Brought a Canon T3i. It only focus in the middle and blurs the rest. Tried every setting to get a whole image focus! Help!?

Question

Brought a Canon T3i. It only focus in the middle and blurs the rest. Tried every setting to get a whole image focus! Help!?

Answer 1

The image you posted is an example of shallow depth of field. There is nothing wrong with your lens.



You get a shallow depth of field by;

- having the camera close to the subject (which is why macro shots always have an inherently shallow depth of field)

- having a wide open aperture (low f number)

- using a longer focal length (ie 55mm rather than 18mm)



To get a deeper depth of field, use the lens at the wide angle end (18mm), be further back from your subject, and stop the aperture down to f11-f16 or so.



Do note though that with macro shots where the camera --> subject distance is so very small, you cannot often get all of the subject in focus - you then need special techniques like 'focus stacking' to merge separately focused parts of the image.

Answer 2

This is one of the reasons why DSLRs are not necessarily ideal for beginners. it sounds like you are dealing with 'Depth of Field' issues. Normally camera users are delighted to be able to have the main subject sharp and the background smoothly out of focus.

If you want everything in focus then focus on something about 1/3rd of the way into the image (the Hyperfocal Distance) with the lens aperture set to more than f8. You hold this focus point either by half-press of the shutter and then recompose or select one of the cameras focus points on the screen that is in the right place, or you set it on Landscape mode.



If you are going to be taking a lot of photos that require a wide angle lens then buy one that covers something like 10-20mm focal length. Your kit lens is likely to be 18-55mm.

Answer 3

This was attempting to at least try macro / closeup since it was only focusing in the middle. Here I learned it wasn't like a circular focus more like a "line" focus.



Lens: 18-55mm. The camera is brand new, I treat it like a child, has never fallen, no scratches, just got it two weeks ago. This was Raw/A-Dep and then switched to M setting. I was a good 1/2 hour changing the aperture/iso and shutter speed.

Answer 4

The camera you have, Canon T3i, and the lens that usually comes with it, 18-55mm, are capable of having just a part of the photo in focus, and having all of the photo in focus. It is just a matter of the photographer understanding depth of field (DOF) and putting that knowledge to use. Here is a tutorial on DOF.

http://www.phototips.biz/2011/10/episode-110-understanding-dof-depth-of.html



And here is a tool to help you play with DOF.

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html



BTW, your observation that the it isn't a circular focus, more like a line, is correct.

Answer 5

Got any examples?



What settings are you doing? What lens are you using? What are you taking photos of?



Has the lens been damaged? Was it bought new or used?



Putting the camera on Auto should produce clear photos under most circumstances. Go outside on a sunny day, face away from the sun and take a photo. If there's something wrong with that photo then it needs to go back to where you got it.

Answer 6

You need more depth of field, so you should always use a small aperture (confusingly, a big number) such as f11 or f16. Beware camera moverment resulting in movement blur if the light level is low.



Using wide-angle (18mm or 24mm zoom setting, not 55mm) helps also.



Those are absolute basics in any camera, but show up more in a DSLR rather than in a cheap compact, for good technical reasons to do with the physical size of the sensor. Upgrading the DSLR or lens will not help, the same properties of optics apply from cheapest to most expensive.



Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Answer 7

Buy a basic book on Digital photography like from somebody like Scot Kelby. Make sure it has a section entitled "Deth of Field" in the contents. THAT will get you further than an explanation on these pages. The "simple" answer is not always the best way to learn photography technique.

Answer 8

1

Answer 9

Set to A mode then choose a small aperture size, say f/22. If picture is too dark or blurry, use flash or shoot outdoors.

Answer 10

I have this camera and the 18-55mm, what do you get if you put it on auto and just jpg and not raw?

Answer 11

Have you tried actually reading a book about basic photography?