This topic is in the 2022 archive. You can read it and like its posts here. It is read only.
Archive 2022Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
p.2 #1Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote:
Gotcha. Yes that was shot with the 35gm as I focused on the copper/black transition point and the Du of Duracell
Yes, that was definitely lower contrast than the bright, right edge of that battery. Do you remember how much of the battery the focus square covered? One gripe I've always had with Sony is the "small" spot focus point is not especially small, especially when factoring in the fairly thick edge of the focus box itself, and I've always wondered just how much leeway there is in terms of the area actually used to focus. I suspect we shall never know.
Gotcha. Yes that was shot with the 35gm as I focused on the copper/black transition point and the Du of Duracell
Yes, that was definitely lower contrast than the bright, right edge of that battery. Do you remember how much of the battery the focus square covered? One gripe I've always had with Sony is the "small" spot focus point is not especially small, especially when factoring in the fairly thick edge of the focus box itself, and I've always wondered just how much leeway there is in terms of the area actually used to focus. I suspect we shall never know.
Aug 30, 2022 at 11:35 AM
p.2 #2Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
Try af-c at least once for some comparison, but these last two also look off to me.
Aug 30, 2022 at 11:38 AM
p.2 #3Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
Just took this with af-c on. Again used chair as a tripod, and used my phone to control the camera shutter with the imaging app. Also you can see exactly where I had my focus point with the second photo.
DSC06262 by John Smith, on Flickr
0D4BDBF6-10C6-4054-9A75-F60C6E288320 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06262 by John Smith, on Flickr0D4BDBF6-10C6-4054-9A75-F60C6E288320 by John Smith, on FlickrAug 30, 2022 at 11:49 AM
p.2 #4Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
Try increasing the contrast levels in either the camera or in photo editing program.
Also, are your images sharp from f2.8 on?
Also, are your images sharp from f2.8 on?
Aug 30, 2022 at 11:57 AM
p.2 #5Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
Looks OK to me, although a 100% crop of just the flower would be interesting to see. The problem is that the focus box covers all the stamens, front to back, plus part of the petals in the background. Combined with a shallow DoF lens, this makes it a little bit of a crapshoot in my experience.
Aug 30, 2022 at 12:00 PM
p.2 #6Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
I’ll try increasing contrast and shooting at 2.8 when I get back to the house. With most of the af-s shots I took I also used focus magnifier to make sure I was perfectly on the stamen (for example) not anything else
Aug 30, 2022 at 12:09 PM
p.2 #7Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
This image looks ok to me
https://www.flickr.com/photos/196392893@N03/52322792210/
This one looks sharp enough, but not where your focus box showed it was on
https://www.flickr.com/photos/196392893@N03/52322834075/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/196392893@N03/52322792210/
This one looks sharp enough, but not where your focus box showed it was on
https://www.flickr.com/photos/196392893@N03/52322834075/
Aug 30, 2022 at 02:09 PM
p.2 #8Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote:
I set the focus point right on the part of the battery that switches from copper to black for the best contrast.
Sony mirrorless cameras do not detect contrast at that orientation. Rotate 90 degrees for best results. The vertical oriented reflections on the cells will be what the camera actually detected.
I set the focus point right on the part of the battery that switches from copper to black for the best contrast.
Sony mirrorless cameras do not detect contrast at that orientation. Rotate 90 degrees for best results. The vertical oriented reflections on the cells will be what the camera actually detected.
Aug 30, 2022 at 02:20 PM
p.2 #9Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
I’ll do more tests in a bit, but I shot a couple of pics by the lake and played around with DMF. It definitely seems like it’s not focusing correctly, but I do appreciate how shallow 1.4 is in regards to in focus vs out of focus. Also I shot some at f/8 and they still look kind of meh even after lightroom’s auto settings. The flower picture I got with manual focus and I think it looks great, but the others I don’t know. What do you all think?
P.S. I focused on the dog and the sail boat on the right.
DSC06266 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06268 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06286 by John Smith, on Flickr
P.S. I focused on the dog and the sail boat on the right.
DSC06266 by John Smith, on FlickrDSC06268 by John Smith, on FlickrDSC06286 by John Smith, on FlickrAug 30, 2022 at 03:08 PM
p.2 #10Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
QuietOC wrote:
Sony mirrorless cameras do not detect contrast at that orientation. Rotate 90 degrees for best results. The vertical oriented reflections on the cells will be what the camera actually detected.
Oh thank you. I had no idea about that
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote
I set the focus point right on the part of the battery that switches from copper to black for the best contrast.Oh thank you. I had no idea about that
Aug 30, 2022 at 03:29 PM
p.2 #11Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
saaketham wrote:
This image looks ok to me
https://www.flickr.com/photos/196392893@N03/52322792210/
This one looks sharp enough, but not where your focus box showed it was on
https://www.flickr.com/photos/196392893@N03/52322834075/
Yeah it seems like there’s definitely something going on. I’m going to bring it back to the store and see what they think
This image looks ok to me
https://www.flickr.com/photos/196392893@N03/52322792210/
This one looks sharp enough, but not where your focus box showed it was on
https://www.flickr.com/photos/196392893@N03/52322834075/
Yeah it seems like there’s definitely something going on. I’m going to bring it back to the store and see what they think
Aug 30, 2022 at 03:30 PM
p.2 #12Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
QuietOC wrote:
Sony mirrorless cameras do not detect contrast at that orientation. Rotate 90 degrees for best results. The vertical oriented reflections on the cells will be what the camera actually detected.
Hmm, it should be good as the contrast (copper -> black) changes vertically, so the way Sony PDAF works...
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote
I set the focus point right on the part of the battery that switches from copper to black for the best contrast.Hmm, it should be good as the contrast (copper -> black) changes vertically, so the way Sony PDAF works...
Aug 30, 2022 at 03:53 PM
p.2 #13Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote:
I’ll do more tests in a bit, but I shot a couple of pics by the lake and played around with DMF. It definitely seems like it’s not focusing correctly, but I do appreciate how shallow 1.4 is in regards to in focus vs out of focus. Also I shot some at f/8 and they still look kind of meh even after lightroom’s auto settings. The flower picture I got with manual focus and I think it looks great, but the others I don’t know. What do you all think?
P.S. I focused on the dog and the sail boat...Show more →
The boat looks alright to me, the dog definitely not, but it might be that the AF point simply picked up the grass around him...
I’ll do more tests in a bit, but I shot a couple of pics by the lake and played around with DMF. It definitely seems like it’s not focusing correctly, but I do appreciate how shallow 1.4 is in regards to in focus vs out of focus. Also I shot some at f/8 and they still look kind of meh even after lightroom’s auto settings. The flower picture I got with manual focus and I think it looks great, but the others I don’t know. What do you all think?
P.S. I focused on the dog and the sail boat...Show more →
The boat looks alright to me, the dog definitely not, but it might be that the AF point simply picked up the grass around him...
Aug 30, 2022 at 03:56 PM
p.2 #14Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
j4nu wrote:
Sony mirrorless cameras do not detect contrast at that orientation. Rotate 90 degrees for best results. The vertical oriented reflections on the cells will be what the camera actually detected.Hmm, it should be good as the contrast (copper -> black) changes vertically, so the way Sony PDAF works...
No. Terminology may have misled you. Sony cameras evaluate horizontals rows of pixels only. The contrast has to show up along the horizontal row not perpendicular to it.
This is very easy to test for yourself. For example try a plain edge between a ceiling and a wall.
QuietOC wrote
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote
I set the focus point right on the part of the battery that switches from copper to black for the best contrast.No. Terminology may have misled you. Sony cameras evaluate horizontals rows of pixels only. The contrast has to show up along the horizontal row not perpendicular to it.
This is very easy to test for yourself. For example try a plain edge between a ceiling and a wall.
Aug 30, 2022 at 04:40 PM
p.2 #15Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
j4nu wrote:
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote
I’ll do more tests in a bit, but I shot a couple of pics by the lake and played around with DMF. It definitely seems like it’s not focusing correctly, but I do appreciate how shallow 1.4 is in regards to in focus vs out of focus. Also I shot some at f/8 and they still look kind of meh even after lightroom’s auto settings. The flower picture I got with manual focus and I think it looks great, but the others I don’t know. What do you all think?P.S. I focused on the dog and the sail boat on the right.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52322809391_caa7d86753_b.jpgDSC06266 by John Smith, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52322808811_8a106afaf2_b.jpgDSC06268 by John Smith, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52323246210_eaa0313139_b.jpgDSC06286 by John Smith, on Flickr
Yeah it seems weird with the dog because I was definitely using the spot focus zone and put it right on them. Even stopped walking and everything
Aug 30, 2022 at 05:01 PM
p.2 #16Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
QuietOC wrote:
Sony mirrorless cameras do not detect contrast at that orientation. Rotate 90 degrees for best results. The vertical oriented reflections on the cells will be what the camera actually detected.Hmm, it should be good as the contrast (copper -> black) changes vertically, so the way Sony PDAF works...No. Terminology may have misled you. Sony cameras evaluate horizontals rows of pixels only. The contrast has to show up along the horizontal row not perpendicular to it.
This is very easy to test for yourself. For example try a plain edge between a ceiling and a wall.
j4nu wrote
QuietOC wrote
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote
I set the focus point right on the part of the battery that switches from copper to black for the best contrast.This is very easy to test for yourself. For example try a plain edge between a ceiling and a wall.
Aug 31, 2022 at 12:19 AM
p.2 #17Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote:
P.S. I focused on the dog and the sail boat on the right.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52322809391_caa7d86753_b.jpgDSC06266 by John Smith, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52322808811_8a106afaf2_b.jpgDSC06268 by John Smith, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52323246210_eaa0313139_b.jpgDSC06286 by John Smith, on FlickrThe boat looks alright to me, the dog definitely not, but it might be that the AF point simply picked up the grass around him...Yeah it seems weird with the dog because I was definitely using the spot focus zone and put it right on them. Even stopped walking and everything
As someone mentioned before, the small spot is not that small and it happens to me too from time to time, that the camera focuses on something touching the edge instead of the center of the spot...
j4nu wrote
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote
I’ll do more tests in a bit, but I shot a couple of pics by the lake and played around with DMF. It definitely seems like it’s not focusing correctly, but I do appreciate how shallow 1.4 is in regards to in focus vs out of focus. Also I shot some at f/8 and they still look kind of meh even after lightroom’s auto settings. The flower picture I got with manual focus and I think it looks great, but the others I don’t know. What do you all think?P.S. I focused on the dog and the sail boat on the right.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52322809391_caa7d86753_b.jpgDSC06266 by John Smith, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52322808811_8a106afaf2_b.jpgDSC06268 by John Smith, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52323246210_eaa0313139_b.jpgDSC06286 by John Smith, on Flickr
As someone mentioned before, the small spot is not that small and it happens to me too from time to time, that the camera focuses on something touching the edge instead of the center of the spot...
Aug 31, 2022 at 12:22 AM
p.2 #18Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
j4nu wrote:
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote
j4nu wrote
Swimming_trouble_718 wrote
I’ll do more tests in a bit, but I shot a couple of pics by the lake and played around with DMF. It definitely seems like it’s not focusing correctly, but I do appreciate how shallow 1.4 is in regards to in focus vs out of focus. Also I shot some at f/8 and they still look kind of meh even after lightroom’s auto settings. The flower picture I got with manual focus and I think it looks great, but the others I don’t know. What do you all think?P.S. I focused on the dog and the sail boat on the right.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52322809391_caa7d86753_b.jpgDSC06266 by John Smith, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52322808811_8a106afaf2_b.jpgDSC06268 by John Smith, on Flickr
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52323246210_eaa0313139_b.jpgDSC06286 by John Smith, on Flickr
That makes perfect sense. I use the focus magnifier quite a lot mainly to avoid this. Either way it seems like the consensus is that there’s something off with this lens so I’m gonna try and exchange it tomorrow!
Aug 31, 2022 at 09:17 AM
p.2 #19Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
send yours back and try again. if its still a problem just forget about it and go with a different lens. i went through 2 copies of this lens before giving up. first time it was obvious one half of the frame was entirely soft, visible without even 1:1ing it. second one was extremely soft in 2 corners and sharp in others. i was done playing the lottery after that and will avoid them for now. for the price sony needs to properly inspect these lenses during manufacture.
Aug 31, 2022 at 12:09 PM
p.2 #20Is my lens/camera focusing correctly?
So I went ahead and exchanged this lens today. Let me know what you think. I think it's sharper? Also I did a little test. I was traveling with my M1 iPad and was uploading images to Lightroom through it with a USB-C camera. When I got back today I uploaded some of the same images using my SD card reader in my MacBook Pro. The images uploaded by the SD card are much sharper than the ones uploaded using my iPad. It's not super apparent at first glance, but it is when looking at 100%-300% magnification.
DSC06410 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06409 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06408 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06405 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06406 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06402 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06382 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06401 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06389 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06384 by John Smith, on Flickr
DSC06410 by John Smith, on FlickrDSC06409 by John Smith, on FlickrDSC06408 by John Smith, on FlickrDSC06405 by John Smith, on FlickrDSC06406 by John Smith, on FlickrDSC06402 by John Smith, on FlickrDSC06382 by John Smith, on FlickrDSC06401 by John Smith, on FlickrDSC06389 by John Smith, on FlickrDSC06384 by John Smith, on FlickrSep 01, 2022 at 03:16 PM