It's intuitively obvious if F/W is advertised to somehow change AF then one should clear (i.e. set to zero) all MA settings after (or even before) installing said F/W. Actually, AFAIC the best approach is to never rely on MA ... force Canon to do the job right the first time, right up front at the factory when both cameras and lenses are (or should be) calibrated.
It looks like my focus problems were related to more than just FW 1.0.6 I've been getting pretty severe front-focus from just about all of my lenses that is unrelated to One-shot vs. Servo AF. My MkIV and three "worst focusing" lenses (35L, 24-70L & 50 1.8) are on their way overnight to Canon Irvine to get it sorted out. I'll post the results when I get them back next week.
FWIW Resetting my camera and clearing the C.Fn. did improve the Servo AF performance of 1.0.6, but I'm still at the limit of the MA and could use a little more.
Strangely enough, the one lens I have no issues with is the 300 F4 L IS. Spot on AF in all situations I tried with no MA. I wish they all worked as well for me.
Frank Kearney wrote:
I wonder how this applies to cameras that arrive with the new firmware already installed and the settings already at default?
Frank
Doubt it. Mine arrived with 1.0.6. After initially terrible results with my 600 IS, I've done more testing and reading, and have gotten the camera to work quite well with my 400. An initial mistake I may have made was to directly copy all of the Mark III custom function settings to the IV. Based on advice by a few others here, I reset the AF related custom functions then did some tests changing just one setting at a time to narrow down those that work best for my needs. The best results: single point with III-2, 4 and 8 at default settings. The camera worked well in real use at a hockey game. Not perfectly, but better than my previous 1 series cameras.
I thought I had reset my camera completely by removing both batteries and also doing a camera reset but the old My Menu functions were still there and so was the AF MA settings. Just what do you have to do to completely restore a 1D4 to original condition ?
Yesterday I called CPS and asked if it was necessary to reset after updating the firmware.
They said its complete nonsense.
It doesn't change anything in the software when the cam reset.
We seem to be going around in circles here and, for those who are experiencing problems, the term "grasping at straws" comes to mind.
I am wondering whether anyone did a re-set and clear all custom functions when they updated their 1D Mk3 firmware, and if so did it produce any improvement?
Am speaking as an early adopter of the Mk3, one of the first to arrive in the U.K., so no "dots" and it was on the list of "possible" defective bodies. My Mk3 never went in for any of the "fixes" but I did update with each new firmware without re-setting camera settings or custom functions. My Mk3 has worked flawlessly with my 100-400, 400 f/5.6 and 500 f/4 for which I have never made any Manual Adjustments.
Canon camera reset article to improve XTi focus. I can't find the article now, but it recall it stated the lens must be removed from the body before resetting the camera.
Vancouver47 wrote:
Canon camera reset article to improve XTi focus. I can't find the article now, but it recall it stated the lens must be removed from the body before resetting the camera.
I'm very interested in the article, then I can show it to CPS
I've tried to perform MA on all of my lenses, and all but the 135L required positive adjustment to correct significant front focus. My 35L and Sigma 50 1.4 both required >+15. My two best lenses were the 24-70 and 135L with the 24-70 requiring +5 and the 135 -8.
With that said, this is my first 1D series and first camera with MA. It may be me or my testing methods.
I have read all the blogs on MA and I can say that with FW 1.04 my camera focus was spot on during tracking and with FW 1.06 it was all over the board, front focusing and back focusing though out tracking of BIF. Could it be that the different types of sensors are fighting each other for focus? Also,I have no problem with a stationary subject being in focus, even in AI Servo. So MA would affect what little I have.
I never did a reset on the MKIII and the reset on the MKIV didn't change the way my camera is behaving. None of my lenses needed MA on the mkIV and I did test with both a lensalign pro at the recommended distances as well as using the rings on an LCD via the northlite method.
I did see a difference with the 7D after a "hard" reset, I even started a thread here about it a few months ago. It turns out that 7D did have a problem because the guy I sold it too sent it to Canon and they fixed it! The AF was all over the place with that one, sometimes perfect and other times it was like "what happened".
Alan321 wrote:
I thought I had reset my camera completely by removing both batteries and also doing a camera reset but the old My Menu functions were still there and so was the AF MA settings. Just what do you have to do to completely restore a 1D4 to original condition ?
- Alan
Alan, I received this "how to" from a very reliable source who knows his equipment and Canon.
1) remove both the "watch battery" AND the main battery for at least 45 minutes.
2)check to see that date, time....is all rest to default(not what you set)
3)make sure that all Cfn are as should be ie default no blue settings
4) make sure AF point is working and sharp on a stationary object preferrably with/on a tripod and that assist points are not interferring..
5)try AI Servo tracking w/default settings.
Good Luck!
I am still working on my upgrade problem.
Dan
Colin Key wrote:
I am wondering whether anyone did a re-set and clear all custom functions when they updated their 1D Mk3 firmware, and if so did it produce any improvement?
Colin
Whether or not they did, there were certainly hardware problems with at least enough 1D3s to warrant Canon-instigated returns to Canon Service. That you got a good one is great but some people certainly got duds. So far, thankfully, the reported concerns with the 1D4 are restricted to the effects of the firmware upgrade process and not even whether the present firmware is 1.04 or 1.06. Those who did not upgrade have a camera that seems to work great and yet Canon saw a need to release a new firmware within weeks of the camera going to market, so there must have been something that needed improving. At least some of those who upgraded the firmware have seen a distinct deterioration and for them it is worth looking for new or better ways to reset their camera to the same state that the new 1D4s are shipping as. I thought that removing both batteries would do the trick but it needs more than that. Dan has been told to allow 45 minutes with both batteries out. I want to get the reset and the AF MA (microadjustment) right before I go back to taking more hundreds of photos to check the AF tracking.
In my case the AF tracking was initially confused by a combination of user error and harsh lighting (specular reflections off glass and chrome). I resolved those problems and found the tracking to be ok but the focus to be not quite right - almost but not quite. Then I started with the MA changes but in the middle of that I upgraded the firmware. Then I saw this thread. So now I'm largely disregarding all previous results and will start again. I say "largely" because I can't help noting that this was my first Canon DSLR in years that could focus track right out of the box. My previous cameras that could not do that were the 1D2, 1Ds2 and 40D. The biggest downside so far has been the apparent need for focus MA.
mdbassman wrote:
Alan, I received this "how to" from a very reliable source who knows his equipment and Canon.
1) remove both the "watch battery" AND the main battery for at least 45 minutes.
2)check to see that date, time....is all rest to default(not what you set)
3)make sure that all Cfn are as should be ie default no blue settings
4) make sure AF point is working and sharp on a stationary object preferrably with/on a tripod and that assist points are not interferring..
5)try AI Servo tracking w/default settings.
Good Luck!
I am still working on my upgrade problem.
Dan
Dan,
I did remove the 2 battery's, waited about 1 hour, put back the battery's, but the only thing that was rested, was the date and time.
All the other settings where still there.
Whats going wrong?
Some of this issue I am sure is due to our experiences with the 1D-III. Remove that dark time in Canon history and I wonder if we would even be looking so closely at the 1D-IV's AF ability.
Nathan, I think you-re right, but..
when my cam on a tripod, testing on a contrast static object, AI shooting, the AF is very chattering, not steady on the point.
its like te AF is constantly changing and searching
Gust wrote:
Dan,
I did remove the 2 battery's, waited about 1 hour, put back the battery's, but the only thing that was rested, was the date and time.
All the other settings where still there.
Whats going wrong?
Gust,
I think what you need to do is this:
First clear all camera settings and C Fn's (page 53 and 204 of the manual)
Once this is done, remove the batteries (2) and let it rest for 60 minutes.....
