Focusing 300D

[george millman]

hi
can anyone give advice on focusing useing a canon EOS 300D.
I have tried most modes, and tried the Dioptric adj,
i use the viewfinder, not the LCD Screen to focus, i know the weather is not helping, in as much it is has been very dull & overcast, do i have not been able to use a very fast ISO
My standard lens is a SIGMA 18--200.
As you can tell i am fairly new to DSLR
george

[simon]

hi
can anyone give advice on focusing useing a canon EOS 300D.
I have tried most modes, and tried the Dioptric adj,
i use the viewfinder, not the LCD Screen to focus, i know the weather is not helping, in as much it is has been very dull & overcast, do i have not been able to use a very fast ISO
My standard lens is a SIGMA 18--200.
As you can tell i am fairly new to DSLR
george

Hi George
Exactly what problem are you having with focusing your camera?
Do you feel that the view thro the view finder is out of focus ?
Are your pictures out of focus ?
Are you focusing manually or autofocus ?

I set my view finder dioptric adjustment up by focusing the camera in autofocus on a static object like a lightswitch with the focus set to single point (center) and then adjust the dioptric so the object is in focus, once set this should not need to be adjusted

If your pictures are out of focus in auto focus mode or manual if the focus led actually flashes advising that the focus is correct then the problem may lay either with the shutter speed (try increasing the ISO in poor light ) or straight forward camera shake(try using a tripod or faster shutter speed ).

Is the problem still apparent if you use different lenses ? Try setting the camera on a tripod or other firm surface note the shutter speed take a photo then change lenses and take the same photo using, as near as practical, the same settings, if the problem clears it is possible the lens is'nt focusing properly

[tirc83]

hi
can anyone give advice on focusing useing a canon EOS 300D.
I have tried most modes, and tried the Dioptric adj,
i use the viewfinder, not the LCD Screen to focus, i know the weather is not helping, in as much it is has been very dull & overcast, do i have not been able to use a very fast ISO
My standard lens is a SIGMA 18--200.
As you can tell i am fairly new to DSLR
george

I am an ex-user of the 300D (I now have a 20D). Not sure how long you've been trying out your camera but the light conditions this week have been very poor for photography. Yesterday at noon, the night light in my garden came on when I walked by!

Regards best focusing advice, I'd suggest using centre point focus only and for general photography, shoot on the AV setting set to f/8. If it's birds you are trying to shoot, use TV set to 1/200s (minimum).

You cannot use the LCD to focus on the 300D so that may be your problem.

If you have further questions, email me.

[george millman]

Hi George
Exactly what problem are you having with focusing your camera?
Do you feel that the view thro the view finder is out of focus ?
Are your pictures out of focus ?
Are you focusing manually or autofocus ?

I set my view finder dioptric adjustment up by focusing the camera in autofocus on a static object like a lightswitch with the focus set to single point (center) and then adjust the dioptric so the object is in focus, once set this should not need to be adjusted

If your pictures are out of focus in auto focus mode or manual if the focus led actually flashes advising that the focus is correct then the problem may lay either with the shutter speed (try increasing the ISO in poor light ) or straight forward camera shake(try using a tripod or faster shutter speed ).

Is the problem still apparent if you use different lenses ? Try setting the camera on a tripod or other firm surface note the shutter speed take a photo then change lenses and take the same photo using, as near as practical, the same settings, if the problem clears it is possible the lens is'nt focusing properly
hi all my recent photos are out of focus, i haveint used a tripod yet, as i thought i could get away with out one just useing the 18 --200. but it looks as if i should at least try, but i am disapointed that i have to use one, it seams what ever mode i use i can not get a high enough light to give a decent deapth of field.

[george millman]

I am an ex-user of the 300D (I now have a 20D). Not sure how long you've been trying out your camera but the light conditions this week have been very poor for photography. Yesterday at noon, the night light in my garden came on when I walked by!

Regards best focusing advice, I'd suggest using centre point focus only and for general photography, shoot on the AV setting set to f/8. If it's birds you are trying to shoot, use TV set to 1/200s (minimum).

You cannot use the LCD to focus on the 300D so that may be your problem.

If you have further questions, email me.
hi thanks for the quick reply, i supose it is asking to much, in view of the bad weather, i did not think i would have to use a tripod, but every thing points to i should have at least tried it, i all so have a 2 x converter, but i wont evev concider useing it untill the weathe perks up, i have only had the camera few days, i will give the tripod ago when i get the chance,
thanks a lot

[tirc83]

hi thanks for the quick reply, i supose it is asking to much, in view of the bad weather, i did not think i would have to use a tripod, but every thing points to i should have at least tried it, i all so have a 2 x converter, but i wont evev concider useing it untill the weathe perks up, i have only had the camera few days, i will give the tripod ago when i get the chance,
thanks a lot

Not sure if a tripod will make too much difference. What iso are you set at? If it's 100 then that's another of your problems. I'd use 400 iso in this weather. It will go higher but grain is evident on the 300D at those settings.

The weather forecast shows sunny weather for Monday for your region - go to a lake/pond, set your camera to AV, turn the wheel to show f/8, set iso to 400, set centre point focus only and let me know how you get on.

I bet you will be pleased with your results.

I have several recent photos (from the 20D - but the galleries before June 2005 are taken with the 300D) at http://www.pbase.com/tirc None (apart from half a dozen) were taken with a tripod. Check out the 'full exif' to see trhe settings used in various conditions eg Dec-Feb last year.

ps. The 2x converter will lose you 2 stops of light - so will make matters much worse.

[rezMole]

Are your photos out of focus or are they blurred?

Depth of field - the amount that is acceptably sharp - reduces drastically the more you zoom. Are you taking all your photos at the 200mm end of you lens? If so, then you won't get a large depth of field. At the 28mm end, nearly ALL the picture should be in focus.

The focussing shouldn't be affected by your camera settings - except when there isn't enough light for the autofocus to work. Are you remembering to allow some time for the autofocus to lock on to the subject? (Depress the shutter button halfway, and only fully press it to release the shutter, when the focus has locked).

Perhaps you could post a couple of pictures as examples?

[george millman]

I am an ex-user of the 300D (I now have a 20D). Not sure how long you've been trying out your camera but the light conditions this week have been very poor for photography. Yesterday at noon, the night light in my garden came on when I walked by!

Regards best focusing advice, I'd suggest using centre point focus only and for general photography, shoot on the AV setting set to f/8. If it's birds you are trying to shoot, use TV set to 1/200s (minimum).

You cannot use the LCD to focus on the 300D so that may be your problem.

If you have further questions, email me.
hi
thanks a lot for the advice, i have just tried with the camera set on TV & it came out much better in focus and lighting,
i will try to upload it,
thanks again

[george millman]

Are your photos out of focus or are they blurred?

Depth of field - the amount that is acceptably sharp - reduces drastically the more you zoom. Are you taking all your photos at the 200mm end of you lens? If so, then you won't get a large depth of field. At the 28mm end, nearly ALL the picture should be in focus.

The focussing shouldn't be affected by your camera settings - except when there isn't enough light for the autofocus to work. Are you remembering to allow some time for the autofocus to lock on to the subject? (Depress the shutter button halfway, and only fully press it to release the shutter, when the focus has locked).

Perhaps you could post a couple of pictures as examples?
hi,
yes most of the phoyos were out of foucs, mainly because (1) low light
(2) depth of field, but i have since tried again in the TV mode,as sugested by Tirc83 and it worked a treat, yes i will post an example asap, thanks again

[george millman]

Hi George
Exactly what problem are you having with focusing your camera?
Do you feel that the view thro the view finder is out of focus ?
Are your pictures out of focus ?
Are you focusing manually or autofocus ?

I set my view finder dioptric adjustment up by focusing the camera in autofocus on a static object like a lightswitch with the focus set to single point (center) and then adjust the dioptric so the object is in focus, once set this should not need to be adjusted

If your pictures are out of focus in auto focus mode or manual if the focus led actually flashes advising that the focus is correct then the problem may lay either with the shutter speed (try increasing the ISO in poor light ) or straight forward camera shake(try using a tripod or faster shutter speed ).

Is the problem still apparent if you use different lenses ? Try setting the camera on a tripod or other firm surface note the shutter speed take a photo then change lenses and take the same photo using, as near as practical, the same settings, if the problem clears it is possible the lens is'nt focusing properly

hi please find inclosd photo

[Keith Reeder]

No photo there, George...

[george millman]

No photo there, George...
no i am haveing problums, i think my pict is too big.

[george millman]

No photo there, George...

hi made it what a job to upload i am still not shure how i did it, but at least you can see i have managed to sort out the focuseing.

[george millman]

Are your photos out of focus or are they blurred?

Depth of field - the amount that is acceptably sharp - reduces drastically the more you zoom. Are you taking all your photos at the 200mm end of you lens? If so, then you won't get a large depth of field. At the 28mm end, nearly ALL the picture should be in focus.

The focussing shouldn't be affected by your camera settings - except when there isn't enough light for the autofocus to work. Are you remembering to allow some time for the autofocus to lock on to the subject? (Depress the shutter button halfway, and only fully press it to release the shutter, when the focus has locked).

Perhaps you could post a couple of pictures as examples?
hi.
sorry it fook so long to obtain a phota, but i culd not get the hang of, anyway, what do you think, it is fairly sharp, concidering the dull weather,

[george millman]

Not sure if a tripod will make too much difference. What iso are you set at? If it's 100 then that's another of your problems. I'd use 400 iso in this weather. It will go higher but grain is evident on the 300D at those settings.

The weather forecast shows sunny weather for Monday for your region - go to a lake/pond, set your camera to AV, turn the wheel to show f/8, set iso to 400, set centre point focus only and let me know how you get on.

I bet you will be pleased with your results.

I have several recent photos (from the 20D - but the galleries before June 2005 are taken with the 300D) at http://www.pbase.com/tirc None (apart from half a dozen) were taken with a tripod. Check out the 'full exif' to see trhe settings used in various conditions eg Dec-Feb last year.

ps. The 2x converter will lose you 2 stops of light - so will make matters much worse.
hi
thanks for the advice as you can see i think i have the focus sorted out what do you think,
sorry it has taken so long to post a reply, but i could not work out how to upload the photo.
again many thanks
george