I have recently brought a Canon EOS 5D Mark II second hand. A few weeks ago I shot a wedding and noticed some of my shots where not composed well, first I thought this was me not paying attention but after the wedding I noticed that even though I didn’t recompose my shots, something in the camera is moving and altering what I see through the view finder, this happens more often when shooting portrait rather than landscape. Any idea why this is happening? Is there something in my camera which needs to be fixed?
5D Mark II composition movement
- Thread starter JPlendPhoto
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This can happen if you wear glasses, your eye only sees part of what is in the viewfinder, and the image is often a different composition.
This happens to me, so I often remove my glasses and get a better composition. I'm far sighted, so its not a problem unless I try to see the settings on my camera and change them.
The 5D MK III has more eye relief, like the 1 series, so its not as bad, but it still happens. My D800 had no eye cup, and I did not notice the issue while wearing glasses, but I only used it for a thousand shots over a month, most of them in a few nights, so I might not have discovered it.
This happens to me, so I often remove my glasses and get a better composition. I'm far sighted, so its not a problem unless I try to see the settings on my camera and change them.
The 5D MK III has more eye relief, like the 1 series, so its not as bad, but it still happens. My D800 had no eye cup, and I did not notice the issue while wearing glasses, but I only used it for a thousand shots over a month, most of them in a few nights, so I might not have discovered it.
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Or maybe you are using an IS lens and the stabilizer is keeping the old framing while you are seeing the new framing? Still the difference would be so slight I do not understand how you would notice it. This is the most bizarre photo problem I have ever heard. I use a 5Dii as my sole DSLR and have never experienced anything like that.
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I don’t wear glasses so it’s not that, and yes I do blame the camera as whatever is happening, it’s not human error.
Yes this is something I have tested on a tripod, basically as the photo is being taken (the camera is still not being moved) the framing all of a sudden changes. I have two photos to show you what I mean but it won’t let me upload them.
Yes this is something I have tested on a tripod, basically as the photo is being taken (the camera is still not being moved) the framing all of a sudden changes. I have two photos to show you what I mean but it won’t let me upload them.
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MrFotoFool said:
I've occasionally had an IS lens jump fairly significantly the moment I push the button down to focus, usually right after a period of extended inactivity. I think it is caused by the lens going to sleep with the IS way, way off center, then centering itself when the lens first gets powered up. If you framed the shot before you focused, then looked away, I could easily see you getting a shot that wasn't what you were expecting.
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dgatwood said:
It seems to happen with every photo I take when shooting portrait, even when I am shooting landscape and point the camera down it seems to jump. I cant see it being IS because its also happening with my 50mm 1.8 which does not have IS.
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I shoot the Mark II also, and I had slight issues like this before, but I learned to live with it. I thought that it was because of the 98% viewfinder coverage that does not show me the entire frame. I shot with a T3i/600D before with 95% coverage and found the problem to be more apparent.
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Try a different lens, preferably a different copy of what you have. That'll give you some guidance about what to explore further.
Jim
Jim
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brad-man said:
Well I have found out that this problem occurs with each of my lenses, it does NOT happen when I am shooting in Live View and I am seeing in the viewfinder my view changes with each shot even if the camera is on a tripod.
So I guess this might be the prism which is shifting because I took some photos without the lens on and everything seemed ok from what I could see, it's just looking through the viewfinder which is not right meaning my photos do not come out as they should do. Is this fixable?
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As others have said, the 5D II has only a 98% viewfinder. The main reason for not having a 100% viewfinder isn't the cost of making it bigger, but the cost of aligning it accurately. Missing out 2% allows for some minor misalignment without the viewfinder seeing part of the frame beyond what the sensor would capture.
Are you able to see part of the frame in the viewfinder which is not captured by the sensor? If so, it suggests the alignment is out beyond the manufacturing tolerances, whereas if everything you see in the viewfinder is in the final image, just with an uneven amount of extra on the sides/above/below, then it is within spec, and something you'll probably have to learn to put up with.
Liveview uses the sensor exactly as taking the photo does - so no mirror/pentaprism/focus screen involved, and no chance of any alignment issues.
As you say the misalignment in the viewfinder is not varying from shot to shot, its unlikely to be anything loose, instead it will be something that's shifted. The user replaceable focusing screen might be out of place. What about re-seating that? If that doesn't work, has your second hand 5D mk II got any signs of drop damage, especially around the pentaprism? If so, you could try getting a quote out of Canon.
Are you able to see part of the frame in the viewfinder which is not captured by the sensor? If so, it suggests the alignment is out beyond the manufacturing tolerances, whereas if everything you see in the viewfinder is in the final image, just with an uneven amount of extra on the sides/above/below, then it is within spec, and something you'll probably have to learn to put up with.
Liveview uses the sensor exactly as taking the photo does - so no mirror/pentaprism/focus screen involved, and no chance of any alignment issues.
As you say the misalignment in the viewfinder is not varying from shot to shot, its unlikely to be anything loose, instead it will be something that's shifted. The user replaceable focusing screen might be out of place. What about re-seating that? If that doesn't work, has your second hand 5D mk II got any signs of drop damage, especially around the pentaprism? If so, you could try getting a quote out of Canon.
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Update: I will be taking it back to the shop I brought it from for them to look at it as it is still within the 3 month store warranty.
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Sounds like the best choice. I thought it was the IS too, until you said it happens with all your IS lenses...JPlendPhoto said:
Just out of curiosity, Do you have any non IS lenses and if so, does it happen with them?
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Man, that's crazy! I hope they just hand you a new body! ;D Good luck!! Please let us know how it works out and if they repair it, what the issue was...JPlendPhoto said:
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