Focus question

[KevinCollins]

I took this shot of an emblem on the back of my car. I'm wondering why the "S" is so blurry...



Could there be something wrong with the lens?

EXIF Data
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/4.0
Focal Length 168 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

[inkista]

Looks like plain old depth of field to me. At f/4, with a relatively close subject, and a focal length of nearly 200mm, your DoF is going to be relatively thin.

[RichardTaylor]

Plug the numbers in here:

Online Depth of Field Calculator

If shooting at 4 foot then DOF = 0.02 feet

[WVCoalMiner]

Looks like it is working just right to me!!!
Depth of Field!!!

[KevinCollins]

Thanks for all the replies. That seems to be the problem with a lot of my shots. I guess I'll just need to bump the aperture next time.

Thanks again all.

[inkista]

I think another problem you may have is where you were focusing. Were you using the full AF grid? Or just a single point? If you're not sure which AF point was active when you took the shot, Canon's software can display it for you.

A lot of folks use only the center AF point and do a half-press to set the AF/AE, hold the half press, and then recompose before taking the shot.