That looks rather promising. I don't think I'll try, because my impression is that it would be somewhat time-consuming and tedious. But it looks like it could potentially be the definitive technique for doing AF micro-adjustment.
I think Lens Align II is a very good product. I recently performed 36 AF microadjust combinations (10 lenses, 2 cameras, many with 2 Extenders), and it only took a few hours. I prefer the 'hands on' approach, as I not only get it done, I understand exactly what happened, and I can appreciate the shortcomings of the process.
Yeah, it's neat if you have a 5d2 or 7D. It didn't work on my 1d3 when I tried a few versions ago. It also bricked a bunch of 7D bodies during development, so if you think it's polished and ready to go - fire it up!
Of course, it's not available yet and they have more beta testing scheduled for later this month.
I'm really keen on the idea though, I hope it works.
Been following its development. The guy who is doing it appears dedicated and responsible, and the bricking was reversible. The whole MA process is automated and the results are tested and confirmed multiple times. He's gathering fifty final beta testers and if they all give a thumbs up it may give us something that Canon might have, could have, should have given us along with the MA bodies. If the product turns out as good as it promises, Canon ought to buy him out and package the tool along with the cameras.
John_T wrote:
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If the product turns out as good as it promises, Canon ought to buy him out and package the tool along with the cameras.
Knowing Canon, they will figure out a way to to milk a ton of money out of our pockets and probably ruin a perfectly good program that would otherwise benefit many people.
John_T wrote:
Been following its development. The guy who is doing it appears dedicated and responsible, and the bricking was reversible. The whole MA process is automated and the results are tested and confirmed multiple times. He's gathering fifty final beta testers and if they all give a thumbs up it may give us something that Canon might have, could have, should have given us along with the MA bodies. If the product turns out as good as it promises, Canon ought to buy him out and package the tool along with the cameras.
I hope that Canon can implement such a feature internally. I'd not risk using third-party hackware on a $5-8K body.
It blows my mind that they put it in their cameras, dedicate about 15 words on how to use it and that's it.
It would be even better if it was something you could use without that printed target (you *are* supposed to MA the lens at your place of intended use), so go to your site, stick your camera on a tripod and have the Auto-MA fine tune your lens calibration in the light and at the distance that you'll be using it. Sounds like something you could implement in firmware.
I wonder how he determines what's sharpest? Most detail in the file (i.e. file size?)
I know the developer "personally" (that is to say I consider him a friend) via twitter. We did a running challenge in January during which we ran every day of the month. He's a great guy and extremely dedicated, I'd certainly have faith in him. Shame it's PC only for now, but I look forward to trying it out!
TrojanHorse wrote:
It blows my mind that they put it in their cameras, dedicate about 15 words on how to use it and that's it.
It would be even better if it was something you could use without that printed target (you *are* supposed to MA the lens at your place of intended use), so go to your site, stick your camera on a tripod and have the Auto-MA fine tune your lens calibration in the light and at the distance that you'll be using it. Sounds like something you could implement in firmware.
Exactly. You should be able to select any subject, push a button, and have the camera adjust the focus offset appropriately. The Focal software seems to require far more CPU than I would like, but perhaps would be able to take advantage of the Digic capabilities.
As I understand it, producers of products supply SDKs to developers to develop software for their products, so nothing strange about that.
Considering all the techniques and Voodoo we have been through for MA, a simple and straightforward application to perform MA on our cameras for consumers and professionals alike sounds like a boon to photographers and Canon as well, no?
This software is amazing... I have used the various versions he was developing and sold my Lens Align really quickly... I can't wait for the newest version.
It is fully automatic and the results are excellent. What took me about an hour to adjust with lens align, confirmed (and even improved) my values running this software. For example, my 70-200 was at +3 and the software chose +2... My 135L I tested at +7, the software tested at +6. My 24-105 is 0 on both ends (which was exact to my findings).
I've just started using the beta and it's very promising and very professional: not a hack at all. The manual is beta also, obviously, but it's already one of the better manuals I've run across: brief, clear and concise. Took me about 10 minutes to scan the manual and start playing with it, maybe 30 minutes before I felt comfortable using it for real.
The software gives you the choice of fully automated, just push the button and watch it work; or you can watch it calibrate your camera and it will tell you what MA to dial in. I've done microadjustment enough to be comfortable doing it by hand but this is far easier and quicker - from 3 to 5 minutes per camera / lens combination.
I've only done a few cameras and lenses so I won't comment on accuracy yet, but the product is NOT a hack or some firmware add on. It's a very nicely done piece of software.
I just ran the program and it put my 600 lens and new body at +5 which is where I had it. I had been stumped by this new MKIII converter that had been +19 and I sent to Canon. Well this program puts it at +10! I probably didn't believe it could be out that much since it just came back from Canon. This program is slick. I know 20 people that should get it the day it starts to ship.
Many thanks to the OP or I never would have known about this.
