwhelming for you, could you post the original JPG photos? We could read the EXIF information (the technical information of the photo) directly from the file, or you may just check (either using the camera or the software included with the camera) and share the shuther (Tv) speed, aperture (Av) value, and ISO speed.</p>

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<p>No matter what setting I have it on (even on full auto) the photos turn out this way....I never had this problem before using the same camera and lens....photos were crisp and clear...I'm thinking that obviously it has something to do with the body but wondering if it's something I can fix vs sending it in....these were with auto focus....</p>

 

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<p>These are in RAW format.... <br />1/40 f1.8 ISO100<br /><br />i have other pictures that do the same thing with their settings being: 1/125 and 1/320<br /><br />If it is due to the shutter speed, how would that have been affected if I have not changed any settings? Or if it is due to shutter speed, how do I fix that and still be able to shoot in AV mode?</p>
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<p>By the way, without all this information, we can only make a guess. So I will take a chance with the little information we have: The "fuzzy" photo is the result of a low shutter speed, which may be the result of a low light environment. This may be solved in various ways:<br>

- Using a higher shutter speed (which may need either more light, a higher ISO sensitivity, or a wider lens aperture -which is a lower Av value-),<br>

- Using a solid support for the camera (such as a tripod, but resting the camera on a table or a wall may also work),<br>

- Using an "IS" (or equivalent) lens (that is an "Image Stabilization" device within the lens which may help you in low light conditions).<br>

The last two options will only work for similar photos than the one you posted, which means they won't solve motion blur for a moving object, like a player in a sports game.</p>

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<p>Difficult to tell - what setting were used in the Clorox images. To me it looks like the images are out of focus (the camera may be focused in front of the bleach in the right side image). There is also probably some camera shake as 1/40 with a 50mm lens on APS-C is quite slow - but it looks like a shallow DOF and focused in front of the image. I assume you are using AF can you perhaps play with your AF settings and make sure AF is active on the lens. For a good test tape a newspaper to the wall, use a tripod and a fast shutter speed and see if there is an AF issue. It helps to only use the centre point for focus (with multiple focus points active the camera does not always focus on the one you want).</p>
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<p>Just to make sure I understand, it sounds like you've had the camera and lenses for a while now. Until fairly recently you were able to get results you were happy with using this equipment. Now you can't get either lens to focus accurately. You tested one of the lenses on a different camera and it worked fine.<br>

Double (triple) check that you haven't changed some camera setting by accident. Then you might try live view focusing just to see if that works. That may help narrow down where the problem is. </p>

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Melissa, I tried to do the same with a 2Ti but my 50mm F1.8 is loaned out so I set the kit lens to 50mm and hand held it in ambient light using autofocus, manual focus, iso 100 to 2500 and no stabilization. The aperture on the kit lens was F5.6 @50mm so the depth of field would be more than yours by quite a bit but F2.8 should still have enough to get from nose to eye. The test shots were all sharp (some camera jiggle at iso 100 with a .5 sec exposure) but the autofocus point had to be right on target or it was fuzzy. As Phil and Andrew suggest a focus test may tell you what is happening. Also hard to understand why you have lots of noise at moderate iso (ie > 100). The 40 D should be very good up to iso 1000. Have you changed the autofocus method lately?
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<p>Melissa, I've searched this thread for the word "focus". You use it once, in the expression: "....these were with auto focus...".</p>

<p>Several responders are mentioning focus point, asking what focus point you're using, suggested trying the center focus point, and so on.</p>

<p>I'd strongly recommend you get out the manual, go through the section on focus. The camera has multiple focus points. With a single, central subject, chances are the camera has elected to use the right focus point, but it's hard to say. There's also a possibility your lens needs adjustment; it's focus is off. But until you take control of the focus, it's hard to say.</p>

<p>Some suggestions:</p>

<p>1. Set the camera to use only the central focus point. (While this is not always the best approach, it'll simplify focussing, and eliminate the variables introduced by multiple focus points.)</p>

<p>2. Set the camera to focus with the * (asterisk) button on the back of the camera, under your right thumb. This will allow you to set focus independent of half-depress of the shutter button.</p>

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<p>In PNG 3 the subject is soft because you shot at f/1.8 and have a very shallow depth of field. I think this is a rather typical result with the 50mm f/1.8 II shot at f/1.8. You are not going to get a keeper every time you press the shutter button when you shoot at f/1.8</p>

<p>In PNG 5 the shutter speed was low enough to show subject movement and you are again fighting depth of field issues but to a lesser extend. </p>

<p>What I would recommend is an external flash allowing you to stop down to f/5.6 or greater. Shooting in higher amounts of ambient light will allow you to balance the flash against the background light. </p>

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<p>In general, you're very close with a wide aperture. The bottle may have been right at the minimum focus distance. Raise the ISO to 400, stop down to f/8 or f/11 and your images will be much sharper. Always use AF, since today's camera's viewfinders are NOT designed for critical manual focus.</p>
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<p>I cant give specific camera advice as I'm not a Canon user, however it does seem that the problem is lack of sharp focus. In the bottle picture, the very top left corner is just about sharp. Perhaps it has focused here because its the nearest point of the subject. Likewise perhaps the end of the nose in the second portrait.</p>

<p>The problem is that for whatever reason, your camera is not focusing on the bit of the scene you want it to, and as has been stated, depth of field at F1.8 it short distances is extremely limited. So even if you did focus successfully on the eye, the nose and ears would be out of focus. If you aren't happy with increasing the ISO to get typical apertures of say F5.6, F8 or F11, then the only alternative is to increase the lighting level, either with flash or ambient light. Photographers don't use powerful studio flash for nothing, it's to give them freedom to choose an aperture which will provide the overall sharpness they want to achieve.</p>

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<p>Commenting only on the last two images (3.PNG & 5.PNG) – I concur with Rob Bernhard’s synopsis.</p>

<p>In 3.PNG, if that is a full frame crop then you only have about 1” or 20mm Depth of Field, (DoF).</p>

<p>The section of hair at the front of the child’s head, (which appears gelled or wet) seems to be in sharper focus than the child’s eyes, so it could be that the Camera locked AF on that contrast line of the hair and the forehead and not the eyes.</p>

<p>From the angle of the Child’s head and the camera viewpoint - it appears that the eyes are behind that Plane of Sharp Focus. So, it would bode well to know exactly which AF point latched focus (Ref the comments about AF Points, by Mendel Leisk).</p>

<p>Solution /cause: the Aperture used was too large; the DoF was too narrow; the Focus point was not the eyes - **or possibly the camera did focus on the eyes and there is an AF focus error (probably front focussing).</p>

<p>Actually, a little Post Production sharpening and dodging the eyes enhances the illusion of sharpness; hopefully you will be able to see that in this low-res comparison:<br /> <img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/17886649-md.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>***</p>

<p>In 5.PNG there appears MOVEMENT, which could be either SUBJECT MOVEMENT or CAMERA MOVEMENT or both. Movement is evidenced by a similar, regular, trailing edge on the Child’s: Teeth, L Earring-stud and parts of both Eyes, which when combined imply a regular movement of the head from camera right to camera left and very slightly downwards.</p>

<p>Solution/cause: the Shutter speed was too slow for the Subject and the Framing: for Tight Head shot of an Infant in Available Light my ‘safe’ Shutter Speed would be about 1/500s or faster.</p>

<p>So, for those two images, I doubt that it is a camera deficiency that is causing the ‘fuzzy photos’ (**maybe front focussing - you need to test that in a controlled situation using a ruler or similar marked edge, shooting it at an angle of 45 degrees)</p>

<p>WW</p>

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