Another auto-focus issue for the Q

[ymc226]

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I have had the Q for more than a year and the AF has always been quick and accurate. Now I find all my pics to be soft and slightly out of focus. I did change some of the focus settings to multi field or recognizes faces but then changed back to single point. I also enlarged the single point and then reverted back to the smallest focus point. I made sure I have the lens on the AF mode and is locked on that setting. Even so, the pics are only sharp if I revert to MF.

 

Has anyone’s Q lost the ability to focus when it was perfect previously? I wonder if performing a complete reset of the camera would help.

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[ericborgstrom]

Yes. When my Macro setting was slightly on. Could that be your problem to?

[ymc226]

I thought of that also and activated macro and then reset it back to me rm several times as well.

[ymc226]

I just reset the camera and now the auto focus functions correctly. I wonder how the AF got out of calibration.

[Macberg]

@ymc226

 

Just in case it happens to my Q as well - may I ask how you reset your camera?

[ymc226]

@ymc226

 

Just in case it happens to my Q as well - may I ask how you reset your camera?

In the menu, scroll down to near the end of choices and reset is one of the options. Choose reset camera.

[spacedout]

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I feel ill to read about this after having my Q for one week. It’s my clear impression that many of my shots taken inside are not well focused, while more of those taken outside are sharp. I’ve done two holiday parties, and am NOT happy with the focus quality. I’ll try the reset as well. Is this possibly due to some recent manufacturing issue, because the Q has been in production for quite a while.

Edited December 22, 2017 by spacedout

[Tailwagger]

I feel ill to read about this after having my Q for one week. It’s my clear impression that many of my shots taken inside are not well focused, while more of those taken outside are sharp. I’ve done two holiday parties, and am NOT happy with the focus quality.

 

Perhaps your experience level makes what follows a little insulting, but that's not my intent.  If you know all this, apologies, but perhaps this will provide a checklist for others not so experienced who might be blaming the camera for self induced problems. 

 

Its important to remember that acquiring proper focus is only one aspect of getting a sharp result. In cases where the outdoor results are good, but indoor ones, poor, its far more likely to be a setup issue rather than a defective camera.  The Q can be setup as a point and shoot that operates about as simply as an iPhone, but it doesn't happen by default. A little bit of thought and care taken with the camera settings prior to shooting can make all the difference between spectacular results and nothing but frustration.  If one has these sorts of issues, a few questions need to be asked and answered about the settings applied prior to shooting when indoors. 

 

Was the AF assist on or off? Was OIS engaged?  What shooting mode, P or A, S?   Did you have Auto ISO engaged and if so, what was the lowest shutter speed set to.   If not, what ISO were you set on?  How refined is your shooting technique? Some folks are capable of firing a shot off at under an 1/4" of a second and getting a sharp result, others tend to press the shutter with more aggression and need closer to 1/30-60" (1 to 2X focal length) for the same level of sharpness.  

 

Essentially, outside of the AF assist, it all boils down to one thing.  Is it possible you are confusing motion blur due to low shutter speed for lack of focus acquisition?  When you look at the shots that seem out of focus, what was the shutter speed reported? If your shots consistently hover below 1/30", OIS was off, the few that are sharp, were taken above those speeds, head to the nearest mirror, take a selfie and get a good look at the actual cause of the problem. 

 

If I were shooting an indoor party, no flash, in the evening, I'd likely set ISO to 3200 or so, shoot A mode wide open down to 2.8, checking shutter speeds as I go. I'm not a believer in OIS in such situations, unless people are posing for snaps. Otherwise as it cant freeze motion, only deals with camera shake. As I can shoot the Q and get good results down to quite low shutter speeds, I personally dont bother with it.  If one is not so experienced and wants to shoot in Program mode, make sure you set your ISO to Auto and set you max ISO to whatever your tolerance for noise is versus missing the shot, 6400 say. Be sure to set your minimum shutter speed to at least 1/30". 

 

Bottom line, when ones gets poor results, before blaming the camera, we need to check the various parameters affecting exposure were set properly for the shooting conditions.   If nothing in the frame is truly sharp, ie. its not that you focused on someones cheek and got sharp focus on someone 5 feet behind the subject (a different issue), its a dead give away that the shutter speed was simply too low to get a sharp result.  Not to say the camera cant have a defective, but before one blames the tool, its important to check into user error.  

Edited December 22, 2017 by Tailwagger

[Peter L]

I should add to the  excellent summation above : operators technique, how steady is the camera in the hand ?, is the camera pressed against the forehead to steady it ?, is your body swaying while taking the shot? , are you holding your breath while taking the shot ?, are your feet in an optimum position to steadying the body?.

 

For and experienced photographer, these methods are second nature, like driving a car,

for an inexperienced photographer , all of the above, not practiced ,can produce soft images, especially in low light situations.

Edited December 22, 2017 by Peter L

[spacedout]

Peter L and Tailwagger,

Wow.  Looking at the details, I see that ISO was set to 200, with no flash, and resulting shutter speeds no higher than 1/50.  I'm actually quite relieved.

I've taken many pictures over the years, but do not consider myself a real photographer.

 

Thank you both.  I'm see that I've got a lot to learn and will read through your recommendations closely.  I'm looking forward to learning how to use the Q.

[Macberg]

Something that I very often observe when I give my camera somebody else to take a picture is this "habit" which easily leads to blurred pictures, especially when your exposure time is longer than 1/125:

 

People often press the shutter button and put down their "camera-arm" too early. They almost simultaneously press the button and move the camera down (to check their picture in the display).

Edited December 23, 2017 by Macberg

[Leica Guy]

Something that I very often observe when I give my camera somebody else to take a picture is this "habit" which easily leads to blurred pictures, especially when your exposure time is longer than 1/125:

 

People often press the shutter button and put down their "camera-arm" too early. They almost simultaneously press the button and move the camera down (to check their picture in the display).

+1. I’ve pretty much given up handing my camera to someone else to take a photo. Very very few folks understand a half shutter button press to focus. I bet I’ve had 80% blurred photos. Especially in a dark area like a restaurant. What they do know how to operate is an iPhone or smartphone so that’s what I give them now. Whenever possible I carry along a tripod and just do it myself. Then there’s no one to blame but me if I screw it up. :-)

[Tailwagger]

I thought it might be worthwhile, given all the AF complaints to be a bit more illustrative of the issue. What follows is in no way scientific, nor the advice of an award winning professional, but I hope its at least illustrative of the difference the photographer can make given the very same camera settings.   I made a quick series of selfies, an embarrassing subject, but necessary to kill two birds with four photos, the two avians being technique and the effect it can have.   I chose ISO 200, to match spacedout's setting, then to get the shutter speed down to a level where good technique could get the shot, but poor technique would lose it, I set the aperture to f4 which resulted in a shutter speed of 1/6" of a second.   The focus point selected was the word Summilux on the lens. 

 

Here's the best result, which illustrates how to cradle the camera for better results in iffy situations. Note my elbows are in, braced against my sides, my left hand is palm up, supporting the base of the camera.  I bought my Q as a compliment to my M for street shooting, largely at night, where shutter speeds are often on the margins, so as you'll notice, I have both the option grip as well as a thumbs up. The overall scene is cropped to 1x1. Some very light processing (setting exactly the same across all shots) was applied, and converted to B&W in LR, as its easier to judge sharpness (and results in a smaller file for upload.   This particular shot was focused manually, which as it turned out was the sharpest. More on that aspect in a moment.

ISO 200  f4.0 1/6"  

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Here is the close crop, which as you can see, while not a razor blade, considering the shutter speed, its pretty dang sharp. 

 

 

Next up what happens when I intentionally try to press hard on the shutter.  The result here is obvious camera motion, you can see the streaking in the image. 

 

 

Finally, one in the middle.  A little soft, but certainly acceptable. This shot was taken with AF. Is the difference between this shot and the first due to some AF problems? Nope, Note that everything in the frame is just that little bit softer, clear evidence that my hand simply was not as steady... and why if your's isnt as well, you need to pay attention to minimum shutter speeds.  

 

 

 

Hopefully this helps stimulate those fortunate enough to own a Q, but with a little less experience with a more professional style camera, to learn a bit more about its operation and a few of the basics of good photographic technique.  Each of us spent a minor fortune on a truly fine piece of equipment, but that alone is no assurance that the results will maximize the capabilities of the camera.  As these few shots demonstrate, a little bit of forethought and practice can make a very big difference in the outcomes. 

Edited December 23, 2017 by Tailwagger

[jlafo]

New Q owner and now working to actually figure it out. Years ago, my brother’s Brownie camera had somewhat less with respect to directions: “load film, close back, shoot.” Now, 100 + pages!

 

Regarding AF setting, the manual refers to the “AF lock/unlock button,” however, mine does not lock. My first thought was “user error,” so here I am. Have I inadvertently overridden this function?