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Question from Kellianne: “I shoot with a Canon 7d and 50mm 1.8. I am having a hard time with focusing and I feel as though it might be my Canon 7d. Does anyone have issues with focusing? I feel that I am not getting tack sharp images. Help!”
Julie: At all apertures? It’s not as sharp at the lower apertures. Also the focus motor sometimes needs a little extra time to lock onto focus. Practice on still objects and if you are still having trouble contact Canon. Their customer service is superb.
Bridget: I’m a Nikon shooter, so my answer is more generic, but it could be several things. Are your issues mainly when shooting wide open? The 50mm 1.8 is not at its sharpest then (well, no lens is). Have you tried doing a lens focus test, to see where your lens gets the sharpest, and also to see if you have any back/front focus issues? You can also check to see if there is a difference in autofocus accuracy at the various focus points, often the center focus point is the most accurate.
Kari: I have this problem with my 5d since I bought it last December. Kind of annoying
Mandy: I have a 7d and not long ago upgraded from a 50mm 1.8 to a 1.2 and it never focused on what I wanted it to. I sent the lens back to Canon and it needed adjusted. Now it works like a champ. I would use another lens to determine if it is the camera or lens that isn’t working.
Jason: Is the issue with manual or auto focusing? Are you possibly picking up camera movement due to a slower shutter speed?
Jenna: The lens may need adjusting if it is still not getting tack sharp images at higher apertures. I would try to find someone else with the same lens and use it on your camera body and see if you get the same results.
Jaime: I’ve had the problem with my 7D and my 1.4 lens. It is a slow focusing lens…at least in my opinion. So…that could add to the problem.
K. Ellen: http://focustestchart.com/ I would do a focus test- print it out, follow the directions. If you can get it to focus properly in the test, it’s probably user error. If not (if it’s clearly backfocusing or front focusing– there are examples on the website with the test sheet), then contact Canon and see if they will look at the lenses or camera. (PS, it says it’s for the D70, but will give you a good indication for most cameras
Stephanie: I second focus testing, maybe a little micro adjusting, and if all else fails, send it in to Canon (body and lens).
Cheryl: I have the 7D and I have not had any problems focusing with it..I know at that aperture you sometimes have to back off a bit..unless using a macro…just try taking a step back and see if it focus…it’s the lens, not the camera
Alyssa: I have a d800 and it was having a lot of trouble focusing with my 1.8d lens which worked fine on my d90. I got a 1.4 and it works much better now. I still don’t really know why. Maybe because it’s an old film lens on a new digital body…
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