Sony A9 III Soft focus on subject w/ A9iii

[akira5]

Hello, I've been doing a lot of concert photography. I notice at times the subject is soft and the background is sharper. I don't know if the
Focus area shifts more toward the BG instead of the subject.
My settings are AF-C, center metering, Medium to small spot focus area, On crowd shots I take the face recog off and only use it for Indiviuals.
There was decent light at the show. I've included some unedited images to show my issue. I used a sony GM 12-24 lens amy A9M3 for these pics. Also when doing group shots of people what is the best
focus area setting?

Any advice is appreciated

 

[Angus Cameron]

Hi Akira,

I think you may be suffering from slight motion blur rather than a focusing issue, try increasing your shutter speed. I’d try 1/400th at least for this.

 

[PhotoRon]

Could be subject movement, since the background looks ok.
On the A9III there is a Playback setting to allow you to see (on playback in camera) where the focus spot was. Find the menu and see if it is enabled. That may help with your analysis.
I still like using medium spot focus, and put it on the face I want.