Lens Alignment Software

[Chris399]

I have a couple of questions regarding lens/camera alignment.

Has anyone used any type of Lens Alignment software such as the FoCal by Reikan?

Reikan FoCal Automatic Lens Calibration Software | Fully Automatic Lens Calibration and Camera ToolsReikan FoCal Automatic Lens Calibration Software

If so, what's your experience? What type, if any, of lens alignment do you perform?

For some reason, I feel the need to check all of my lenses and tele-converter combinations. Am I being over meticulous here?

Thanks for the help.


Chris

 

[Onerider]

I have just purchased this and all I can say now is I wish I had done it earlier. I've run checks on two lenses and have one more to go. So far it appears to have made a nice difference.
I ran the micro AF adjustment, determined the best aperture, checked the focus repeatability and dust detection. There are a few more to check. I'm going to take it out tomorrow and see if it holds up in the real world then rerun the checks again to see if they are repeatable.

 

[Chris399]

Onerider - Thanks for the update. Which platform are you running, Windows or Mac and which version of the FoCal did you purchase?

Thanks

Chris

 

[Onerider]

I'm running their last release candidate for Mac.

 

[bratkinson]

I just purchased the Pro version of FoCal and used it on 5 of my lenses yesterday.

The biggest difficulty was getting the camera aimed properly at the target with each lens, about 40 feet away, approximately my normal shooting distance. Fortunately, my tripod is an older pan-head style, so moving left/right without changing up/down wasn't as difficult as a ball head would be, in my estimation.

Apparently, due to a 5D3 firmware glitch (Reikan claim), the software could do everything but automatically set the MF amounts on my 5D3. So I did a lot of sit down, wait 10 seconds, change the setting, do it again. For most cameras, it's 100% automatic. Only once, checking my 200mm f2.8L, did I knock it out of correct aiming and have to start over. Surprisingly, (or not so), all my lenses needed a slight plus adjustment, varying from +2 to +7. Given that 4 of the 5 were Ls, (and the 85m f1.8) I'm surprised any of them were over +5.

Hopefully, I'll get some time in the next week or so to take them for a 'test drive' and see if I can notice the improved focusing. Presumeably, I'll have fewer 'missed focus' shots, especially wide open with the 135 f2L.

One of reasons I upgraded from a 60D to a 5D3 was to get MFA capability. My two big reasons were drop dead focusing and high ISOs as I do a lot of indoor work with flash turned off. Everything else was icing on the cake, for me.

I also have a LenAlign device I've been procrastinating and procrastinating on using since I bought it. I may just give it a try with the already MFA'd lenses and see how they compare.