Maxxum 7D focusing problems

[Spider_Whistle]

I've had my Maxxum 7D for a few months now, and am still trying to fine tune my knowledge of it. The past few weekends I have tried shooting some portrait type work, and have become increasingly frustrated with a focusing problem that has been popping up since I got the camera.

I'll be out shooting, and everything looks great. Then I get home and upload, only to realize that half of the pictures are out of focus. I've been having the problem off and on since I got the camera, and haven't been able to find any rhyme or reason for it. Initially I tried turning up the sharpness (it is at +1 right now), and while that did help, it did not fix the problem. Most if the time my subject will be slightly out of focus, while the background is crisp. I am aware of the different focusing areas, and I make sure the right area of the frame is being focused on. I usually focus on my subject, and then re-frame the picture, making sure to hold my shutter half way. And still, I get tons of soft shots, or more accurately, I get lots of shots that are focused on the wrong part of the frame (a problem I did not have when shooting medium format or 35mm).

Has anyone heard of, or had a similar problem? Is there some quirk about this camera I don't know about yet? Any advice?

Thanks!

[TheObiJuan]

haha, focusing and recomposing on a dslr is the root of your troubles. At wide apertures you can't do it, because the depth of field is reduced, so you will put the subject outside of it when recomposing.
Try framing the subject as normal and moving selecting a focus point nearest them, then focus. This way you get very little movement.

Good luck.

[Spider_Whistle]

As I suspected!
Thanks for the info, I'll give it a go! :)

Cheers~

[Spider_Whistle]

Ok, I've definitely got a problem with either my camera or lenses.
I shot a wedding yesterday, and ran into the same problems I had with the senior pics. I setup groups of families for portraits, they stood still, and I had my camera on a tripod. I adjusted the focus area to be absolutely positive I was getting their faces in focus... and whattaya know! The bloody trees which were 15 *$!@# feet behind my subjects were tack sharp!!!! It did the same thing to a large portion of my shots until I started focusing manually. It seems to be a problem with focusing on things that are more than 5' away, and have a background to contend with (even though I am 100% sure I focused on their faces.)
I don't know what the deal is, but I surely didn't pay $1600 for a camera that cannot focus...
I'm using older AF maxxum lenses, and from what I know, that should not be a problem. The issues yesterday occurred with my 28mm, and 35-70 zoom (I have never had any issues with them when using my Maxxum 9000).

There's nothing worse than shooting a wedding and looking like an amateur who can't even get a sharp shot. :(

Does anyone have any ideas?

Note: I remember seeing something while trolling eBay a while back. It was a sticker for using the Maxxum 7D with older AF lenses. They said to stick it on the lens, and follow its focus marks, not those which the camera sets, as the old lenses don't autofocus properly. I read a lot about this camera before buying it, and hadn't seen mention of such a problem, so I dismissed the auction as bs. But were they maybe right?

[Fred]

You might want to go to www.dpreview and do a search in the Konica-Minolta forum for "back focus" Over many months since its intro, there have been a number of complaints about apparent back focus issues with the 7D.

[Spider_Whistle]

As Fred mentioned, the problem is back focus. All along it was the camera, not me!
I sent it back to KM yesterday to have the focus recalibrated, and I recommend anyone having similar problems do the same while they are still under warranty. From what I've read from other Maxxum owners, the recalibration makes a world of difference... I'll post my results when my camera comes back.

Cheers~

[gracie328]

Hi! I'm new here... and somewhere between the beginner to amateur range. I usually visit another site and have just discovered this one. I purchased the Maxxum 7D back in March 2005 and I have had several problems with focus issues. It's so NOT consistent, it drives me crazy, yet it doesn't seem obvious enought to say it's the camera yet. I don't recall having any issues except maybe a little extra softness in my pics until I attempted to purchase a new lens for it... but I'm really not sure. Since I was just trying to get used to a new cam, I would tend to excuse everything assuming it was 'just me'. I've tried 2 Sigma lenses and one Minolta brand. All were a little older AF lenses, but not a single one would work properly with the camera. The Minolta I'm about to return was the worst of the three. Mine seems to often focus somewhere other than the point I've focused on and sometimes just purely has problems obtaining a focus. Does this sound like the same issues you guys have had?
I took it back to the camera shop where I purchased it yesterday and he didn't believe it's the camera yet... but the lenses instead. I'm going to get a brand new lens next week and see how that goes before I determine if it's the camera for sure. Just wanted to get your opinions on the issue too since some have experienced similar problems.

[Fred]

I do know that there have been problems with some older Sigma lenses on the 7D. Your attempt to try a new lens is a good one. If you still experience the problems you noted, then it is very possible that your 7D does have the known focusing problems and should probably be returned for repair. Hope that helps.

[gracie328]

Thanks Fred. I'm hoping to get the new lens next week, depending on when the local camera shop can get it in so I'll see how it does then.

[gracie328]

Got my brand new lens... Minolta AF 85mm, f/1.4 G (D)... and I'm STILL having focusing issues. For those of you who have had similar issues... check this thread out.

http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=69894&forum_id=84&jump_to=383892

The last paragraph of Jim C's first response hits the nail on the head for me. I had heard of the back focus issues, but since I wasn't seeing them consistently with all pics, I've been questioning if it's my problem or not, but that paragraph really pinned it down. I'm going to send my camera back to Minolta for sure. Will let everyone know how it goes.