Ok gang, I have had a class and all (Light Factory) but I continue to have issues like today where I get back from a (free) portrait shoot only to find that most of my photos are out of focus just enough to be trash! ARG! I do not understand. I was using my 28-135mm lens on my Canon DR XSi. The lens was in auto focus. Only at one point did I change the focal points to a specific point, but the rest of the time they were all on (auto mode). I was shooting mostly in aperature priority. Here's how frustrated I am -- I am starting to think it is the camera or lens (but I know that chance is less that 1%). I am starting to be frustrated by something I used to love - can anyone help?

thanks!

Ted

out of focus or blurred ?
check the shutter speed, and also when i shoot i check for sharpness by zooming in the preview to 100%.

Have you had the same problem with other lenses?

Can you get perfect focus on a still life subject?

If you haven't tried already, that would be good to test. Set up your camera on a tripod (or table if you don't have one) in a well-lit room, focus on an object and use a remote shutter release (the self-timer works just as well) so you don't create camera shake when the shutter is pressed. If you can't get perfect focus this way, then it is possible you need to reset the focus on your camera. If you can achieve perfect focus, then it's back to looking at your specific settings you're using like shutter speed.

Were you hand holding the camera for the portraits? If so, the minimum shutter speed you use should be 1 over the focal length you use. For example, if you are using 135 mm focal length, you need to use at least 1/135 shutter speed to make sure you don't get camera shake. To be extra safe, try to double the speed if possible (1/270 in this example).

As far as focusing goes, I'd recommend setting your focal points to a specific point. For portraits you want to focus specifically on the eyes by pushing the shutter down half-way, then recompose the shot how you want (being careful not to change the distance from you to your subject) and then take the photo.

don't forget the digital crop factor for non-Full Frame camera, which I assume the Xsi is?... so that a 100mm lens would be 150mm on a Nikon Body, and 160mm on a Canon body...

nick.

Why would you use all focus points on?

Use center point only, half press, then shoot. If you can't get an in-focus shot using just center point, then your machine may be front or back focusing.

Use Lindsay's advice, but also try focusing on a sheet of newspaper taped to the wall. Try it with different lenses at different apertures.

If you want to check the focus of your lens there are a bunch of "Focus Test Charts" on the net to down load. I need to do this to my 18-55mm I think the focus is off.

Hey all - I really appreciate your help as I continue to transition from "classroom" knowledge, to real-world understanding! I also talked to an experienced photographer at work and the first thing he identified was the multiple focal points which, after thinking about, I totally agree with! I "get it" now -- when there are multiple planes within the shot, multiple focus points will only ensure that whatever you want to get in focus will almost for sure be out of focus. GOT IT! Once I do some more shots with this, I will see what that addresses and then go from there on rest of advice which is also very informative! I did also notice that, as I shot in ap priority, it was picking shutter speeds like 1/60 and 1/100 which, I would imagine, would create blurring when not using a tripod - even with an IS lens. What's the best mode / approach to use for portraits where you want to select ap but not let speed get below, say, 250ish?

Thanks again - much appreciated!

Ted

That would be the auto iso feature.
for my d90 i set camera in A mode and auto iso ( set the max shutter speed to 1/125 )

so I pick the aperture

camera picks up a speed of 1/125 or lower ( i.e. 1/160 or 1/200 ... )
and adjusts the iso if need to keep it upto 1/125

with this i get strange iso numbers like 561 etc but my shots are sharp.

in your case you have to pick 1/250

with IS like 1/60 is a decent speed as long as its not cold ( you tend to shiver )

a tripod or monopod will be a good.

I'd be careful with auto ISO. Without having that control, you can end up with a lot of grain if the camera chooses too high of an ISO. I don't like not knowing what the camera's doing so I never use that feature.

For your lowest shutter speed choice, it really does depend on the focal length you use and just do the math. (See my previous post.) 1/250 with your camera is the 'safe' way to go. But if you are using 28 mm on your lens, you can easily go below 1/250th.

I shoot in manual mode. Aperture priority is also a good mode to shoot in. Just keep an eye on what kind of shutter speed read-outs you are getting. If they are too low, then you can bump up your ISO manually. Another thing I do is to drop the exposure a stop or two - that will allow for a bit faster shutter speed. I can't say if other people do this or not, but I find it easier to bump up the exposure in LR afterward rather than try to take noise out of the shot.