FoCal AFMA for Nikon Z6 / Z7 Mirrorless coming

Mar 25, 2011
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I DL'd the Z7 manual from Nikon's website and AF Fine tuning is on page 297. The values for 30 lenses can be stored in camera.
Yes, The Nikon Mirrorless Z6 and Z7 have AFMA, so there is a reason, it may be there for adapted lenses, or it may be there because its needed due to focusing errors per lens. Very little is known in actuality about the inner workings of the AF systems in Mirrorless cameras, there are different implementations and designs, all we know is the hype and general PR information.

I'm sure that manufacturers are not going to make the total story public, but we can test our cameras and determine how accurate and how much variability to expect in the autofocus.
 
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SecureGSM

2 x 5D IV
Feb 26, 2017
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Reikan Focal can be used only if the camera has an AFMA menu on it to adjust MFA. So it cannot be a trick from Reikan unless this tiny company has bribed Nikon to add an unnecessary feature.

You can actually. What you can do is to feed shots taken by an unsupported camera into Focal for analysis. One condition though: you would have to modify the EXIF of the shots to replace unsupported camera name with something that is supported.

P.S. or even use Focal for AFMA-ing an unsupported camera but only in conjunction with lenses that can be programmed by end user e.g. Sigma Art, sports, contemporary or modern Tamron glass

Or even for things like astigmatism Level assessment
 
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AlanF

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Aug 16, 2012
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You can actually. What you can do is to feed shots taken by an unsupported camera into Focal for analysis. One condition though: you would have to modify the EXIF of the shots to replace unsupported camera name with something that is supported.

P.S. or even use Focal for AFMA-ing an unsupported camera but only in conjunction with lenses that can be programmed by end user e.g. Sigma Art, sports, contemporary or modern Tamron glass

Or even for things like astigmatism Level assessment
You can't adjust the AFMA of a camera that doesn't have an AFMA control on it, which was my answer was about. I had in fact yesterday already explained how to use FoCal on unsupported cameras!

You can fool Reikan into doing this for mirrorless. Take a series of shots with a DSLR, and store them for using with FoCal in manual mode. Then take shots of the target with your mirrorless. Paste them over the shots from the DSLR and analyse them as focus consistency. You need at least 5 different shots. FoCal will calculate the QoF of the mirrorless using the exif data from the DSLR.
 
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AlanF

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..or you can simply edit your unsupported mirrorless camera shots in an EXIF editor and replace unsupported camera name with say Canon 5D IV, load in Focal...
FoCal licences limit use to individual serial numbers. This certainly applies when using the program directly with the camera is tethered. Do you have to fake the serial number of the body as well as the model name when analysing downloaded images?
 
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SecureGSM

2 x 5D IV
Feb 26, 2017
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FoCal licences limit use to individual serial numbers. This certainly applies when using the program directly with the camera is tethered. Do you have to fake the serial number of the body as well as the model name when analysing downloaded images?
I do not think so. Definetely not in my case, Commercial licence: unlimited bodies, locked to a single workstation:


Give it a go and see what transpires.
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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Aug 16, 2012
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I do not think so. Definetely not in my case, Commercial licence: unlimited bodies, locked to a single workstation:


Give it a go and see what transpires.
You are a rare beast, a real pro paying £250 for a commercial licence for unrestricted use, whereas most of us amateurs pay £39.95 or for the pro £69.95 for restricted versions!
 
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SecureGSM

2 x 5D IV
Feb 26, 2017
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You are a rare beast, a pro paying £250 for a commercial licence, whereas most of us mere amateurs pay £39.95 or for the pro £69.95!
Do not be like that. I offer AFMA services for Sigma, Tamron and Canon lenses in Melbourne, Australia. Canon platform exclusively.
It is not always black or white.
 
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Mar 25, 2011
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Rich from Reikan once told me how to do the AFMA test with my SL-2 using the Sigma lens and the dock, it was going to be time consuming and a PITA changing the lens adjustments with the dock 40 or more times, so I mounted the lens on my5D MK IV and did a AFMA to get a approximate starting value. It helped, but I just started using live view and DPAF which worked well with that lens. Then, after getting a R to replace the SL-2, I sold the lens. If I decide at some point to go all mirrorless, I might consider a Sgma lens, but right now, I am pretty well covered.
 
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