Canon SLR Troubleshooting and Comments

[MarkF48]

Good catch on the MF issue Mark48

I can only say, "Been there, done that"

 

[MF283]

Good points from Westcliffe01 & MarkF48, also. i'm assuming your shooting the standard lenses & not the L series, this can open a can of worms, i believe in prime lenses & have had good luck with Sigma or Tamron as well over the standard "brand" lens.

Ronnie

 

[jlgurr]

Railroad tank was a 1/200th exposure at 135mm focal length. ISO 100. I'd say that is getting close to the point that one can expect camera movement to create unsharpness. Back in the old days when not everyone had telephoto lenses, a lot of photography was done with 35 and 50mm lenses that has apertures of 1.4 or 1.8 and a camera can focus those lenses a lot better than they can a zoom lens with an aperture of 4.0 or even 5.6. Get yourself a cheap 50mm F1.4 lens and see how that works for you. Why not run ISO 400 ? that would be 2 stops more safety or an exposure time of 1/800 and then I think the image will be sharper. Modern digital SLR's do not suffer nearly as much from noise at higher ISO values than the old ones.

The image in front of the water tank is clearly out of focus and nothing behind the water tank is critically sharp either. So to me this does not look like a focusing problem.

Crank up the ISO value all the way to 1600 on a contrasty subject and see what you get. Use a tripod and focus critically (manual focus) and then take the image with a remote or the self timer.

Hi Westcliffe,

All these shots are in full auto mode (or they were supposed to be) so the choices of iso, aperture, and shutter speed were made by the camera. Yep, I had the zoom lens maxed out though. There is always the possibility that it was not in auto though as young fingers seem to find there way to my stuff on a regular basis. I doubt though, that they messed with Auto Focus switch on the lens. I've noticed the camera didn't/doesn't always provide the AF dots if taking quick shots, in other words not giving the camera enough time to grab a subject. Sometimes it doesn't grab the correct subject and I have to recompose the frame after getting the right one and holding the shutter button down before fully depressing to get the shot.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[jlgurr]

Check your lenses that they are on AF (Auto Focus). I opened the images below in Canon's DPP and turned on the focus point indicator (the boxes in the AF matrix). Your older image shows the red AF points where camera grabbed focus at. The newer "tank" image has no AF points illuminated and the shooting info shows the focus mode is "Manual" for that image. I'm not sure that the AF can be put manual within the camera, so if the lenses are set to AF, then it's likely the camera may be at fault or the camera is not receiving the lens focus status correctly.
You had said you cleaned the contacts and those do convey the focus status to the camera. Perhaps try cleaning them again, both the on the lens and camera body if the lenses are indeed set to AF.

Hey Mark,

How cool that you could get all that info on my photos. I need to find time to use that software and learn more about photography now. Could the camera have been "tricked" into a manual focus situation if the shutter button was depressed too quickly? Pretty sure I was not messing with the lens AF switch that day so it was either a too fast depress or as you mentioned still dirty contacts.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[jlgurr]

Good points from Westcliffe01 & MarkF48, also. i'm assuming your shooting the standard lenses & not the L series, this can open a can of worms, i believe in prime lenses & have had good luck with Sigma or Tamron as well over the standard "brand" lens.

Ronnie

Ronnie,

Heard "L" lens mentioned earlier or maybe in a different thread and I'm pretty sure mine are just standard lenses. This is because I recall the post was about an L lens valued over $1,000. That would not apply to my lenses. The most I spent was on the 300mm zoom and it was not close to that much. Yes, my next lens will be a prime as I am curious to see the effect on quality of photos, especially portraits.

My new body arrived late Friday and I am anxiously awaiting some time to work with it and check performance compared to the body these images were made with.

Thank you,
Jeff

 

[jcummins]

I have a Canon Rebel xti....the AF on this camera I consider slow. I think that's were the problem is.

Many years back when I first had this camera, I found the camera was unpredictable on what it focus on. I took all the AF points off but the center one. I'd focus using this point by partial depress of the shutter button, then frame the picture.

As the years rolled by I stopped being critical of my pictures...and just took pictures like other people. Couple of weeks ago,I had my wife taking pictures of me with some bee frames....she couldn't get the camera to focus. Then I realized what was going on. I reset the AF points so they would all come into play....and then planned on checking that out closer...then this thread comes along.

SO...maybe this is part of what's going on. I do know, this thread has renewed my interest in getting a better body. From my extremely limited research, perhaps something like the T5i. I need to research a lot more.

MarkF48...am I interrupting that software in that it shows which AF points are used to do the focus? If so what software is that.

 

[MF283]

Ronnie,

Heard "L" lens mentioned earlier or maybe in a different thread and I'm pretty sure mine are just standard lenses. This is because I recall the post was about an L lens valued over $1,000. That would not apply to my lenses. The most I spent was on the 300mm zoom and it was not close to that much. Yes, my next lens will be a prime as I am curious to see the effect on quality of photos, especially portraits.

My new body arrived late Friday and I am anxiously awaiting some time to work with it and check performance compared to the body these images were made with.

Thank you,
Jeff

Jeff

What new body did you go with? I've ditched the DSLR cameras for the time being, a lot of weight to carry around, not to mention $$ in lenses.
With a Canon S100(P&S) & the IPhone 6, i'm getting some great pics, can shoot raw with the 100 as well.
I'm looking at the mirrorless Fuji & Sony cameras now for the compactness & lens availability, while i miss the zoom capabilities of the long lens, i think i can get by with one of the new set ups.
Look forward to hearing a report on the new body.

Ronnie

 

[MarkF48]

MarkF48...am I interrupting that software in that it shows which AF points are used to do the focus? If so what software is that.

Canon's DPP - Digital Photo Professional. It should be on the CD that came with your camera. Install that first and then go to the Canon website and find the DPP updates for your Rebel xti. The update can not be installed without having a previous version installed. If you don't have the CD, download this original version of DPP and install prior to using the updates >>> http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/sdl/data/dpp100-e.exe

Canon updates at >>>> Support

 

[westcliffe01]

Jeff, the "easy button" is seldom the right choice. You should learn to use a more deterministic mode of operation, like Av so that you have some degree of control over the outcome. It is quite possible that in Automatic mode the camera even decides which ISO value to use.

Then you decide whether to have the aperture fully open or use a moderate value like F8-F11 to get better depth of field (assuming there is enough light.

Hi Westcliffe,

All these shots are in full auto mode (or they were supposed to be) so the choices of iso, aperture, and shutter speed were made by the camera. Yep, I had the zoom lens maxed out though. There is always the possibility that it was not in auto though as young fingers seem to find there way to my stuff on a regular basis. I doubt though, that they messed with Auto Focus switch on the lens. I've noticed the camera didn't/doesn't always provide the AF dots if taking quick shots, in other words not giving the camera enough time to grab a subject. Sometimes it doesn't grab the correct subject and I have to recompose the frame after getting the right one and holding the shutter button down before fully depressing to get the shot.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[jlgurr]

Jeff

What new body did you go with? I've ditched the DSLR cameras for the time being, a lot of weight to carry around, not to mention $$ in lenses.
With a Canon S100(P&S) & the IPhone 6, i'm getting some great pics, can shoot raw with the 100 as well.
I'm looking at the mirrorless Fuji & Sony cameras now for the compactness & lens availability, while i miss the zoom capabilities of the long lens, i think i can get by with one of the new set ups.
Look forward to hearing a report on the new body.

Ronnie

Hey Ronnie,

I bought the T5i. The T6 was a good bit more and to replace my T1 was more expensive than the T5. Can't wait to put it to some use this weekend.

When I tossed the last point and shoot camera my choice was DSLR for the reason of increasing my lens choices and a HUGE improvement in flash photos with the Speedlite on the Canon. I've even "fixed" some less than perfect scenes outdoors with a flash. It's clear my primary choice of full auto is not taking full advantage of the DSLR body but hopefully that will change in time.

When I have made some photos with the new T5i I'll post them up here for comparison.

Jeff

 

[jlgurr]

Jeff, the "easy button" is seldom the right choice. You should learn to use a more deterministic mode of operation, like Av so that you have some degree of control over the outcome. It is quite possible that in Automatic mode the camera even decides which ISO value to use.

Then you decide whether to have the aperture fully open or use a moderate value like F8-F11 to get better depth of field (assuming there is enough light.

Hey Westcliffe,

You nailed it. That was my original plan but seems like every time I "almost" have mastered how to use those things I revert back to p&s because it's simpler. Obviously, the results are not what the camera is really capable of. So, there is always room for improvement.

Thank you,
Jeff

 

[jlgurr]

Canon's DPP - Digital Photo Professional. It should be on the CD that came with your camera. Install that first and then go to the Canon website and find the DPP updates for your Rebel xti. The update can not be installed without having a previous version installed. If you don't have the CD, download this original version of DPP and install prior to using the updates >>> http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/sdl/data/dpp100-e.exe

Canon updates at >>>> Support

Mark,

This is good info, thank you for sharing!

 

[jcummins]

Hey Ronnie,

I bought the T5i. The T6 was a good bit more and to replace my T1 was more expensive than the T5. Can't wait to put it to some use this weekend.

When I tossed the last point and shoot camera my choice was DSLR for the reason of increasing my lens choices and a HUGE improvement in flash photos with the Speedlite on the Canon. I've even "fixed" some less than perfect scenes outdoors with a flash. It's clear my primary choice of full auto is not taking full advantage of the DSLR body but hopefully that will change in time.

When I have made some photos with the new T5i I'll post them up here for comparison.

Jeff

I've found the biggest problem I've had with the xti is focus. It does not do a good job if your subject doesn't have a lot of edges to focus on. I recent took pics of bee frames that was in a frame holder, camera on tripod, and still the focus was off. I had it in auto mode. I also had the AF on one shot, which might have been part of the problem. But I did some testing last night with of leaves on the trees....using all sorts of different settings, but couldn't ducplicate the problem.

So...I'm interested to know how your T5i compares to the XTi.

 

[jcummins]

jlgurr....any feedback on your xti versus t5i

 

[jlgurr]

Hey jcummins,

We recently returned from a visit with family in Michigan and we used our new T5i there. It could be the same camera as compared to the T1i we replaced but there are some new features and user interfaces, such as the touch screen. It takes better photos than the T1i in auto mode (using all my same lenses) but using Westcliffe's suggestion I started using manual mode more frequently. Now those pictures really look nice! So, there is where I am going to keep practicing with my photos until it becomes second nature.

At the end of the day, we can see better photos overall and the new features are neat although some we may never use, such as video. We had the T1 for so long it had become like an extended part of the family and hate to set it to the side. The new one "feels" pretty much the same, although maybe a tad lighter and more rubberized texture on holding areas. You might laugh but the one thing that bugs me most about the new camera is the sound of the mirror. I know, sounds crazy, but the mirror was a crisp action in the T1 and in this T5 it sounds almost floppy. Like a lazier motion. Can't explain it better than that really. It's a slower sounding action.

At least now we have better photos AND I've learned from you guys how much better they can be when using the aperture and shutter speeds correctly.

Thank you all!

 

[IslandTractor]

Aperture and shutter speed are important but so is ISO. Familiarize yourself with ISO too, especially the high end that gives acceptable results. Probably around 1600 for your camera. Don't use high ISO all the time but it's useful for action even in good light.

 

[jlgurr]

Aperture and shutter speed are important but so is ISO. Familiarize yourself with ISO too, especially the high end that gives acceptable results. Probably around 1600 for your camera. Don't use high ISO all the time but it's useful for action even in good light.

Good point. I'll add that as my time behind the viewfinder increases. When I had a film 35mm my ISO use was pretty much 100 outside and 400 inside. Obviously much more flexibility these days. I've had fun with white balance lately also.

 

[dragoneggs]

Besides light which is the essence of photography, one must master, aperture, shutter, and ISO... period.

 

[RobertN]

If you buy used check the frame count. Some camera's have the software, or the software is available online. Most camera's have a spec for lifetime frame count if you search for it.

Nice thing about used digital camera is that you can test them before buying. I've bought many. Great deals. Check out a used 40d,50d,60d. All better than what you are replacing and less than a new Rebel.

 

[RobertN]

Try this. I never use my SLR, DSLR now, or film SLR in the past, in AUTO mode. I usually use Aperture Priority so I control depth of field, or Manual mode so I can control everything.

OP, try some Aperture Priority or manual settings. Try to get a mid setting for aperture, and a shutter speed 2x you lens length(ie shutter = 200 is you have lense at 100mm)

Jeff, the "easy button" is seldom the right choice. You should learn to use a more deterministic mode of operation, like Av so that you have some degree of control over the outcome. It is quite possible that in Automatic mode the camera even decides which ISO value to use.

Then you decide whether to have the aperture fully open or use a moderate value like F8-F11 to get better depth of field (assuming there is enough light.