Reikan FoCal 2 Test Release.

[East Wind Photography]

I don't want to derail the topic, but this post reminded me to look into this software again.

I see it's about $100 US and I'm an amateur/wannabe-semi-pro photog, specifically I'm into wildlife and want to get the most out of my long lenses and new 7DII, do you awesome CanonRumors people highly recommend this?

I am a tech guy but I've never done AFMA on my gear before, I feel like I'd rather have an all in one solution like this instead of having to roll my own.

Just curious if people really like this.

Thanks!
Jack

You certainly don't need this, as a tripod, ruler and some experimentation work quite well to get close, but FoCal makes it a lot easier, faster, and will give you the best results. On fast lenses (f/1.2-2) it makes a world of difference to get a precise AFMA, but with f/4 and slower lenses, the effect isn't usually as dramatic. Also, if you have a lot of lenses and/or bodies, it certainly makes the process a whole lot faster than trial and error.

Thanks MackGuyver! Yeah I think I'll give it a shot next month, the ease of use is probably what's selling it for me the most.

It's not as easy as you think. As in previous releases, the lighting, stability, alignment, distance, crashing will leave you frustrated as it did I. I now use just a spyder lens align.

It does have some other useful tools but for AFMA it's no more reliable than doing it with a sheet of newspaper taped to a wall.

 

[slclick]

PFFFT...no Mac version released. I guess I won't be installing it after all.

Mac, what is that? Is that the hamburger thing? How do you want to run a PC application in a burger?...

Ooh! A Mac joke. I love getting in my time machine and traveling back to 1996.

 

[cayenne]

PFFFT...no Mac version released. I guess I won't be installing it after all.

Other articles are saying that once this goes in to final production that a MAC version will be released.

looking forward to the mac version. How long does it take to go from release 1 to final version?

I"m wondering if this would work with Windows7 running a VM on a Mac?

Hmmmm.

Just read it *STILL* won't work automagically with the 5D3.....*sigh*

I think I'm gonna try to figure how to install Magic Lantern on the old 5D3, and use the Dot Tune functionality on that to tune my lenses in and see how that does.....

cayenne

 

[East Wind Photography]

PFFFT...no Mac version released. I guess I won't be installing it after all.

Mac, what is that? Is that the hamburger thing? How do you want to run a PC application in a burger?...

Ooh! A Mac joke. I love getting in my time machine and traveling back to 1996.

It wont run on a 1996 Mac either?

 

[Maiaibing]

I am a tech guy but I've never done AFMA on my gear before, I feel like I'd rather have an all in one solution like this instead of having to roll my own.
Thanks!
Jack

if you have a lot of lenses and/or bodies, it certainly makes the process a whole lot faster than trial and error.

As said above its really for people who have too little time and too many camera bodies and lenses. Otherwise DIY AFMA is the way to go. I used to do this and my manual results where as good as with Reikan Pro.

However, it does takes time to do it right. Just as it also takes some time to use the Reikan software correctly (its not a free lunch...). Also, I very highly recommend using two or three (as I ended up doing) different methods to average out the results and reduce your chances of error. My - very controlled - testing of various methods showed that you cannot rely on any given manual method to be accurate enough in itself. As Reikan Pro results clearly shows camera AF is simply not that consistent when we test on our bodies.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I was a bit put out about them selling as subscription to see our test data that we uploaded to them for free.

I don't need to compare data to see if my camera is performing well, and I'll turn off the data upload.

 

[LarryC]

PFFFT...no Mac version released. I guess I won't be installing it after all.

Mac, what is that? Is that the hamburger thing? How do you want to run a PC application in a burger?...

Ooh! A Mac joke. I love getting in my time machine and traveling back to 1996.

It wont run on a 1996 Mac either?

What did?

 

[dstppy]

PFFFT...no Mac version released. I guess I won't be installing it after all.

Other articles are saying that once this goes in to final production that a MAC version will be released.

looking forward to the mac version. How long does it take to go from release 1 to final version?

I"m wondering if this would work with Windows7 running a VM on a Mac?

Hmmmm.

Just read it *STILL* won't work automagically with the 5D3.....*sigh*

I think I'm gonna try to figure how to install Magic Lantern on the old 5D3, and use the Dot Tune functionality on that to tune my lenses in and see how that does.....

cayenne

Are you running as a VM or dual boot? Theoretically, a VM should work, if you're running it as windows on a regular computer, it will be fine.

 

[kaihp]

I sure was (quite unrealistically) hoping for automated calibration of my 5DIII and 1D X, but that's up to Canon, not Reikan

That would not be easy as those cameras do not have DPAF. But it was the biggest disappointment with 7D2, the useless DPAF. Not used for manual lenses and not used to calibrate the camera for each lens.
I have not yet bought the 7D2 because of that.
I already have Focal, so I welcome this update.

It has to do with Canon removing it from the SDK for their "Pro/Prosumer" bodies. Why, no one knows? Some genius at Canon thought, let's remove a feature from the cameras that people will actually use this for -- and while we're at it, let's not offer a competing product or any reason why we did it.

I didn't look into the SDK, but I got the impression that the bodies that can do Wide/Tele AFMA don't have the API to set those, while there is an API for a single AFMA.

 

[neuroanatomist]

PFFFT...no Mac version released. I guess I won't be installing it after all.

Mac, what is that? Is that the hamburger thing? How do you want to run a PC application in a burger?...

Ooh! A Mac joke. I love getting in my time machine and traveling back to 1996.

 

[slclick]

PFFFT...no Mac version released. I guess I won't be installing it after all.

Mac, what is that? Is that the hamburger thing? How do you want to run a PC application in a burger?...

Ooh! A Mac joke. I love getting in my time machine and traveling back to 1996.

It wont run on a 1996 Mac either?

What did?

Context people, try to keep up.

 

[East Wind Photography]

PFFFT...no Mac version released. I guess I won't be installing it after all.

Mac, what is that? Is that the hamburger thing? How do you want to run a PC application in a burger?...

Ooh! A Mac joke. I love getting in my time machine and traveling back to 1996.

It wont run on a 1996 Mac either?

What did?

Context people, try to keep up.

They make good aquariums I remember

 

[Don Haines]

PFFFT...no Mac version released. I guess I won't be installing it after all.

Mac, what is that? Is that the hamburger thing? How do you want to run a PC application in a burger?...

Ooh! A Mac joke. I love getting in my time machine and traveling back to 1996.

It wont run on a 1996 Mac either?

What did?

Context people, try to keep up.

They make good aquariums I remember

That was a screen saver.... the fish were not real.....

 

[Don Haines]

I don't want to derail the topic, but this post reminded me to look into this software again.

I see it's about $100 US and I'm an amateur/wannabe-semi-pro photog, specifically I'm into wildlife and want to get the most out of my long lenses and new 7DII, do you awesome CanonRumors people highly recommend this?

I am a tech guy but I've never done AFMA on my gear before, I feel like I'd rather have an all in one solution like this instead of having to roll my own.

Just curious if people really like this.

Thanks!
Jack

It is basic calibration of gear.... If your gear is close to spec, you don't need it. If it is away from the center of spec, it becomes very necessary... the problem is, you don't know until after you calibrate.

The secret to doing any calibration is to be methodical. Don't do a sloppy job, be deliberate and precise. Make sure that your camera is the same height as your target and make sure that you are parallel to it. Make sure that your target is WELL!!! lit. If you are indoors, a couple of 500 watt incandescent bulbs in your studio lamps should be good enough..... and don't use fluorescent lighting, it flickers.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

. If you are indoors, a couple of 500 watt incandescent bulbs in your studio lamps should be good enough..... and don't use fluorescent lighting, it flickers.

Yes, lots of lighting. Flickering Fluorescents went out 15 + years ago when electronic ballasts came in. I've been using them at least that long.

In the event that you have 1000 watt equivalent Fluorescents that do not use electronic ballasts, then keep a shutter speed below 1/120 sec. My old setup used twelve 98 CRI T8 tubes which put out plenty of light and my camera loved them.

Now, I've begun the switch to LED's. 5000K bright leds are available for a reasonable price.

 

[Don Haines]

. If you are indoors, a couple of 500 watt incandescent bulbs in your studio lamps should be good enough..... and don't use fluorescent lighting, it flickers.

Yes, lots of lighting. Flickering Fluorescents went out 15 + years ago when electronic ballasts came in. I've been using them at least that long.

In the event that you have 1000 watt equivalent Fluorescents that do not use electronic ballasts, then keep a shutter speed below 1/120 sec. My old setup used twelve 98 CRI T8 tubes which put out plenty of light and my camera loved them.

Now, I've begun the switch to LED's. 5000K bright leds are available for a reasonable price.

The first time I tried Focal was at the lab at work. It is a large brightly lit room, but in reality it was not bright enough and the lighting was old-style fluorescent tubes (flicker). The results were all over the place, the shutter speeds were too low, and the results were inconstant.

The second time was with a couple of studio lamps from home and the results were much better.

and don't forget a solid tripod and a solid floor.... vibrations from moving around will kill the accuracy of the tests.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

. If you are indoors, a couple of 500 watt incandescent bulbs in your studio lamps should be good enough..... and don't use fluorescent lighting, it flickers.

Yes, lots of lighting. Flickering Fluorescents went out 15 + years ago when electronic ballasts came in. I've been using them at least that long.

In the event that you have 1000 watt equivalent Fluorescents that do not use electronic ballasts, then keep a shutter speed below 1/120 sec. My old setup used twelve 98 CRI T8 tubes which put out plenty of light and my camera loved them.

Now, I've begun the switch to LED's. 5000K bright leds are available for a reasonable price.

The first time I tried Focal was at the lab at work. It is a large brightly lit room, but in reality it was not bright enough and the lighting was old-style fluorescent tubes (flicker). The results were all over the place, the shutter speeds were too low, and the results were inconstant.

The second time was with a couple of studio lamps from home and the results were much better.

and don't forget a solid tripod and a solid floor.... vibrations from moving around will kill the accuracy of the tests.

I guess there are still older places that have not updated. There have been tax breaks for updating, not to mention the energy savings, but some persist with the old style tubes. However, a studio with lighting intended for photograsphy should not have old style fluorescents.

+10 for the solid surface.

Focal sometimes uses very long exposures and movement of the floor or tripod is a issue. For my longer lenses, I pick a bright morning before the sun casts shadows and put the test pattern outdoors on a concrete pad with my camera in my garage so I can see the laptop screen to operate it. That can result in ev 13 and gives excellent results. There is usually no wind in the morning, so it doesn't affect the target then either. I have a separate tripod with a geared head to mount the test pattern, it can be easier to raise and lower it than moving the camera up or down, since I always keep my camera lowered to the lowest position on the center support.

 

[cayenne]

PFFFT...no Mac version released. I guess I won't be installing it after all.

Other articles are saying that once this goes in to final production that a MAC version will be released.

looking forward to the mac version. How long does it take to go from release 1 to final version?

I"m wondering if this would work with Windows7 running a VM on a Mac?

Hmmmm.

Just read it *STILL* won't work automagically with the 5D3.....*sigh*

I think I'm gonna try to figure how to install Magic Lantern on the old 5D3, and use the Dot Tune functionality on that to tune my lenses in and see how that does.....

cayenne

Are you running as a VM or dual boot? Theoretically, a VM should work, if you're running it as windows on a regular computer, it will be fine.

I"m running Win7 Home edition on VMWare as a VM on my macbook pro.