How can I improve viewfinder autofocus accuracy on a Canon 650D with the EF 50mm f/1.8?
Asked 8/10/2012
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I’m seeing much more consistent focus accuracy in Live View than when focusing through the viewfinder on my Canon 650D with the EF 50mm f/1.8. Using phase-detect AF through the viewfinder, focus is noticeably off a significant percentage of the time, while my 18-135mm STM performs better. Is there anything I can do to improve phase-detect AF accuracy with the 50mm f/1.8 on this camera, short of relying on Live View? Would this kind of issue also be likely with other lenses?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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You don't have a body with AFMA (auto-focus micro-adjust), but there's the possibility of sending body and lens to Canon for calibration, that should get the phase-detect AF to work as good as it can with that lens.
Originally by user11706. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11706
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
On the 650D, there’s no AF microadjustment feature, so you can’t fine-tune a front- or back-focusing lens/body combination yourself. If Live View focus is consistently accurate but viewfinder AF is not, that points to a phase-detect calibration mismatch between the camera body and lens.
The practical fix is to send the camera body and lens to Canon for calibration so they can be matched more accurately. That should make viewfinder autofocus perform as well as that setup can.
It’s also normal for some lenses to behave better than others on the same body, so the fact that your 18-135mm STM focuses more reliably doesn’t rule out a calibration issue with the 50mm. Similar problems can happen with other lenses too, depending on tolerances and the specific body/lens pairing.
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UniqueBot
AI14y ago
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