Yo! I am curious about microadjustment. I am shooting the 5D3 and get sharp shots most of the time but only get sick, tack unreal sharp shots say 1 of 50 if not more. Is this a need to microadjust? Is it possible to get that tack sharp focus more often. To be the norm not every so often. Dont get me wrong the shots are def usable for my clients but for me the ones that just pop off the screen are what get me excited. And i do shot wide open to smaller aperatures and variable shutter speeds and have found no correlation as to when these amazing sharp shots happen. They are all over the board when it happens. And this is with all my lenses. Any advice is appreciated. Thx
microadjustment advise?
- Thread starter SteenerMe
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49 of 50 sharp images is a amazingly good result. Lenses do not focus the same every time, even under perfect conditions, there is considerable variation. This means that shots taken at close distances at wide apertures will show variation, so your microadjustment needs to be for the average case, and some images will be out of sharpest focus.
Here is one I took this morning just checking the focus accuract of my 100L at close distances. I focused on the edge of the flower, and it is the only part in focus, which means its focusing fairly accurately.
Here is one I took this morning just checking the focus accuract of my 100L at close distances. I focused on the edge of the flower, and it is the only part in focus, which means its focusing fairly accurately.
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ajw123
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If you are concerned, i think there are some websites that show how to test if your lens is focusing correctly (e.g. http://regex.info/blog/photo-tech/focus-chart). I don't know how valid these tests are, but they seem valid.
Let me know how it goes!
Let me know how it goes!
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I would definitely recommend micro adjust, but also keep in mind that shutter speed and aperture also play a very significant role.
I have several lenses that I can shoot wide open and get tack sharp results, but I also have some that I need to shoot at a smaller aperture to get the same crisp results.
I also shoot at faster shutter speeds then most. The old saying is shoot at a shutter speed that is at least as fast as the reciprocal of your focal length. I.E if you are shooting 200 mm.... shoot at 1/200 or faster. I tend to shoot at speeds even faster then the reciprocal of my focal length and the percentage of tack sharp keepers went way up as well.
You can adjust the MA easily on your own for free or you can invest in some software. I used to go down to the lake and get really low to the water and shoot moorings with the aperture wide open. It is easy to see the line of focus against the water and this will roughly calibrate your MA. Its not foolproof, but free.
I now use FoCal software. It takes all the complications out of lens calibration and works like a charm. It is the best calibration tool out there and at a fraction of the cost of Lens Align... (Which I don't recommend. It is very difficult to use and takes FOREVER, IMO)
Good luck
I have several lenses that I can shoot wide open and get tack sharp results, but I also have some that I need to shoot at a smaller aperture to get the same crisp results.
I also shoot at faster shutter speeds then most. The old saying is shoot at a shutter speed that is at least as fast as the reciprocal of your focal length. I.E if you are shooting 200 mm.... shoot at 1/200 or faster. I tend to shoot at speeds even faster then the reciprocal of my focal length and the percentage of tack sharp keepers went way up as well.
You can adjust the MA easily on your own for free or you can invest in some software. I used to go down to the lake and get really low to the water and shoot moorings with the aperture wide open. It is easy to see the line of focus against the water and this will roughly calibrate your MA. Its not foolproof, but free.
I now use FoCal software. It takes all the complications out of lens calibration and works like a charm. It is the best calibration tool out there and at a fraction of the cost of Lens Align... (Which I don't recommend. It is very difficult to use and takes FOREVER, IMO)
Good luck
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Astro
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well microadjustment is only really usefull for prime lenses... just as a reminder.
and you should see if you need microadjustment or not.
because the focus is slightly off then but other portions of the image are tack sharp.
if the whole image is not that sharp then it´s nothing you can cure with microadjustments.
and you should see if you need microadjustment or not.
because the focus is slightly off then but other portions of the image are tack sharp.
if the whole image is not that sharp then it´s nothing you can cure with microadjustments.
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bkorcel
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You can use it on zooms...just remember that you calibrate on wide and tele. Calibration in between will not always be accurate. You can run a test mid way between to see what the value might be in caomparison to the wide and tele numbers.
Though honestly in wide zoom setting the DOF is so large that AMFA is not really needed unless your lens is WAY off spec.
Though honestly in wide zoom setting the DOF is so large that AMFA is not really needed unless your lens is WAY off spec.
SteenerMe said:
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I'd also recommend the FoCal software. I've found it pretty useful and worth the cost. I'm using the pro version.
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SteenerMe said:
I use FoCal software, and have since January. It will not only help you find the best AFMA point for your lens, but will let you see how much variation in focusing accuracy it has. If there is too much, a trip to repair is likely needed.
There are other factors affecting focus as well. For example. wide open lenses need AI Servo and not one shot AF set. No one is perfect, and with the very shallow depth of field, just leaning forward or backwards a tiny amount will affect sharpness, while AI Servo will adjust for that.
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Jamesy said:
I use the Pro Version. It gives you more information and access to analysis results along with many other testing parameters and options. (Still easy to use and has the fully auto test, just gives you more to work with) (the 5DIII isnt fully automatic but still allows you to perform the same test but you just need to manually adjust the MA. Turns a 2 minute test into 4 minutes... so no biggie)
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Astro said:
Not true at all. The AFMA works just fine with zoom lenses. You just calibrate it at max zoom, which is where your DOF will be the narrowest. It wont matter if it is off a little at MIN Zoom because at shorter focal lengths the DOF is so much larger that it will be a non issue. Also, the 5DIII allows you to AFMA for both ends of a zoom lens.
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I spent a good hour and a half going through the afma process on my 24-105L that I can never seem to get a great image from. Took 20 shots -10 - +10, went through each at 400% looking for a artifact in my test grid. Result: 0 was optimal. :'(
I am going to borrow a buddy's 24-105 run same test and see if I have the proverbial bad copy, or needs repair. I really don't believe that happens very often, but I can't ignore that at same 100mm at f8, my 70-200L f/4 IS is drastically better. Not even close. In fact, even wide open the 70-200 is "clearly" better (pun intended) than the 24-105 at any aperture.
7D, btw.
Hint: AFMA is much easier if you have a willing assistant to scribble the adjustment you're trying on piece of paper and holding it in the shot.
I am going to borrow a buddy's 24-105 run same test and see if I have the proverbial bad copy, or needs repair. I really don't believe that happens very often, but I can't ignore that at same 100mm at f8, my 70-200L f/4 IS is drastically better. Not even close. In fact, even wide open the 70-200 is "clearly" better (pun intended) than the 24-105 at any aperture.
7D, btw.
Hint: AFMA is much easier if you have a willing assistant to scribble the adjustment you're trying on piece of paper and holding it in the shot.
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Astro
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canon816 said:
well if you call that working then it might be so.
i call it pretty useless if you adjust for just one end of the focal length....
if you say DOF is deep enough on the shorter end, then i say for zooms with narrower apertures, such as the usuall f/3.5-5.6 range, it should be a lesser problem anyway.
the narrow aperture will kind of mask that error.
fast primes are what microadjustment is most usefull for.
with "only really usefull" i did not want to say it can´t be usefull in some cases for zooms.
if a zoom has an fixed offset over the whole zoom range it can work just as well as for a prime lens.
AF Adjustment notes from Canon said:
it´s something different with the MK3 when it allows to adjust both ends of a zoom lens.
that was new to me. i thought only the 1D X has that feature.
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I too am curious about this FoCal software. I looked it up and the price seems reasonable, just wondering what the differences are, I am leaning towards the Plus version however it seems that with the 5D Mark III the adjustment still must be manually set, just wondering if that means it works like it does in with FoCal standard.
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bkorcel
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AFMA will work with all of the versions. The more expensive versions add additional capability. Right now the 5DMIII needs to be used in semi-auto mode. That is you have to manually make the AFMA adustment on the camera but the SW will still do the rest automatically. That's only an issue with the 5DIII because they have not made that API public yet so there is no way to program it. They are working on it though and once it's known or figured out, fully automatic AFMA will be implemented.
With the 7D and 1Dx models it is fully automatic. You just sit back and have a beer while the software "tunes" your camera.
With the 7D and 1Dx models it is fully automatic. You just sit back and have a beer while the software "tunes" your camera.
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