First Post and Focus Question

[SciAggie]

I have been having some issues with achieving good focus and would like to hear from you guys. I am mostly using a 1DsMkIII and 85/1.2 lens. When doing outdoor senior portraits I sometimes will get several images, usually in a series that are OOF. I generally use a focus point that is near the closest eye, set focus and recompose. I will repeat the process for another shot, with the intention of reducing the odds of each shot being OOF. Sometimes it is frustrating to have everything just the way you want, only to find out at home that you have a soft image. It doesn't happen all the time, but it is often enough to be frustrating. The issue happens over a variety of distances. Sometimes it occurs at a close focus distance, sometimes at 12-15 or more. Just for information, I am not always shooting wide open. I had some missed focus shots yesterday shooting at about 15ft. at f5.6 that were soft.

Any ideas?

[cstewart1977]

Hi Gary,

Could you post some examples so we can try to see if it's really a DoF problem or something else.

Thanks

[cstewart1977]

And this post is in the wrong section. Maybe you'll get more responses in the tips section:)

[BenE]

I generally use a focus point that is near the closest eye, set focus and recompose.

Explain "recompose"?

[groovyone]

What apertures are you shooting at? With an ultra thin Depth of Field (DOF) like an 85/1.2, recomposing can shift your focal plane enough to make the image OOF.

[DiskoJoe]

dude, its a machine. it happens. its proabably it focus on something close to what you want and you just cant tell in the view finder or maybe it just didnt focus properly. like I said, its a machine. Dont sweat it. Just remember for important shoots to take the laptop and review on site while your still shooting if possible.

[BenE]

Originally Posted by groovyone

What apertures are you shooting at? With an ultra thin Depth of Field (DOF) like an 85/1.2, recomposing can shift your focal plane enough to make the image OOF.

I didn't want to assume what he meant by "recompose", but I had a feeling it is exactly what you mentioned.