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Archive 2009 · LensAlign Pro

  
 
Robert Sanchez
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · LensAlign Pro


Has anybody used LensAlign Pro lens & Camera calibrating System? Would appreciate critiques and comments- thanks in advance. I have Canon 20D & 50D and the following L lenses:F4 17-40, F4 70- 200 IS, F2 135 and F2.8 200 primes.

Sincerely
Robert



Aug 14, 2009 at 01:20 PM
Deezie
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · LensAlign Pro


I have read nothing but wonderful things about it on the web. Here's a link to a how-to video that shows how simple it is to use. There's also a how-to video on the lensalign site. I just bought mine today to align a Canon 50L that's been front focusing.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/lensalign.shtml

http://www.lensalign.com/resources.html



Aug 14, 2009 at 08:51 PM
EB-1
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · LensAlign Pro


I have one. LensAlign Pro won't do much good on the 20D, except for diagnosis. Use is fairly easy and straightforward. It's relatively small but bulky. You will probably want the long ruler for 500+ lenses. The main tip is to shoot multiple frames and average or ignore any outliers. Natural light is best.

EBH



Aug 14, 2009 at 09:10 PM
Deezie
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · LensAlign Pro


I've also heard from a few peeps that it works best with L lenses.


Aug 14, 2009 at 09:22 PM
JohnJ80
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · LensAlign Pro


Yikes! $179 for a printed ruler and acrylic stand seems like a lot of money.

J.



Aug 14, 2009 at 09:28 PM
EB-1
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · LensAlign Pro


Yes it is expensive. There are more parts than you might think, but overall construction has a homemade look. It could be mass produced in China for pennies on the dollar, no doubt.

EBH



Aug 14, 2009 at 10:02 PM
EB-1
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · LensAlign Pro


Deezie wrote:
I've also heard from a few peeps that it works best with L lenses.


Not really. It works fine with 200-400 VR Nikkors too.

EBH



Aug 14, 2009 at 10:03 PM
sjms
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · LensAlign Pro


EB-1 wrote:
Yes it is expensive. There are more parts than you might think, but overall construction has a homemade look. It could be mass produced in China for pennies on the dollar, no doubt.

EBH


isn't it nice to know it hasn't been turned over to china and is made here and believe me it well made. and is the result of some excellent thinking and good production



Aug 15, 2009 at 12:11 PM
sjms
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · LensAlign Pro


Deezie wrote:
I've also heard from a few peeps that it works best with L lenses.


i believe it because they do require the most work.



Aug 15, 2009 at 12:15 PM
sjms
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · LensAlign Pro


JohnJ80 wrote:
Yikes! $179 for a printed ruler and acrylic stand seems like a lot of money.

J.


just go out and build one yourself then. its easy and very practical to do.



Aug 15, 2009 at 12:16 PM
EB-1
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · LensAlign Pro


sjms wrote:
isn't it nice to know it hasn't been turned over to china and is made here and believe me it well made. and is the result of some excellent thinking and good production


Yes it is, and I had no problems buying one. Tapes has other good stuff like the Whibal cards.

EBH



Aug 15, 2009 at 12:37 PM
EB-1
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · LensAlign Pro


sjms wrote:
i believe it because they do require the most work.


It may be due to the typically larger apertures?

BEH



Aug 15, 2009 at 12:39 PM
JohnJ80
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · LensAlign Pro


sjms wrote:
just go out and build one yourself then. its easy and very practical to do.


That's what I'd do. I've used a similar chard at a 45 degree angle. You don't need something like this. The angle doesn't even matter - all that matters is that it is the same for all shots as you dial the adjustment in.

j.



Aug 15, 2009 at 01:08 PM
photomax
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · LensAlign Pro


I have used the Lens Align on all of my L glass and love it. It works very well and the results are worth the price.


Aug 15, 2009 at 01:17 PM
JohnJ80
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · LensAlign Pro


What makes it worth $179 more than this (or similar charts):

http://www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF5.html

It's nicely done, but I'm missing where the rest of the value add is. I'm missing something.

J.



Aug 15, 2009 at 01:29 PM
EB-1
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · LensAlign Pro


It's not just a chart. There are 3 dimensions to the device for perpendicular alignment, plus the angled ruler of course. There are also some nice little adjustable magnetic indicators to figure out which image is which during review. Obviously some time and effort went into designing the device.

EBH



Aug 15, 2009 at 01:59 PM
JohnJ80
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · LensAlign Pro


Ok, but don't all I need to have is a graduated scale that is fixed in its place and the camera fixed in its place. You shoot, see what it looks like and dial in adjustment either fore or aft. You don't even need the scale to be linearly spaced as long as it has frequent reference marks. Isn't that right?

J.



Aug 15, 2009 at 02:05 PM
UCSB
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · LensAlign Pro


Robert Sanchez wrote:
Has anybody used LensAlign Pro lens & Camera calibrating System? Would appreciate critiques and comments- thanks in advance. I have Canon 20D & 50D and the following L lenses:F4 17-40, F4 70- 200 IS, F2 135 and F2.8 200 primes.

Sincerely
Robert


Robert ... I have a 5DII and 50D. My 50D is much more difficult to MA than the 5DII because of the greater DOF you are typically working with. I haven't looked at the LensAlign for a few months, but the last time I looked at it the ruler was really to short to work at recommended distances on a 50D. You can check this yourself by computing the DOF for your lenses at recommended calibration distances (at planned focal length and aperture). CLICK HERE for the system and approach I use (plus there is a table of recommended calibration distances if you are unfamiliar with Canon's recommendation in this area).

Good luck,
Bill.



Aug 15, 2009 at 10:38 PM
JohnJ80
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · LensAlign Pro


I have to tell you, both of these systems look to me like snake oil. It's not that hard to set up a graduated scale in a repeatable set up so that you can tell if the DOF is centered or not. I've used a variety of focus charts for years and it has always been pretty easy to tell what was going on. You printed your own targets from downloaded files and shot them the appropriate distance and angles.

That all said, maybe I'm missing something. Am I?

J.



Aug 16, 2009 at 12:45 AM
Deezie
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · LensAlign Pro


It's not snake oil, it's convenience and accuracy supported by a plethora of videos and other support information that takes a lot of the guess-work out. As a commercial photographer my time is worth a lot and I don't want to sit around in my garage thinking of ways to tinker with gadgets in order to save a few bucks. My gear operating at its best is critical to my reputation and my clients needs.


Aug 16, 2009 at 10:04 AM
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