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Archive 2013 · microfocus adjustment questions

  
 
maholyoak
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · microfocus adjustment questions


I just did my first ever microfocus adjustment having found a 70d was front focusing I manually did a microfocus adjustment and shots are definitely sharper now. I repeated it for both a 300 f/4 and 300 2.8 and found about the same adjustment needed for both lenses.

Some questions for those who have done microfocus adjustments before:

(1) Do you do it on every AF lens and body combination you own? Or just telephotos?

(2) Do you use any aids other than a focus chart and if so what? (Dot Tune, other software)

(3) Have you found much variation from lens to lens?

(4) The canon manual suggests ideally doing it under the same conditions that you are shooting. Is it really that inconsistent?

(5) Is there a need to repeat it assuming the same body-lens combination? E.g., annually.

thanks
Marcel



Oct 07, 2013 at 09:26 AM
Andrew J
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · microfocus adjustment questions


(1) Do you do it on every AF lens and body combination you own? Or just telephotos?

Just teles for me.

(2) Do you use any aids other than a focus chart and if so what? (Dot Tune, other software)

FoCal and I use Pro so I can do the test stopped down.

(3) Have you found much variation from lens to lens?

yes

(4) The canon manual suggests ideally doing it under the same conditions that you are shooting. Is it really that inconsistent?

Light and distance are the two big factors deciding how AF performs.

(5) Is there a need to repeat it assuming the same body-lens combination? E.g., annually.

I double check mine every 90 days and find a few points of shift every other test I would say.



Oct 07, 2013 at 09:49 AM
jcolwell
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · microfocus adjustment questions


maholyoak wrote:
...
(1) Do you do it on every AF lens and body combination you own? Or just telephotos?
(2) Do you use any aids other than a focus chart and if so what? (Dot Tune, other software)
(3) Have you found much variation from lens to lens?
(4) The canon manual suggests ideally doing it under the same conditions that you are shooting. Is it really that inconsistent?
(5) Is there a need to repeat it assuming the same body-lens combination? E.g., annually.


1. Yes, thirteen lenses on three cameras, with 1.4x and 2x Extenders on seven lenses (only with f-stops the camera can AF).

2. Yes, sort of. I use LensAlign II with real time LiveView through EOS Utility, on my notebook.

3. Some variation, not a lot. Of the 62 combinations I tested (with current cameras and lenses), 40 were zero and 22 were non-zero. Most were +/- 1 or 2. The three largest absolute values were -5, 5, and 10.

4. I don't know what you mean by "inconsistent". If you have a most-often used distance, why not use that? I generally use the 50x(focal length) recommended by Canon, but shorter for long lenses that I test indoors (my max indoor range is about 12 m). I check the long lens results with longer outdoor targets, and they're all OK.

5. There was some talk about re-testing after the 1DX service recall and firmware update. I checked a few, and they were the same, or +/-1 step, which is probably within the error when I test them. Otherwise, I only retest for new gear or if somethimg has been repaired.



Oct 07, 2013 at 10:25 AM
boingyman
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · microfocus adjustment questions


I've messed around with dot tune, but the results varied. I think my 35L definitely would benefit from MA. What can make it challenging and add variables is the lighting conditions.


Oct 07, 2013 at 11:11 AM
retrofocus
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · microfocus adjustment questions


Short answer: 1-4: yes, 5: no

Focal Pro software is recommended as well as good and consistent light situations (studio light for example).



Oct 07, 2013 at 01:04 PM
Wahoowa
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · microfocus adjustment questions


maholyoak wrote:
(1) Do you do it on every AF lens and body combination you own? Or just telephotos?

(2) Do you use any aids other than a focus chart and if so what? (Dot Tune, other software)

(3) Have you found much variation from lens to lens?

(4) The canon manual suggests ideally doing it under the same conditions that you are shooting. Is it really that inconsistent?

(5) Is there a need to repeat it assuming the same body-lens combination? E.g., annually.


1) Yes. But it's very hard to do it on a wide angle lens. I guess the effect will be very minimal, but it doesn't hurt to do it.

2) Yes. I have done several methods and I own a FoCal software. But I've found the DotTune technique will do just fine.

3) Not really. Copy variation is always in play. I have tested several copies of 24-105L and they all need different adjustments. Most of my lenses are within -10/+10 adjustment, but some need a little more. Lucky me that I haven't found a lens that need more than -20/+20 adjustment.

4) Yes. If you understand how AF works thoroughly, you'll see why you should do that. Distance, lighting condition and many things come into play with AF. That's why it's best to do it in the condition that you shoot most often.

5) No. I doubt you'd need to do it. But it doesn't hurt to do so. Who knows? Bumping around the body and the lens everyday may have some effect in the long run.



Oct 07, 2013 at 01:20 PM
retrofocus
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · microfocus adjustment questions


Wahoowa wrote:
3) Not really. Copy variation is always in play. I have tested several copies of 24-105L and they all need different adjustments. Most of my lenses are within -10/+10 adjustment, but some need a little more. Lucky me that I haven't found a lens that need more than -20/+20 adjustment.



Toughest lens to accurately micro focus adjust was the 50/1.2 L lens at f/1.2 on my 5D MkII. I had to run it a few times to make sure the MFA number was right. Also for me, most lenses stayed in the +/- 10 bracket. Lenses which didn't need any MFA were my 70-200/4 L IS and my 100-400 L (independent on the selected FL).



Oct 07, 2013 at 01:30 PM
scalesusa
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · microfocus adjustment questions


I test them all on all bodies, but only retest if I suspect a lens was damaged, or it is not focusing correctly.

I use Reikan Focal Pro, and have been very happy with it after trying lens align and finding that I often did not have sharp enough vision to distinguish between sharpness at different AFMA settings. Its particularly good for lenses that are difficult to AFMA. Getting consistent results requires a careful setup and lots of light, much brighter than many use. Too dim, and focusing varies more from shot to shot.



Oct 07, 2013 at 09:06 PM





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