macro focusing off

[slaam]

was using
85mm lens with my 350D with a +4 closeup filter on a tripod with timer
for a shot of a kiwi.
but even if the screen is sharp
but i find that the focusing is off in the preview.
i get better results if i slightly turn the focusing knob myself.

is this normal? or shld I get the focusing checked? or is it a result of the filter?

 

[Scaglietti]

was using
85mm lens with my 350D with a +4 closeup filter on a tripod with timer
for a shot of a kiwi.
but even if the screen is sharp
but i find that the focusing is off in the preview.
i get better results if i slightly turn the focusing knob myself.

is this normal? or shld I get the focusing checked? or is it a result of the filter?

I don't quite understand a couple of things. Your subject is a kiwi, the bird? You don't need a close-up filter for that, I reckon.

Another thing, what do you mean by "the screen is sharp"?

BC

 

[slaam]

I don't quite understand a couple of things. Your subject is a kiwi, the bird? You don't need a close-up filter for that, I reckon.

Another thing, what do you mean by "the screen is sharp"?

BC

haha i tot posting the subject name wld be clearer.. sorry
kiwi the fruit!

thru the viewfinder aka focusing screen, the hairs of the fruit are sharp
but after taking the pic on the lcd preview it looks off focus..

 

[megaweb]

was using
85mm lens with my 350D with a +4 closeup filter on a tripod with timer
for a shot of a kiwi.
but even if the screen is sharp
but i find that the focusing is off in the preview.

Yes normal

when you look thru the viewfinder, DOF is shallow due to the lens is open at the largest aperture

when you took the photo and preview at the LCD, DOF is depend on your aperture used. If you use small aperture, the object will appear wider DOF.

 

[dscans]

The 350D LCD isn't really very good. It's dim and has a colour cast. There are some threads in the Canon forum about fuzzy pics when viewing magnified pics on the LCD - it's a known problem.

As long as it looks sharp on your desktop monitor, it's OK

 

[Scaglietti]

haha i tot posting the subject name wld be clearer.. sorry
kiwi the fruit!

thru the viewfinder aka focusing screen, the hairs of the fruit are sharp
but after taking the pic on the lcd preview it looks off focus..

I see...

How does it appear on your computer? If it is still off, I can think of 2 reason.

You mentioned that you took the shot with timer. Does your camera refocus taking the shot? If it does, it may have focused on the wrong subject.

The other possibility is the focus calibration of the camera is off. You need to correct it at the service center.

BC

 

[ortega]

use manual focusing via the viewfinder

 

[slaam]

Yes normal

when you look thru the viewfinder, DOF is shallow due to the lens is open at the largest aperture

when you took the photo and preview at the LCD, DOF is depend on your aperture used. If you use small aperture, the object will appear wider DOF.

wow macro expert answering my qn!
heh
i understand about this part (or maybe i am wrong)

when i view thru viewfinder its at the largest aperture.
but i use AP mode so that the apperture is at f8

so by right the preview should be sharper (or rather wider DOF) than wat i see in the viewfinder yah?

oh to answer the timer mode thing, i half pressed to focus then i press completely so it can't be off focus yah?

my gripe is that I have to 'adjust' the AF's choice of focus pt by a wee bit to get sharp photos for macro.
so not sure if its camera limitations or somethings wrong with the focusing mechanism

thanks for the helpful replies!

 

[J-Chan]

as what ortega mentioned, manual focusing is the way to go for macro shots..