Sony lens problems: Hi all, A bit of a problem and I figure this is the place to find answers... I own a Sony A7rii which I think is a mighty fine camera but I can't get a decent photo...

Lille Loc: Upstate, NY

Hi all,

A bit of a problem and I figure this is the place to find answers...

I own a Sony A7rii which I think is a mighty fine camera but I can't get a decent photo out of it. I might be wrong but I strongly suspect there is no problem with the camera but suspect it's a lens thing. Everything I shoot is soft. Nothing is ever well focused. Auto focus, manual focus, doesn't matter. Nothing is ever sharp.

I have the Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS lens and the Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS lens and they both take very soft photos. Neither of these are the much more expensive ' G ' models, which I"m sure are much better, but for the price of the ones I have I would have thought that I could have gotten some pretty good shots.

Could it be me, the camera or is it possible that these two lens are just never going to shoot truly sharp photos ?

Your thoughts greatly appreciated.

Thanks !

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

I can't reconcile your comment that it's a mighty fine camera but you can't get a decent photo out of it. Since the whole purpose of having a camera is taking decent photos, I find it strange that you would say that. The fact is though it is a very very fine camera, and while I have no familiarity with those lenses, chances are it's not the camera or the lenses, but your technique and understanding of how to get the best from this camera that's the issue. Please post one or more of the photos that are problematic. Be sure to check the store original box so we can see it at full resolution.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Lille wrote:

Hi all, br br A bit of a problem and I figure thi... (show quote)

Do you wear glasses?Did you buy the camera new? Is it under warranty?

Lille Loc: Upstate, NY

PixelStan77 wrote:

Do you wear glasses?

I do wear glasses though I've adjusted the diopter so that the image looks clear to me. I also use the 12.5x magnification function of the camera and the focus looks just fine via the EVF.

I bought the camera used and no warranty

Also is it not true that my wearing glasses would only be an issue when I were using manual focus. Would the camera camera not focus correctly in the Auto Focus mode regardless if I had perfect vision or were near blind ?

Thanks

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Lille wrote:

I do wear glasses though I've adjusted the diopter so that the image looks clear to me. I also use the 12.5x magnification function of the camera and the focus looks just fine via the EVF.

I bought the camera used and no warranty

Check out this. It talks about issues on focus with your camera and solutions

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-443536-1.html

Lille Loc: Upstate, NY

PixelStan77 wrote:

Check out this. It talks about issues on focus with your camera and solutions

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-443536-1.html

Thank you Stan. I"ll go read that now.

Lille Loc: Upstate, NY

mwsilvers wrote:

I can't reconcile your comment that it's a mighty ... (show quote)

By saying that I think it's a mighty fine camera but I can't get a decent photo out of it.... I only meant to imply that I think the problem is either me or the lens. Maybe I worded that badly but I don't think there's anything wrong with the camera.

tdekany Loc: Oregon

Lille wrote:

By saying that I think it's a mighty fine camera but I can't get a decent photo out of it.... I only meant to imply that I think the problem is either me or the lens. Maybe I worded that badly but I don't think there's anything wrong with the camera.

Post a picture and make sure to click store original

Lille Loc: Upstate, NY

tdekany wrote:

Post a picture and make sure to click store original

A pretty terrible photo but here is one...

This was shot at 29mm @ f8, 1/50, focused just beyond the hyper-focal distance of about 13 feet ( I think ) on a tripod with ' steady shot ' turned off.

(Download)

tdekany Loc: Oregon

First it looks like you have a dirty sensor. Are you noticing the 2 spots in the sky?

How old are your lenses? On Fred Miranda dot com, I remember many members had to go through 3 or 4 copies of both of these zoom lenses before they received a good copy. Recent copies supposed to have better quality control.

PS: which lens was used in this picture?

Linary Loc: UK

Lille wrote:

Hi all, br br A bit of a problem and I figure thi... (show quote)

The attached image is Photoshop's interpretation of your image in and out of focus. (Masked area indicates not in focus.)

That which is in focus appears soft.

Your shutter speed of 1/50th may not be fast enough even on a tripod in windy conditions, but another possibility is that there was a very slight movement of the camera when the shutter release was activated. (See how the masked area is a little more pronounced on the right hand side - only the base of the telegraph pole is sharp whilst the upper parts are blurred - and thus masked out. The single sheep in focus is near to the centre of the image.

Use the same lens at f/8, on tripod, stabilisation off, mirror up, remote or timer release. ISO up a bit to shorten the shutter speed and see if there is an improvement.

(Download)

pecohen Loc: Central Maine

Lille wrote:

I do wear glasses though I've adjusted the diopter so that the image looks clear to me. I also use the 12.5x magnification function of the camera and the focus looks just fine via the EVF.

I bought the camera used and no warranty

Also is it not true that my wearing glasses would only be an issue when I were using manual focus. Would the camera camera not focus correctly in the Auto Focus mode regardless if I had perfect vision or were near blind ?

Thanks

Are you looking at RAW, unprocessed images? Without processing they may look pretty soft.

Goober Loc: Southeastern PA

I have both these lenses and a7rii and riii bodies and all very sharp.

Lille Loc: Upstate, NY

tdekany wrote:

First it looks like you have a dirty sensor. Are you noticing the 2 spots in the sky?

How old are your lenses? On Fred Miranda dot com, I remember many members had to go through 3 or 4 copies of both of these zoom lenses before they received a good copy. Recent copies supposed to have better quality control.

PS: which lens was used in this picture?

I do see the spots on the sky. I didn't until you mentioned them but I do now. Bummer as I just paid a professional camera repair store in Denver, CO to clean the sensor about 50 shots ago.

I bought both of these lenses used, one from a fellow here on UHH and the other from KEH Camera. So I have no idea how old they are. Also I'm not really sure but I believe the 16-35mm f4 lens was used to shoot that photo. Though I get similar results with either lens.

Thanks much.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

What were you actually focusing on? Besides the slow shutter speed everything is very soft EXCEPT for the fence post in the bottom middle which, although not tack sharp, is reasonably sharp. Does your camera have different focus modes allowing you to choose individual focus points or groups of points to train directly on your subject? With traditional mirrored DSLR's when you use all focus points, especially in auto mode, the cameras will tend to focus on the closest object in view, which in this case would be the bottom center fence post. I don't how whether a mirrorless camera like yours would respond similarly, but I wonder if that might be the problem. I'm also not familiar with the shooting modes for your camera. Were you shooting in full auto?