SLR Question

[okietool]

I know there are some camera aficionados on here so I have a question. I purchased a Cannon Digital Rebel and a couple of Canon lenses for it. I also put on some clear lens filters (protectors?), it seems like they are affecting the focus. Am I imagining it of can the affect focus?

 

[1shot(bob)]

If they are quality filters, no, unless they are really dirty.
If they are cheap filters, yes they can, but it's unlikely.
Does the camera focus fine without them?

 

[okietool]

I will have to investigate further. It looks like it does, but, that may be my imagination. My thought was that they would help keep the lenses clean. It doesn't look dirty, but it does look a little blurry to me.

 

[gsarg]

No offense to you, but I've seen this many times - most of the time the person has switched to MF (manual focus) instead of AF. Check that before you start switching out the filters. You very well may have a real problem, but I've lost track of how many times that someone has inadvertently turned off auto focus.

 

[1shot(bob)]

Can you post pics with and without the filters?
There are two schools of thought on the use of filters.
Mine is thus: why buy an expensive lens that is calibrated to shoot perfectly good images and ruin it by stacking a piece of $30 glass on the front?
The other is: I need to protect my lens from dirt and scratches and any damage that may come my way.
I keep my lenses clean and almost never use UV filters. I baby my gear as much as I can. If Nikon thought it needed another piece of glass to protect it, they would have put it there. Just my opinion, and you know what they say about those.

 

[okietool]

No offense to you, but I've seen this many times - most of the time the person has switched to MF (manual focus) instead of AF. Check that before you start switching out the filters. You very well may have a real problem, but I've lost track of how many times that someone has inadvertently turned off auto focus.

No, I never use manual focus, because I suck at focusing. I usually shoot in Tv mode which says Shutter-Priority AE. That takes great pictures with no flash in low light.

 

[okietool]

[Broken External Image]

 

[okietool]

May be I'm losing it. The top looks good to me but the bottom looks a little out of focus.

 

[gsarg]

May be I'm losing it. The top looks good to me but the bottom looks a little out of focus.

I believe your problem is not with the focus (or filters), but with the settings you selected (or were defaulted) with the available light.

 

[1shot(bob)]

It could be several reasons you're seeing this. Here is the EXIF data for each shot:
1) Exposure Time: 1/250 sec
F-Number: f/10.0
Exposure Program: Normal Program
ISO Speed Rating: 100
Lens Aperture: f/9.9
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Metering Mode: Pattern
2) Exposure Time: 1/1600 sec
F-Number: f/5.6
Exposure Program: Aperture Priority
ISO Speed Rating: 3200
Lens Aperture: f/5.7
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Metering Mode: Pattern

Your ISO is set very high for the indoor shot (3200) so it may not be soft as much as noisy. It's hard to tell in these shots for sure after they have been resized for the web. The indoor shot is at 1/1600 sec at 3200 ISO which is a strange setting. Lower the ISO to get a crisper shot overall.

To really know if it's the filters or just your imagination shoot the same scene with the same camera settings both with and without the filter. Then compare those pics.