How good is Reikan FoCal?

[Rienzphotoz]

Now you feel my pain as well!!!  This happens for me with all of my lenses except my old (very old) 24-70 2.8L.  Major Analysis issues and it has gotten worse with each incremental version.

Sh!t, that is not good news for me
I will post what the Reikan helpdesk have to say ... meanwhile, anyone has any ideas of fixing this issue?

[Rienzphotoz]

UPDATE 5

Looks like I'm back to square one with the error messages ... I tried some more tests with
1. Canon 5D MK III + EF 24-105 f/4 L IS
2. Canon 5D MK III + EF 85mm f/1.8
3. Canon 5D MK III + EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS
4. Nikon D7100 + 18-300mm VR
For all the 4 tests I'm getting this error (same as the first 2 error when I was using the 1.8 version):
Error
An error occured while trying to defocus the lens:
LiveviewStae: Action timeout

&

"Error
Failed to download image from the camera"

This is really frustrating ... my limited experience tells me that FoCal is definitely not an easy program to work with especially on Canon 5D MK III or Nikon D7100 ... 4 different error message have showed up randomly at various stages of testing ... I've followed every single step written in the manual, followed every prompt that popped up, but so far no luck in completing at least one successful test.
But still hoping for some good news/solution from Reikan helpdesk.

[Ripley]

I'm sorry to hear about the frustrations you are experiencing Rienzphotoz. I've been through exactly what you are going through. Same computer, same camera, with at least one of the same lenses. Your problem is the MAC operating system. Once I switched to a Windows operating system I never had a problem with it ever again.

Reikan FoCal is an AWESOME tool that is NOT completely stable on all MAC platforms yet. I love it and don't regret buying it, or what I have to do to utilize it.

[dexstrose]

Hello,
I haven't tried focal yet. Maybe since you are having so many problems with the software, a fresh install of focal and mono will help?

But seeing you used a newer version of Mono, then used the right version. Did you use the terminal to uninstall Mono? Like it says on the website http://www.mono-project.com/Mono:OSX


#!/bin/sh -x

#This script removes Mono from an OS X System.  It must be run as root

rm -r /Library/Frameworks/Mono.framework

rm -r /Library/Receipts/MonoFramework-*

for dir in /usr/bin /usr/share/man/man1 /usr/share/man/man3 /usr/share/man/man5; do
   (cd ${dir};
    for i in `ls -al | grep /Library/Frameworks/Mono.framework/ | awk '{print $9}'`; do
      rm ${i}
    done);
done

[Rienzphotoz]

I'm sorry to hear about the frustrations you are experiencing Rienzphotoz. I've been through exactly what you are going through. Same computer, same camera, with at least one of the same lenses. Your problem is the MAC operating system. Once I switched to a Windows operating system I never had a problem with it ever again.

Reikan FoCal is an AWESOME tool that is NOT completely stable on all MAC platforms yet. I love it and don't regret buying it, or what I have to do to utilize it.

Thanks Ripley, I will download the software for my Windows laptop and give it a try ... but I'll have to wait another couple of days as I just packed up the lights, tripod and the associated untidiness in the living room (something which does not really inspire the wife), so I'll give it a try in a day or two.

[Rienzphotoz]

Hello,
I haven't tried focal yet. Maybe since you are having so many problems with the software, a fresh install of focal and mono will help?

But seeing you used a newer version of Mono, then used the right version. Did you use the terminal to uninstall Mono?

Yes I have used the terminal to uninstall Mono before installing the newer version.

[mackguyver]

I found one secret to using FoCal - go closer than the 50x recommended distance if you're using fast lenses.  My f/2.8 lenses all seem to work pretty well at 50x, but my f/1.2 and f/1.4 glass just seems to result in "more points being added" at 50x.  When I move up to around 30-40x, they lock in really well and real-world shooting at wide-open apertures confirms the results are perfect despite the closer distance.

Also, make sure the target is in focus before you start the test, otherwise that can really throw FoCal.

Lastly, I am also annoyed by Canon's lack of SDK support for my 5D Mark III, but using a good tripod with weight attached (I use a sandbag) and a solid head (I use the RRS BH-55) makes for a better process.  I am spoiled by the full-auto calibration on 5D Mark II, though.

[East Wind Photography]

So just to be clear, I have similar issues and I have tried with XP win7-32 bit and Win7-64bit.  It's not specific to the MAC environment, though the MAC environment does pose it's unique issues.  Win has its own unique issues especially with the .net framework.

Most of the issues I see here and what I am experiencing are with the analysis part.  Yes I have had some crashing and some connectivity issues that require closing everyhting out and starting over but the majority has to do with analysis of the images.

I'm sorry to hear about the frustrations you are experiencing Rienzphotoz. I've been through exactly what you are going through. Same computer, same camera, with at least one of the same lenses. Your problem is the MAC operating system. Once I switched to a Windows operating system I never had a problem with it ever again.

Reikan FoCal is an AWESOME tool that is NOT completely stable on all MAC platforms yet. I love it and don't regret buying it, or what I have to do to utilize it.

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Just out of curiosity - are you running it in RAW mode or JPEG?  I got a lot of errors when I tried to run the software in RAW mode (Win 7 laptop).  I have zero problems after switching it to JPEG mode.

P.S.  For 6D users, you need to disable Wi-Fi before attempting to connect to a computer.  The computer will not recognize the camera with Wi-Fi enabled. (It needs to be disabled in the menu, not just turned off in Q mode).

[East Wind Photography]

Both.

Just out of curiosity - are you running it in RAW mode or JPEG?  I got a lot of errors when I tried to run the software in RAW mode (Win 7 laptop).  I have zero problems after switching it to JPEG mode.

P.S.  For 6D users, you need to disable Wi-Fi before attempting to connect to a computer.  The computer will not recognize the camera with Wi-Fi enabled. (It needs to be disabled in the menu, not just turned off in Q mode).

[Ripley]

So just to be clear, I have similar issues and I have tried with XP win7-32 bit and Win7-64bit.  It's not specific to the MAC environment, though the MAC environment does pose it's unique issues.  Win has its own unique issues especially with the .net framework.

Most of the issues I see here and what I am experiencing are with the analysis part.  Yes I have had some crashing and some connectivity issues that require closing everyhting out and starting over but the majority has to do with analysis of the images.

I'm sorry to hear about the frustrations you are experiencing Rienzphotoz. I've been through exactly what you are going through. Same computer, same camera, with at least one of the same lenses. Your problem is the MAC operating system. Once I switched to a Windows operating system I never had a problem with it ever again.

Reikan FoCal is an AWESOME tool that is NOT completely stable on all MAC platforms yet. I love it and don't regret buying it, or what I have to do to utilize it.

When I stated that the MAC platform is not completely stable, I was not suggesting that the Microsoft platform is.

I am uniquely qualified to comment on the OP issues based on the fact that I had the exact same problems with the exact same gear. After installing the program on my Windows 7 64bit virtual machine, the issues went away and have never returned.

There's a big difference between the occasional need to restart the program, and the inability to complete any of the tests.

[Rienzphotoz]

So just to be clear, I have similar issues and I have tried with XP win7-32 bit and Win7-64bit.  It's not specific to the MAC environment, though the MAC environment does pose it's unique issues.  Win has its own unique issues especially with the .net framework.

Most of the issues I see here and what I am experiencing are with the analysis part.  Yes I have had some crashing and some connectivity issues that require closing everyhting out and starting over but the majority has to do with analysis of the images.

I'm sorry to hear about the frustrations you are experiencing Rienzphotoz. I've been through exactly what you are going through. Same computer, same camera, with at least one of the same lenses. Your problem is the MAC operating system. Once I switched to a Windows operating system I never had a problem with it ever again.

Reikan FoCal is an AWESOME tool that is NOT completely stable on all MAC platforms yet. I love it and don't regret buying it, or what I have to do to utilize it.

When I stated that the MAC platform is not completely stable, I was not suggesting that the Microsoft platform is.

I am uniquely qualified to comment on the OP issues based on the fact that I had the exact same problems with the exact same gear. After installing the program on my Windows 7 64bit virtual machine, the issues went away and have never returned.

There's a big difference between the occasional need to restart the program, and the inability to complete any of the tests.

I installed and tried it on my windows PC ... but the error messages still continue.
According to Reikan website, "Fully Automatic" mode can be used for 5D MK III but FoCal will provide prompts for the user ... however, "Fully Automatic" mode just does not work, it just ends up either crashing or comes up with error messages. According to Reikan 5D MK III is to be used in "MSC" mode, but no such mode exists in version 1.8 or 1.9.
So I used it on "Semi-Automatic Mode".
I also tried to check my Nikon D7100+35mm f/1.8 lens but I still faced frustrating new errors ... first it said "Cannot validate camera information - please ensure your setup is correct and the lens is not in manual focus mode", so I closed and restarted FoCal (without making any changes to my camera/lens settings) and everything seems to work properly till it gets to DeFocus part then it either crashes or says "LiveView Timeout".
After 11 attempts, since yesterday afternoon, I finally completed one full test in "Semi Automatic" (using 5D MK III
+ 50mm f/1.4), it gave me a result of +1 for the lens. But after having failed (with error messages) in all other tests (9 in all) with other Canon lenses & Nikon lenes (using D7100) I tried again with 5DMKIII + 50mm f/1.4 ... once again the software quit on me 4 times and it finally gave me a result of +6 ... a total of 20 test attempts, with 2 successful completions but with different results ... now I'm really confused.
My limited experience, of 1 week of frustrations with FoCal, tells me that it is not an easy to use software if you are trying to test 5D MK III or a Nikon D7100 ... but Rekien website claims that it is very easy ... maybe Reikan has a different threshold for "easy" or I'm just not very bright.
Another problem with FoCal is that there isn't much on the internet to help guide and whatever that is out there is outdated and in keeping with the latest version ... same applies to Rekien's own website. Also, their help desk takes almost 3 days to respond to queries ... so all that does not help make it easy to use this software on my 5D MK III or Nikon D7100.
Since I've already spent money on it I will continue to test it every weekend and continue to update my experience with FoCal (unfortunately so far FoCal has done nothing for any of my lenses)

[neuroanatomist]

Did you select Canon (or Nikon) in the Preferences?

[ahab1372]

Bummer that is still not working. The Fully Automatic Mode for the 5D3 worked as advertised for me.
Since it already failed on two of your computers, and you got errors like "failed to transfer..." could there be something wrong with the camera or cable? Latest Firmware? Can you try a different cable?
You probably checked all the settings against the manual several times, maybe it is a hardware problem ...

[Ripley]

Since it already failed on two of your computers, and you got errors like "failed to transfer..." could there be something wrong with the camera or cable? Latest Firmware? Can you try a different cable?
You probably checked all the settings against the manual several times, maybe it is a hardware problem ...

That's a good idea. Process of elimination: two different cameras, two different computers, two different versions of the software, and multiple lenses. Have you tried multiple cables yet?

Ugh... I wish I was there.

I've had a bad USB cable before. It generally worked but would sometimes cause problems. It was a lightweight low quality cable that ended up in the trash with a quickness once I figured out what was going on.