Manual Focus issues with 7D

[wishfullycontent]

I bought a Canon 7D a few months back and am having manual focusing issues. I had a Rebel XSi before and hardly ever had issues manually focusing it. With the 7D, only about 2 out of 10 photos are coming out sharp. They look prefectly clear in the viewfinder but then when I look at them on my PC later they are blurry. Any suggestions?

[AJZeller]

I'm pretty sure it's going to be a user error with this one. When you're looking through the viewfinder, you're looking through the lens. If it's sharp when you're viewing it there, then the photo will be.

The issue that you might be having is depth of field. If you're trying to focus on something at f1.4 that's fairly close to you, then you're only going to have about a cm or so of are that's in focus. Any movement by you or the subject will make the photo out of focus.

There's a huge weight difference between the xsi and 7d so you're moving a little more with the 7d than you previously were.

Stand still, take the photo on your exhale, and/or use a tripod if possible.

[Gavin Seim]

A bit tough to say without more info. You should to post a photo with the info on exposure. Also consider your settings, focus mode etc. It's possible you have a camera problem, but more likely it's something else. If your manual focusing and it's wrong, it's something with the way your seeing when you focus.

Have you tried using your MF with live view? Have you checked your diopter settings for the finder? If you've set that to work with your eyes it may not match the frame being made.

Bott

[Crush]

I bought a Canon 7D a few months back and am having manual focusing issues. I had a Rebel XSi before and hardly ever had issues manually focusing it. With the 7D, only about 2 out of 10 photos are coming out sharp. They look prefectly clear in the viewfinder but then when I look at them on my PC later they are blurry. Any suggestions?

You need to download Magic Lantern and install it. Put it in live view. There is a 'focus assist' option where it will show you when your object is in focus. It will highlight the areas in focus. I've found the view finder simply isn't reliable to get spot on focus.

Here's how it looks:



Or you can just get a Nikon and have the auto focus come out sharp each time hehe just kidding 

[Gavin Seim]

I usually zoom to 10x with live view MF, but that does not work too well when on the go. Have not tried Magic Lantern. Looks interesting. Is its pretty seamless?