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Aside from the obvious how could I prevent this.
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Apr 22, 2020 11:57:17   #
Architect1776 Loc: In my mind
 
Laszlo wrote:
Thank u for chiming in on my very amateur question. Went out w/ my Canon t2i and 10-22mm lens to practice landscape shots. When I got home & inserted the SD card into my computer, I was horrified. Every single shot was out of focus. The lens settings, ISO shutter speed were all fine. I checked my lens & found that it was switched to MF instead of AF. I of course still shoot everything in auto. I'm sure that I checked some of the shots in the field but there I could not tell how bad the focus was. The bright sunshine probably washed out my screen a bit. Also my glasses are polarized which makes the camera screen appear even darker. Needless to say I will always check my lens setting from now on but is there anything else I could have done to discover this sooner.
Thank u for chiming in on my very amateur question... (show quote)


My camera indicates if not in focus, 7D but yours should have this feature.

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Apr 22, 2020 12:06:39   #
nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY
 
The EF-S 10-22 is one of the USM lens capable of full manual focus while set on AF.

If you use back-button-focus (BBF), you can leave the lens set for AF all the time, and use the BBF button when you want to autofocus.

DON'T use the BBF button, and focus manually. Autofocus will not work when pressing the shutter release.

USM lenses that have focusing scales....in a window or an LCD focus display....are the ones you can do this with. Leave'em on AF and use BBF to freely choose how you want to focus.

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Apr 22, 2020 13:01:15   #
cascadejunkie
 
Check your focus confirmation in your camera set up menu. Whether I shoot in manual (esp. macro or close up for food photography) or using my back focus button, I get a bright outline of the area that is in sharp focus. Works all the time.

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Apr 22, 2020 13:57:03   #
TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA
 
BebuLamar wrote:
The best thing is to look at the image in the viewfinder and see if the camera has achieved focus. I know immediately if the lens doesn't focus.


And every now and then, review the image after the shot. This is a good argument for chimping.

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Apr 22, 2020 14:01:59   #
jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska
 
Laszlo wrote:
Thank u for chiming in on my very amateur question. Went out w/ my Canon t2i and 10-22mm lens to practice landscape shots. When I got home & inserted the SD card into my computer, I was horrified. Every single shot was out of focus. The lens settings, ISO shutter speed were all fine. I checked my lens & found that it was switched to MF instead of AF. I of course still shoot everything in auto. I'm sure that I checked some of the shots in the field but there I could not tell how bad the focus was. The bright sunshine probably washed out my screen a bit. Also my glasses are polarized which makes the camera screen appear even darker. Needless to say I will always check my lens setting from now on but is there anything else I could have done to discover this sooner.
Thank u for chiming in on my very amateur question... (show quote)

Just mark it down as an excellent learning experience.

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Apr 22, 2020 14:02:32   #
BebuLamar
 
TheShoe wrote:
And every now and then, review the image after the shot. This is a good argument for chimping.


If I see the image in the viewfinder sharp and to find any focus error I would have to zoom up to 100% when chimping to see that. I always see my subjects is in focus in the viewfinder before release the shutter. I also read the aperture, shutter speed and ISO (if in auto ISO) before I release the shutter. If they are not close to what I think they should be I will find out why first.

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Apr 22, 2020 14:11:36   #
Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio
 
Laszlo wrote:
Thank u for chiming in on my very amateur question. Went out w/ my Canon t2i and 10-22mm lens to practice landscape shots. When I got home & inserted the SD card into my computer, I was horrified. Every single shot was out of focus. The lens settings, ISO shutter speed were all fine. I checked my lens & found that it was switched to MF instead of AF. I of course still shoot everything in auto. I'm sure that I checked some of the shots in the field but there I could not tell how bad the focus was. The bright sunshine probably washed out my screen a bit. Also my glasses are polarized which makes the camera screen appear even darker. Needless to say I will always check my lens setting from now on but is there anything else I could have done to discover this sooner.
Thank u for chiming in on my very amateur question... (show quote)


I ALWAYS set my camera to reasonably normal settings when I put it away. After picking it up for a quick wildlife shot out the window and it still being set for star photos from the night before I learned my lesson. I also now check my settings when I turn it on. Best habit I have gotten into.

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Apr 22, 2020 14:14:58   #
revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson
 
Only one guy was perfect and he wasn't a photographer. When I studied chemistry a professor said that we don't learn anything from a successful experiment, only from failed ones. So we learn from our mistakes. Only so true!

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Apr 22, 2020 14:19:02   #
rcarol
 
R.G. wrote:
Set your camera so that it won't take the shot unless you have focus lock when in auto focus. No green box - no shutter release. That'll program you to wait till you have focus lock.


I don't think that works when the camera is set to manual focus.

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Apr 22, 2020 14:25:47   #
R.G. Loc: Scotland
 
rcarol wrote:
I don't think that works when the camera is set to manual focus.


If he's programmed himself to wait for a focus lock in AF mode he'll miss it straight away when it isn't there. That'll alert him when AF isn't active.

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Apr 22, 2020 14:39:13   #
tinwhistle
 
You referred to yourself as "very amateur". Time and practice will take care of things like this. Having said that, mistakes like yours happen to the best. After decades of photography I will occasionally make dumb, or even careless mistakes, but in my case I can blame it on old age. The more you work on your photography the better you'll get. Good luck...

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Apr 22, 2020 14:57:41   #
PLT Loc: Seattle
 
Laszlo wrote:
Thank u for chiming in on my very amateur question. Went out w/ my Canon t2i and 10-22mm lens to practice landscape shots. When I got home & inserted the SD card into my computer, I was horrified. Every single shot was out of focus. The lens settings, ISO shutter speed were all fine. I checked my lens & found that it was switched to MF instead of AF. I of course still shoot everything in auto. I'm sure that I checked some of the shots in the field but there I could not tell how bad the focus was. The bright sunshine probably washed out my screen a bit. Also my glasses are polarized which makes the camera screen appear even darker. Needless to say I will always check my lens setting from now on but is there anything else I could have done to discover this sooner.
Thank u for chiming in on my very amateur question... (show quote)


I take my glasses off to shoot and adjust the optics in the viewfinder until sharp.

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Apr 22, 2020 15:12:40   #
Grahame Loc: Fiji
 
ggab wrote:
I would think that if he is going to check the distance settings on the lens along with the rest of the process, it would be easier to simply check the AF/MF switch.


That may be "easier", but it's not necessarily going to ensure or give confidence that focus is good in a situation where you can not confirm by viewing onsite. My suggestion was an 'option' that could be considered.

Laszlo wrote:
......but there I could not tell how bad the focus was.


Laszlo wrote:
......but is there anything else I could have done..........

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Apr 22, 2020 15:45:28   #
cahale Loc: San Angelo, TX
 
Find a very large piece of black tape, put it over the camera screen, and never look at the screen again unless you need to do something with the menu. Had you looked through the viewfinder, you would have seen the out of focus.

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Apr 22, 2020 16:12:04   #
fantom Loc: Colorado
 
Laszlo wrote:
Thank u for chiming in on my very amateur question. Went out w/ my Canon t2i and 10-22mm lens to practice landscape shots. When I got home & inserted the SD card into my computer, I was horrified. Every single shot was out of focus. The lens settings, ISO shutter speed were all fine. I checked my lens & found that it was switched to MF instead of AF. I of course still shoot everything in auto. I'm sure that I checked some of the shots in the field but there I could not tell how bad the focus was. The bright sunshine probably washed out my screen a bit. Also my glasses are polarized which makes the camera screen appear even darker. Needless to say I will always check my lens setting from now on but is there anything else I could have done to discover this sooner.
Thank u for chiming in on my very amateur question... (show quote)


If I need to check focus, due lighting conditions or something else, I take a picture of the toe of my shoe and can watch the focus change. And then I shoot at my subject and watch the focus change in the optical view finder and then take the shot.

Others have probably recommended this also so sorry if it is redundant.

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