So what just happened to my camera? Canon 5D classic focus issues. What to do with it now?

Hello fellow steemians!

So I have been having issues with my Canon 5D classic (mk I) camera lately as some of my photos have turned out a bit blurry, especially using large apertures (hence narrow DOF). I started looking into the stuff I can actually do something with like DOF calcs, controlling my hand movement and trying different lenses but I didn't see any improvements. In the beginning I confused myself trying to do it all at once in a hurry and never came to a proper conclusion. But yesterday I decided to do a controlled test in a well lit room and a test sheet arranged in a 45 degree angle from the camera. The camera was set to auto focus on a single point in the center and the camera was aligned so that focus point would be at the very center of the test sheet and also the camera was set on a table to avoid any movements.

I used a collection of 5 different lenses to test the auto-focus with; Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6, 2x Canon 50mm f/1.4 and a old 35-80mm f/4-5.6. They where all set at AF enabled, WO aperature and as close as 50mm or lowest value.

For all the tests the center focus point was positioned as shown below:

Test 1

• 24-105mm f/4L lens @ 50mm f/4:
  

Test 2

• 35-80mm f/4-5.6 lens @ 48mm f/4.5:
  

Test 3

• 70-300mm f/4-5.6 lens @ 70mm f/4:
  

Test 4

• 50mm f/1.4L lens (1) @ 50mm f/1.4:
  

Test 5

• 50mm f/1.4L lens (2) @ 50mm f/1.4:
  

Conclusion seems to be that all photos shows the focus area to be somewhat further back from the actual focus point, easy to spot on the narrow DOF in the 50mm lenses at f/1.4. Also a bit surprised to see the two 50mm lenses showing rather big variance as well.

The camera has not been dropped or jarred in any way that I'm aware of, there are no signs of marks on camera at all.

I have had a great time with my 5D clasic for many years, but it seems it's giving up on me now... Maybe time to start digging a hole for it.

If YOU have any ideas for what to do with this camera, either it is to repair it or use it for something fun please let me know!

Thank you for your time and take care :)

Photos: @richeros