Any suggestions?

[ohheckyeah]

I'm having a problem with my photographs with focusing. I have had to go to auto focus because my sight isn't the best but I'm still getting a lot of photos that are out of focus. I don't know if I'm setting the auto focus for best results or not or if my hands are shaking more than I think they are or what.

Any suggestions?

Frankly, it's starting to piss me off and discourage me.

[postatomic]

1. Can you share an example?

I've made every mistake-screwup you can possibly have with a camera. Thankfully I have learned from 90% of my mistakes. If yours doesn't fall in that 10% I can probably help. The photo, the camera, the lens, exif, and what you had for dinner would be helpful.

[JeffR]

2. There are so many variables it's hard to know what to suggest.

I have the same problem with manual focus, and I'm pretty much two years overdue to have my bifocals updated, so I have to trust auto focus, with rare exceptions.

One things that's helped some is using larger apertures for deeper depth of field. Doesn't guarantee sharpness, but helps me hedge my bets a little. I also adhere to the one-over-the-focal-length rule when possible, and am a little quicker to jump to 200 or 400 ISO than I used to be.

But again, many variables are in play when it comes to sharpness. There's no cure-all for the problem that I've ever heard about.

[JeffR]

3. And by "larger apertures" I meant high aperture numbers.

D'oh.

:eyes:

[ohheckyeah]

8. I do that most of the time.

Could it have to do with the Continuous or Single auto focus setting.

[Mz Pip]

4. Manual focus

for me pretty much always results in out of focus shots. My eyes are not 17 years old anymore. I do auto focus pretty much all the time, too.

I'll try your suggestions and see if it helps.

Aging sucks.

[postatomic]

5. Some times the camera will "hunt" for a focus point

If it can't lock onto something you won't have a focused photo. If you're using a DSLR most come with an eye thing that you can tune to your vision so when you look through the viewfinder everything is sharp and clear - and you'll be able to tell if the camera is "hunting".

Most of what I do is tripod stuff but if I'm hand holding I base everything on shutter speed. I will increase or decrease the ISO to work with the aperture and shutter speed I want.

If you're going fully auto you need to be patient. The camera is just a machine. It's not perfect and there are times you have to go off auto pilot and fly solo.

Again; more info would be helpful.

[bluedigger]

6. You could always try Nikons.

I shoot with a Nikon D-60 with a DX AF-S lens with VR. That means it has a switchable autofocus and motion sensor thingie. :shrug:

I take a lot of crappy shots but unless I disable the switch they are rarely out of focus. :rofl:

I'm sure the other top end manufacturers offer competing systems. Point is that the equipment has been on the market for awhile. Check CL for people upgrading.:thumbsup:

[ohheckyeah]

7. My SLR was a Nikon.

I use auto focus all of the time now.

[Bonhomme Richard]

9. I just went back to manual focus. I read an article talking about how....

consistently better manual focus was when compared to auto focus on the same exact subject and settings. Thought I would give it a try and see if I notice a difference in real situation shots.

[ohheckyeah]

10. n/t