How to AFMA precisely without Lenscal?

[amazin]

Hi,

i'm a new owner of both Canon EOS 5d Mark III & Canon Ef 24-70mm 2.8L II.

I've never done AFMA before. Is there any simple yet very precise way to do it without having to invest in things like Lenscal?

Would a Canon repair center do it (and at what cost since both items are under warranty)?

Thanks anyone for your advices.

[serendipidy]

I was in the same boat with my 7D (which was almost 2 years old) and my 100-400mmL lens (which I had owned for about 8 months). As a noob hobbyist, I didn't know how to do AFMA. After reading about bad copies, etc., I got concerned and called the Canon service center in Honolulu. I told them I thought it was missing focus and wasn't sharp. They said bring both in and they would send them to Los Angeles for calibration and also would throw in a free complimentary camera cleaning (even though the camera wasn't under warranty). I didn't even have to pay for mailing. Got it back in about a week or so. They said they fixed the AF. I was really impressed with their service! Give them a call and see what they can do for you.

Also, if you want to try AFMA yourself, a lot of smart photogs on this site seem to highly recommend a AFMA software program called Reikan FoCal Pro. They are in the UK. Here is their website if you want to check them out.
http://www.reikan.co.uk/focalweb/

Have you shot many photos with your new camera and lens? If the results look OK to you, you may not even need to do AFMA. IMHO, you have 2 top of the line purchases. I am saving for a 5DIII.

Enjoy and hope to see some of your work posted here

[neuroanatomist]

+1 on FoCal.

There's a DIY solution here: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Photography-Tips/AF-Microadjustment-Tips.aspx

[rpt]

This link below is neuro's method. You can find many such links on the web where you either print out an image and then calibrate or project an image on a TV and calibrate...
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Photography-Tips/AF-Microadjustment-Tips.aspx

In fact if you search this site you should find plenty of links. 

OK, I see neuro already gave you that link

[Mt Spokane Photography]

As noted above, there are plenty of free focus charts, and plenty of gotchas as well.
I've found two major areas to be careful of.
1.  Use a test method that absolutely ensures that you are focused correctly.  just putting the AF spot on a number on a sloped ruler almost guarantees that it will focus differenly every time.
2.  It is very difficult to see tiny differences in focus sharpness, and you can misjudge the proper setting easily.
Other things to watch out for are proper alignment to a target.  If you are not perpendicular and level, thats going to give you some error.
One way to check to see if adjustment is reasonably achieved is to put the camera on a sturdy tripod, focus on the target, and then use live view and live AF to see if focus improves noticably.  Live Autofocus is slow, but almost always perfect.

[Dylan777]

+1 on FoCal.

There's a DIY solution here: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Photography-Tips/AF-Microadjustment-Tips.aspx

+1 with Neuro on FoCal.  It will be a great tool if you plan to add more lenses. DIY kit takes WAY too much times.

Call Canon and tell them you want to make sure both camera and lens are perform at best level. I  doubt they will charge money for this task, since you spent over $5k on their product and both items are still under warranty.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

+1 on FoCal.

There's a DIY solution here: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Photography-Tips/AF-Microadjustment-Tips.aspx

+1 with Neuro on FoCal.  It will be a great tool if you plan to add more lenses. DIY kit takes WAY too much times.

Call Canon and tell them you want to make sure both camera and lens are perform at best level. I  doubt they will charge money for this task, since you spent over $5k on their product and both items are still under warranty.

Canon will adjust your lens to match a reference body, and will adjust your body as well.  If you have other lenses, or get them in the future, you will be asking the same question again.
FIRST, check to see if you need a adjustment.  Put the camera on a tripod, focus on a flat wall with Detail and snap 10 images at the widest aperture resetting the focus to infinity between shots.
Now, do the same using live autofocus while in liveview.  Unless the liveview focus is noticibly better, you do not need to do anything.  You should try at varying distances and zoom settings. 
 
You can put two different AFMA values into the camera for zooms, one for minimum zoom, and one for max zoom.