HELP! Blurry Photos - 5D Mark IV

4 years 5 months ago #662463 by ntlove14
I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction to begin troubleshooting. I have googled and searched endlessly with little to no resolve. 

PROBLEM: Many of my photos have my subjects out of focus. More times than not, a random part of my subject (dress, belt, shoe, tree) is tack sharp and my subjects face is blurry. 

My CURRENT settings: Shutter 1/200 or higher, aperture typically 2.0-2.8 for my 50mm or 2.8-3.2 for my 24-70mm. ISO depends but try to keep under 500 if in good lighting. I shoot in Manual mode, single point AF, back button focus, AI-Servo, high speed continuous drive.

My subjects are rarely standing still. I typically have them walking and talking and laughing, etc. And I am stumped how this camera can be so unpredictable. 

I am not sure if it is simply ME and my TECHNIQUE or if is the SETTINGS or MECHANICAL. I need some guidance. Hope I covered all the basics but please let me know if I missed something. 

*When the photos are sharp they are TACK SHARP and when they are bad...they are just so bad!*
yr 
Photo


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4 years 5 months ago #662465 by Nikon Shooter
If you get the sharpness you want but only sporadically,
my guess is focus acquisition and confirmation.

The only way to work in continuous is using the BBF setup
and to set the "no trigger" when focus is not confirmed.

Light is free… capturing it is not!
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4 years 5 months ago #662466 by Nikon Shooter
ADDENDUM

I speak Nikon so you'll have to get the right translation.

Light is free… capturing it is not!
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The following user(s) said Thank You: ntlove14
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4 years 5 months ago #662479 by effron
BBF without focus lock will yield a lot of oof shots, but its my favorite camera feature. At those apertures shooting moving subjects can be tough....

Why so serious?
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4 years 5 months ago #662480 by effron
Edit...stop down a little and get the shutter speed a little faster?

Why so serious?
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The following user(s) said Thank You: ntlove14
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4 years 5 months ago #662484 by shelland
Three things come to mind for me. 

1. Can you check in camera where it shows the focus points on the pics? Are you focusing on the dress or the face? If the dress, being a solid color it might not be able to get a good point to focus on. Not sure what your body is, but when I view an image in camera I can see the focus point. 
2. Maybe try a smaller aperture? If you are fairly close to the subject, it doesn't take much forward or backward distance from the focal plane to become out of focus at f/2.x. 
3. Sounds dumb, but worth confirming. Are you leaving your thumb on the BBF button the whole time? You aren't releasing that button as you shoot the pic, are you? 

Scott

- Twin Cities, MN

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4 years 5 months ago #662485 by ntlove14
1. I know my aim isn't that off haha. I did consider the fact that maybe I am off on my focus point...but I definitely focus on the eyes/face of my subjects. (however, in my blurry picture you can see it is clearly on the dress). I would be curious to see if I can find this setting on my Canon 5D Mark IV.
2. I will give this a shot...I wasn't fairly close to my subjects, these photos are zoomed in screen grabs, but I was using a 24-70mm lens.
3. I was indeed holding the BBF button :)


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4 years 5 months ago #662503 by icepics
Aperture settings that are too large aren't giving you enough depth of field. Don't shoot so open, you need to get the entire person in focus, especially if the person is moving. Try smaller apertures and adjust shutter speed/ISO accordingly.

Keep the shutter speed fast enough to freeze movement. If it's bright enough outdoors it shouldn't be a problem to shoot at a midrange aperture and faster shutter speed.

It's not the camera, you need to learn how to set it for various situations. Practice with just you and your camera before you start trying to get people/subjects into your pictures (especially ones that you're directing to move).

Sharon
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4 years 5 months ago #662607 by garyrhook
Let me make sure I understand: you're shooting moving people at a shallow depth of field at only 1/200s?

You can't guarantee any focus under those conditions. Movement with no blur means 1/400s or faster, and I shoot ballet at f/4 because of focus (and much worse lighting conditions).

Also: that camera will give you usable images at IS0 4000. You need to get over any aversion to higher ISO values. Heck, with work in post you can go to ISO 10K with that quality of light.

In short: your settings need to change based on the situation: moving vs. still, portrait vs. group, etc. One group of setting won't do everything for you.


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4 years 5 months ago #663436 by effron
Any help there, OP?

Why so serious?
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2 years 11 months ago #715395 by Diannanz
Hi I was wondering if you had any luck problem solving this. I have the same problem with my mark 4 being very unreliable with focusing and doing that same blurry thing as in your photo when low light and higher ISO. I would love to know if you fixed?


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