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Canon 40D blurry images

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This post has 13 Replies | 7 Followers

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John Larsen Posted: 11-13-2009 8:39 AM
I received my 40D back from Canon service center hoping they can fix the soft or blurry images I've been experiencing.  They did a firmware upgrade and some "tweaking" but the images don't look any better.  Anyone else having problems with this camera?  I'm using the EF 70-200 f2.8 L IS USM lens.  One thing I did notice, the images, if I focus at 70mm, look noticibly worse than if I focus at 200mm then zoom down to 70mm, while still holding the button half-way down, then snap the picture.  Do I need to always focus at 200mm then recompose my picture like this everytime?  I've tried using the tripod w/o the IS enabled.  It's not a camera shake issue.  I can see exactly what I focused on but it doesn't look sharp.
John
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Top 25 Contributor
Posts 278

Let me ask the obvious question - do you see the blurriness with other lenses?  If it's just with the 70-200 f2.8 L IS, the problem may be the lens, not the body.  The fact that you get variable results with the same lens also suggests it might be the lens.

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Posts 166

Let me ask the second obvious question, what do you have noise reduction set to, either in the camera or in DPP.  If it's being applied automatically, it will make shots looks soft

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I should have stated my other lens as well: EF-S 17-55 f2.8 IS USM.  Same results.  I've tried various combinations of f/stops & aperatures, changed the sharpness control under the menu settings, used one focusing point instead of multiple focusing points throughout the field of view, manual focus.  Let me ask the same question but in a different form: If I focus in on a still subject (let's say 30 feet away) at 70mm, hold that focus and zoom in to 200mm, shouldn't the image "sharpness" be the same?  Mine image really looks blurry now.  So as a "fix" I zoom in at my subject at 200mm and focus for all my shots and then compose my picture at a different zoom length.  I shouldn't have to do this with this level of camera/lenses.

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I'm not sure, right now, what the NR is set to.  I don't have my camera in front of me at the moment.  Thanks for the tip.  I'll try it as soon as I can.

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Posts 3

Its happened to me , Like you i also send it back to be repaired, but the same result came in, right now i can only rely on Photoshop to sharpen all my shoot, already make the action for the ps, so every time i transfer my pic,. just run the automate batch action to sharpen all my photo, but sometimes if the pic taken with low light,. some noise appear.. still don't know it only happen to us or other.

Top 75 Contributor
Posts 109

Check pixel-peepers to see how your images compare to others with the same gear.  You can search by lens or camera (unfortunately not for a body/lens combo).  For lenses you can limit to certain focal lengths, fstops, and image sizes, allowing you to check for images shot with the same configuration as your own to help do a more direct comparison.

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hm,.. yeah.. i never did that,.. but still i cannot claim it anyway,.. already send it to the dealer n return back to me so... i just have to get use to it n with little touch with Adobe Ps, i already satisfied with all my pic. Thanks

Top 10 Contributor
Posts 1,096

John Larsen:
One thing I did notice, the images, if I focus at 70mm, look noticibly worse than if I focus at 200mm then zoom down to 70mm, while still holding the button half-way down, then snap the picture.

Your autofocus is not sufficiently accurate. I suggest calibrating your 40D using the microadjust feature. It only has one "per body" setting, rather than a setting for each lens (like the 50D). Of course, manual focus with liveview is another option.

Top 50 Contributor
Posts 217

I had similar issues with my 50D and 100-400L,  some things to try:

1.  Put the camera/lens on your tripod.  go to live view magnify x10 and focus on anything. if you see vibration or movement,  it may be the tripod-----That was my problem.

2.  Also check the Sharpness of the picture style setting you normally use.

3.  After zooming, I would suggest that you refocus on your subject

4.  I am not sure if it is a new feature on pixel peeper, but you can look at picture from specific lens/body combinations,  but you have to go to lenses first----try taking a look and see what others are doing with the same combo. Try this link:

 http://www.pixel-peeper.com/adv/?lens=15&camera=714&perpage=12&focal_min=none&focal_max=none&aperture_min=none&aperture_max=none&iso_min=none&iso_max=none&exp_min=none&exp_max=none&res=3

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Posts 225

Daniel Browning:
I suggest calibrating your 40D using the microadjust feature. It only has one "per body" setting, rather than a setting for each lens (like the 50D). Of course, manual focus with liveview is another option.

Daniel,

How do you do this on the 40D? I can't find the function in-camera to microadjust. Is it something in DPP?

Thanks mate.

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Posts 1,096

btaylor:
How do you do this on the 40D? I can't find the function in-camera to microadjust. Is it something in DPP?

Sorry, my mistake. The 40D doesn't have it.

Top 200 Contributor
Posts 29

Hi john,

I would suggest that you hav the camera body checked. My friend had the same problem with his 40D  and it couldn't  have come at a worse time. It was on a wedding photo coverage.

If i remember correctly it had a something to do with the shutter or a chip in the camera body that controls the exposure. It was resolved at very minimal cost.

Do give it a try. Good Luck!

 

Top 150 Contributor
Posts 47

Try your lens on a different camera.  If images are ok, its the body.  If they are blurry, its the lens or the photographer.

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