Depth of field issue: This shot is with a Canon 7D mII, Canon EF 100-400L II. 1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO 6400. I was shooting fast because I was trying to get some BIF, then saw this squirrel...

idahoshooter Loc: Coeur d'Alene

This shot is with a Canon 7D mII, Canon EF 100-400L II.
1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO 6400.

I was shooting fast because I was trying to get some BIF, then saw this squirrel munching on the tree leaves. He was only 10' away or so, but I'm surprised how little DOF I have. The forehead is in focus, but not the rest of the body.
a) small depth of field @400mm, relatively close
b) maybe I was slightly front focused to start with?

Squirrel in tree

(Download)

tsilva Loc: Arizona

The closer you are with a long lens the shallower the dof

Rongnongno Loc: FL

There is no problem here. While the DOF is shallow it serves the purpose.

Shot and killed four of the grey kind in three days, one this very morning. Way to many around my house - and do not feed them other than with led, trust me.

idahoshooter Loc: Coeur d'Alene

Thanks for the support, I think.

flyguy Loc: Las Cruces, New Mexico

Looks fairly sharp to me.

coj Loc: NJ, USA

I am going to assume you used spot metering and a single point focus. If that is the case and you right click on the photo in your editor you should see the focus point by clicking "show focus point". My guess is that it will be right on the little guy's head, or something equidistant to it. If not the camera may have chosen a point from multiple focus points and that is what you got. Either way, there's really nothing wrong with it. I think if you wanted more to be in focus you would need to use a lower f stop (f/11?) to get more of a landscape image.

idahoshooter wrote:

This shot is with a Canon 7D mII, Canon EF 100-400L II.
1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO 6400.

I was shooting fast because I was trying to get some BIF, then saw this squirrel munching on the tree leaves. He was only 10' away or so, but I'm surprised how little DOF I have. The forehead is in focus, but not the rest of the body.
a) small depth of field @400mm, relatively close
b) maybe I was slightly front focused to start with?

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

The picture looks very good to me Idahoshooter.

idahoshooter Loc: Coeur d'Alene

Thanks "coj", I didn't know I could do that in Canon's DPP, that's really handy. Focus point was right at the tip of its nose. I appreciate the comments.

coj Loc: NJ, USA

Glad I could help.

idahoshooter wrote:

Thanks "coj", I didn't know I could do that in Canon's DPP, that's really handy. Focus point was right at the tip of its nose. I appreciate the comments.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Rongnongno wrote:

There is no problem here. While the DOF is shallow it serves the purpose.

Shot and killed four of the grey kind in three days, one this very morning. Way to many around my house - and do not feed them other than with led, trust me.

Add one to the tally... Damned rats are all over.

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

idahoshooter wrote:

This shot is with a Canon 7D mII, Canon EF 100-400L II.
1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO 6400.

) small depth of field @400mm, relatively close
b) maybe I was slightly front focused to start with?

I noticed 2 things regarding the focus. 1. The focus point looks to be slightly behind the squirrel's head; the leaves are more in focus than he is. 2. My DOF program shows a DOF of .16" at your settings; not much to work with. Even at f/16, you have less tha 1/2" DOF.

idahoshooter Loc: Coeur d'Alene

Wow, thanks for the info. I was using a friend's 7DmII, so with the smaller pixels the DOF is less than on my 5DmIII. That darn small Circle of Confusion got me! I will now download a DOF calculator for my phone!

suci Loc: Texas

idahoshooter wrote:

Wow, thanks for the info. I was using a friend's 7DmII, so with the smaller pixels the DOF is less than on my 5DmIII. That darn small Circle of Confusion got me! I will now download a DOF calculator for my phone!

I see nothing wrong with either the depth of field or the sharpness of the photo. And smaller pixels don't give you less depth of field compared with full frame sensor's bigger pixels.
Personally I see no reason for ISO 6400 for this shot although capturing birds in flight might require the fast shutter speed you are getting here. To get more depth of field you should use a smaller aperture. And as sensor size increases and the pixel size as a result, the smaller your aperture needs to be.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

idahoshooter wrote:

This shot is with a Canon 7D mII, Canon EF 100-400L II.
1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO 6400.

I was shooting fast because I was trying to get some BIF, then saw this squirrel munching on the tree leaves. He was only 10' away or so, but I'm surprised how little DOF I have. The forehead is in focus, but not the rest of the body.
a) small depth of field @400mm, relatively close
b) maybe I was slightly front focused to start with?

At 400mm -f6.3 at 10 feet DOF is about 1/4 inch. BTW it's not a squirrel it's a chipmunk. Actually a good capture

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

Yep...