R5 misery

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Robin

Well-known member
I have a R5 and shoot in HQ JPEG. My problem is that I cannot get any detail in my images, they seem smeary and blurred.

My picture style is standard with clarity set to o.
I was advised to reset my camera so as to avoid any settings I made that may adversely affect the images., which I have done hoping that canons basic settings would at least give a reasonable shot.
Comparing images from my D500 at similar iso’s There is a world of difference.
Any help would be appreciated as I have no hair left to pull out
 
Robin,
I do not own an R5 therefore I am unable to help with settings. But in a case like this, if you could post a couple of example photos, it may help the folks who do own and shoot Canon systems to be able to offer better suggestions.

Jeff
 
Robin, I have never shot JPEG on an R5, but I'm sure there'll be sufficient help available on this forum to get your unfortunate problem sorted.
  1. If possible, please take a photo—anything will do—with the camera's shooting mode set to A+ (auto-everything). If you use a different mode, please tell us every detail.
  2. Import the image into your photo app (let us know what it is, please) but do not make alterations.
  3. Note the size of the unaltered image. Is it 8192 x 5464 pixels? If 'Yes' go on to #4 below; if 'No', you've probably solved the problem.
  4. Export the image from your photo app with long edge limited to 1200 pixels and file size limited to 1 megabyte. If these limits are exceeded there is a high possibility that your camera's settings will not be displayed below the images.
  5. Upload to this thread by pressing Cmd+P (or Ctrl+P) and choosing the file.
… David
 
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Try again,
Cetti's Warbler 2-2022.jpg
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Cetti's Warbler 2-2041.jpg
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Cetti's Warbler 2-2049.jpg
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I have an R5 and could offer some assistance. There are a few Canon shooters here. If you could tell what lens you ars using? What settings as far as shutter speed, f number, ISO? Are you using the IBIS? What picture style? (edit:I see you said standard) Are you cropping or processing the jpeg in any way? The more info you can give the better answer you will get.
 
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Those three examples are all backfocused. Also appear to be high iso with a lot of jpeg NR making everything soft.

Maybe try in better light and conditions to make sure there isn't a real problem with the camera.

What lens are you using? What ISO were those three shots at?
 
Hi Bill, I took the above shots with the 100-400 mk2 and have taken equal images with the 500f4. Taken @ f5.6 ,auto iso ranging from 1600 and upwards.
Speed at 2000th. Not sure about ibis I believe it was set on camera and lens with standard picture style,reasonable cropping but on the heavy side.
Foto’s edited in Lightroom 5.6
Strange thing is there appears to be patches of detail .
 
Those three examples are all backfocused. Also appear to be high iso with a lot of jpeg NR making everything soft.

Maybe try in better light and conditions to make sure there isn't a real problem with the camera.

What lens are you using? What ISO were those three shots at?
Agree conditions were not ideal rather dark , would detail be lost in patches because of high iso ? shooting alongside with the Nikon gave better photos.
The Warbler was mobile and I guess I might have missed focused as eye detection was erratic.
Obvious, yes I will take some images in better conditions just to make sure the camera is working properly.
If the camera is back focusing how do you alter that with mirrorless ?

Cheerz Robin.
 
This is really difficult.
In general, I would share the same opinion as arbitrage.
Maybe a bit of everything: Too much noise supression, high ISO, maybe not the sharpest lens, and a focus offset.
Certainly not a problem with IBIS, though.
 
If you look at the vegetation behind the bird, some of that appears to be in focus. Try putting a fuzzy object, preferably a bird figurine, out in good light with the camera on a tripod. Take some photos using manual focus as well as autofocus and try the same in poor light. Then do the same thing with a different lens, even if you have to rent or borrow a lens. That should give some indication of where the the problem may be.
 
If the camera is back focusing how do you alter that with mirrorless ?
I don't know about Canon, but Nikon mirrorless cameras still have an AF fine tuning function.
However, I never understood why a lens would require AF compensation on a mirrorless camera.
This might be rather due to the movement of the bird or simply a random inaccuracy of the AF, due to bad light.
 
The lenses you mentioned are of high quality and your settings seem reasonable for a bird not flying. The overall exposure was fine. How are you focusing? Shutter half press? Back button? Which focus area? Servo or one shot? Are you holding down the focus button as the bird moves?

Canon doesn't have any corrections for focus fine tuning on mirrorless. Their mirrorless camera focus directly off the sensor pixels and their method makes fine tuning unnecessary.
 
Robin, I have never shot JPEG on an R5, but I'm sure there'll be sufficient help available on this forum to get your unfortunate problem sorted.
  1. If possible, please take a photo—anything will do—with the camera's shooting mode set to A+ (auto-everything). If you use a different mode, please tell us every detail.
  2. Import the image into your photo app (let us know what it is, please) but do not make alterations.
  3. Note the size of the unaltered image. Is it 8192 x 5464 pixels? If 'Yes' go on to #4 below; if 'No', you've probably solved the problem.
  4. Export the image from your photo app with long edge limited to 1200 pixels and file size limited to 1 megabyte. If these limits are exceeded there is a high possibility that your camera's settings will not be displayed below the images.
  5. Upload to this thread by pressing Cmd+P (or Ctrl+P) and choosing the file.
… David
Robin, Davids suggestion is very good.
I have shot jpg and RAW with my R5.
If you do the above it will help us a lot to help you.
 
You might want to also try using a lens autofocus calibration card to quickly and easily check where your focus is and what is sharp and what not. As Woody said - tripod, good light, low ISO, and good exposure when you try this, You can download a chart for free from the internet. Trying to figure out what the problem is is difficult enough - and it will be easier with a chart as a subject as a starting point
 
The lenses you mentioned are of high quality and your settings seem reasonable for a bird not flying. The overall exposure was fine. How are you focusing? Shutter half press? Back button? Which focus area? Servo or one shot? Are you holding down the focus button as the bird moves?

Canon doesn't have any corrections for focus fine tuning on mirrorless. Their mirrorless camera focus directly off the sensor pixels and their method makes fine tuning unnecessary.

The reason I ask about the focus and shot settings is just to suggest you check yourself to make sure you understand how each method works. In one shot once the focus is acquired and the focus point changes color (green I think) the focus stays locked at that distance as long as you hold the half press. So if the bird moves while holding the half press it can be slightly out of focus because the focus is still locked at the old distance. So in that case you would have to release the focus and then press it again. If in servo the focus contantly adjusts to the area under the focus point as long as you hold the button (I believe blue if it is in focus), so if you lose the bird and have the focus point over a branch it focuses on the branch instead. If you are using tracking with eye detect it is better in my opinion to use servo. You will see a little box around the eye if it detects it and it is in focus, or around the head, or the body.

The point is just to eliminate these things as possibilities. If this is not the issue at least we are narrowing things down.
 
The lenses you mentioned are of high quality and your settings seem reasonable for a bird not flying. The overall exposure was fine. How are you focusing? Shutter half press? Back button? Which focus area? Servo or one shot? Are you holding down the focus button as the bird moves?

Canon doesn't have any corrections for focus fine tuning on mirrorless. Their mirrorless camera focus directly off the sensor pixels and their method makes fine tuning unnecessary.
After I resetting the camera I did change the auto focus with normal focusing to shutter half press and back button to eye tracking in servo mode.This is a change from the set up I normally use which is to use both back buttons for the same 2 types of focus.
I wonder if you might be right in that I might be failing to keep the bbutton depressed as I varied between buttons .
I think I will change back as I admit I did get a little confused.
Thing is the problem occurred before,hence the reset.
I need to recheck my self.
Thanks
 
After I resetting the camera I did change the auto focus with normal focusing to shutter half press and back button to eye tracking in servo mode.
Suggestion: if you're using the AF-ON (back button) to focus, disable Shutter Button (half-press) focusing. The last thing that is needed is for the shutter button to undo your careful BBF eye-tracking in the split-second before the image is made!
  • Press Menu button (left of eyepiece) —>
  • Scroll to orange C.Fn 3 sub-menu —>
  • Choose Customize Buttons —>
  • Change Shutter Button Half-press to Metering Start.
 
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Thanks to all for responding, I was hoping that m setting/s might be wrong but it might be me
As I said my Nikon took better shots in the same conditions but I am more accustomed to that camera.
Hopefully I will try again next week and see how thing go.
Cheerz.
 
Suggestion: if you're using the AF-ON (back button) to focus, disable Shutter Button (half-press) focusing. The last thing that is needed is for the shutter button to undo your careful BBF eye-tracking!
  • Press Menu button (left of eyepiece) —>
  • Scroll to orange C.Fn 3 sub-menu —>
  • Choose Customize Buttons —>
  • Change Shutter Button Half-press to Metering Start.
Hi Dave If I keep bbutton pressed will this not override shutter button half press when taking the shot ?
But I will change back to dual bbutton
Cheerz
 
Hi Dave If I keep bbutton pressed will this not override shutter button half press when taking the shot ?
But I will change back to dual bbutton
Cheerz

I hope this won't confuse you because it's easier to do than to write about. The way you said would work (keeping the shutter half press to AF start and the AF-On to eye detect). In that case If you hold the shutter only you will focus using whatever focus area was already set but if you also hold AF-ON you will get tracking. But the disadvantage to doing that would be that if you are in servo mode you would not be able to recompose after locking in the focus.

On the other hand, If you set the shutter to meter start only (how David said and also how I do it) then you could focus with the back button and when you release the back button have the focus locked at that distance for recomposing. In that scenario if you have the af-on button set to eye detect then most people also set the star button to af-on, as you said dual back button, which would use whatever focus mode is currently active. The mode button (far right) would be used to pick the active focus area such as expanded area.

I hope I didn't open a can of worms for you.
 
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I hope this won't confuse you because it's easier to do than to write about…
A possible solution to the 'confusion' problem is to save settings that you're trialling to a Custom Shooting Mode (C1—C3). The option can be found as follows:
  • Press Menu button (left of eyepiece) —>
  • Scroll to yellow Set Up 5 sub-menu —>
  • Choose Custom Shooting Mode —>
  • Choose Register Settings.
My suggestion is to choose C2. Here's how I do it:
  • C1 : landscape & macro
  • C2 : trial (and error!)
  • C3 : wildlife
 
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I hope this won't confuse you because it's easier to do than to write about. The way you said would work (keeping the shutter half press to AF start and the AF-On to eye detect). In that case If you hold the shutter only you will focus using whatever focus area was already set but if you also hold AF-ON you will get tracking. But the disadvantage to doing that would be that if you are in servo mode you would not be able to recompose after locking in the focus.

On the other hand, If you set the shutter to meter start only (how David said and also how I do it) then you could focus with the back button and when you release the back button have the focus locked at that distance for recomposing. In that scenario if you have the af-on button set to eye detect then most people also set the star button to af-on, as you said dual back button, which would use whatever focus mode is currently active. The mode button (far right) would be used to pick the active focus area such as expanded area.

I hope I didn't open a can of worms for you.
Hi Dave, I believe I understand you and have changed my bbutton s to suit but not allocated star with shutter button to only metering.
Those worms are everywhere
 
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