Pics not as sharp as normal

[KellyC]

I was shooting some motocross this past weekend, and noticed quite a few of my pictures are slightly out of focus... I had shot at the same place at the beginning of the month and had a lot of really good clear shots. I changed from f2.8 to f4.5 which I feel should not have affected the camera's speed focusing or so I think. But I just checked my 70-200 f2.8 VR lens and noticed that I had moved the switch from normal to active (I was playing with the lens earlier in the month trying to see how it responded on different setting and forgot to put it back) Do the think either of these two things could have caused them problem?

Thanks in advance.
Kelly

[KellyC]

Like this picture

[Toshido]

Maybe motion blur from a slower shutter speed caused by a smaller aperture????

Just guessing here, especially not having a clue about shutter speed.

[squiddy]

i know this sounds like a no brainer but you had it on auto right?

i've done this when i switch back and forth between manual and auto and then do the *slap forehead* because i forgot to switch back.

with a small viewfinder and it being bright it could have looked like it was focused. Dunno.

[KellyC]

Yes it was on auto focus, so far I have not messed that up.:D Some with a shutter speed of 1/1000 were still slightly out. I guess next time I will go back to f2.8 and see what happen.

Thanks,
Kelly

[KellyC]

I think I may have figured it out:dunno I was reading in my dummies book (I am new to digital photography) about dynamic area, so I set the AF-area mode to it. The last time I shot, I used single point. Do you think this could have caused the problem?

Thanks
Kelly

[bikelanta]

Just throwing out a thought - did you shoot with the camera mounted on a tripod? I've read that having VR turned on while using a tripod actually makes the shot worse.

[KellyC]

Just throwing out a thought - did you shoot with the camera mounted on a tripod? I've read that having VR turned on while using a tripod actually makes the shot worse.

Nope, all shooting was hand held. The three settings that were different are:
1. Af-area was set to dynamic, instead of single point
2. the the switch on the lens was switched from normal to active
3. the f-stop was at f4.5 instead of f2.8

Even some pictures at a shutter speed of 1250 were slightly out of focus. Weather permitting and if the wife does not have any other plans, I will be shooting again Saturday.

Kelly

[tjk60]

Nope, all shooting was hand held. The three settings that were different are:
1. Af-area was set to dynamic, instead of single point
2. the the switch on the lens was switched from normal to active
3. the f-stop was at f4.5 instead of f2.8

Even some pictures at a shutter speed of 1250 were slightly out of focus. Weather permitting and if the wife does not have any other plans, I will be shooting again Saturday.

Kelly

Kelly, that COULD be the problem, it does take a short time for VR to settle in (and does time out also). If your shutter is more than the reciprocal, turn it off, you don't need it!

1 should not cause this, something should be in crisp focus.
2 normal or active should not make a difference
3 4.5 vs 2.8 should HELP you have more in focus.

Is this part of a burst (3-5 frames in a row?)
are they all OOF? or is one or more in focus?
Its a bit over exposed, the front number or tire could be in focus and it could be hard to tell with part of the pic blown out...

[KellyC]

Kelly, that COULD be the problem, it does take a short time for VR to settle in (and does time out also). If your shutter is more than the reciprocal, turn it off, you don't need it!

1 should not cause this, something should be in crisp focus.
2 normal or active should not make a difference
3 4.5 vs 2.8 should HELP you have more in focus.

Is this part of a burst (3-5 frames in a row?)
are they all OOF? or is one or more in focus?
Its a bit over exposed, the front number or tire could be in focus and it could be hard to tell with part of the pic blown out...

On this particular picture, everything was out of focus (not one of a burst shot). The reason I tried f4.5 was because I saw that was what Russ Erbe used, and he usually has good pictures and I wanted a little greater depth of field. It did not matter whether they were in burst mode, which I did only a few of or just individual shots.... The same problem existed. I did get many super crisp, so the day was not a total waste. The amount of bad shots was just a little confusing to me.

Maybe I was just having a bad day, or the first time a good day. I appreciate all the suggestions, and hopefully Saturday will be good to me.

Thanks,
Kelly

[rookieshooter]

I'd just say try to get your focus on them as they are on the ground then follow them through the air firing the whole time. If your camera's AF system is up to it, it should work.

As for the VR settings, I think active is just for when you're in a moving car or a helicopter, so that should be set to normal. That could have been the culprit but I can't say with 100% certainty.

[Qarik]

I think I may have figured it out:dunno I was reading in my dummies book (I am new to digital photography) about dynamic area, so I set the AF-area mode to it. The last time I shot, I used single point. Do you think this could have caused the problem?

Thanks
Kelly

That is only for metering not the focus. If you had accidentally chose single focus point for focus..something should still have been in focus..but nothing really is. Are all you shots soft or just this one?

[nipprdog]

AF-C, or AF-S?

[KellyC]

AF-C, or AF-S?
Would you believe that it was at AF-A? I am pretty sure that was the default setting. Well you can tell I am a new to this stuff (my first digital camera, a Christmas gift from my wife)... I guess it is time to set it to AF-C.

Thanks nipprdog

Qarik,
A fair amount of the pictures were slightly out of focus, 30-35% or more. I did get some very sharp ones though.

Thanks, to everyone that has been helping me figure out what I did wrong. This community is great.
Kelly