# 5d Mk III focus calibration



## nonac (Jul 18, 2012)

Has anyone calibrated the focus yet on their 5d MK III? If so, did you use any software to do it, or did you set up your own test? Finally, did your lens require much calibration (was it worth the effort)?


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## dolphin2421 (Jul 18, 2012)

I used Reikan FoCal Pro and it made a substantial difference on both my 70/200 f2.8 L IS & 24-70 f2.8 L. The FoCal software is super easy to use once you get the target lined up. Highly recommended.


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## LetTheRightLensIn (Jul 18, 2012)

nonac said:


> Has anyone calibrated the focus yet on their 5d MK III? If so, did you use any software to do it, or did you set up your own test? Finally, did your lens require much calibration (was it worth the effort)?



It's usually extremely worth the effort. For now I just did it myself but there are programs to help.


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## RunAndGun (Jul 18, 2012)

I just bought and DL'd the FoCal Pro software a few hours ago and started using it on one of my 5DMKII's and my 5DMKIII. It's pretty slick on the MKII because its fully automatic, but on the MKIII you have to enter the AFMA values manually into the camera because they still can't gain FULL control over the camera.(the software does prompt you when to enter and waits on you). I have had a few issues with it locking up/hanging up on both bodies, but it may because there isn't a Mac version yet and I'm running it on Windows 7 via Parallels. Never rule Windows out as the cause of a problem   . While attempting to MA the long end of my 24-105 on my MKIII it looked to be about 3/4 done and just hung in what appeared to be a loop of analyzing and acquiring data/images, even though it wasn't taking any more pictures. I had to force quit the software. But the sessions with my 70-200v2 and 100mm Macro on the MKII went off without a hitch. One thing to be aware of(and this could be user error, I haven't read all the way through the manuals), is that the software leaves your camera in the state that IT did the testing, i.e: mirror lock-up on, picture style changed, ISO changed, metering changed, focus, etc.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to finish all the lenses on all the bodies and see what the real world results are. Thank goodness there's software now, because doing this all manually with just a target and having to look at all the images yourself, with even just one or two lenses, would be insanely tedious. It felt bad enough having to just enter the software prompted AFMA values into the MKIII by hand after watching it with the MKII on auto-pilot  .


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## Ayelike (Jul 19, 2012)

Hello,

It's the first time I've heard of this type of software. I'm tempted to buy it to run against my 5D MKIII. As only manual tuning can be completed on this camera do you think I'm best off getting the basic "FoCal Standard" version of the software?

I'd love to hear any stories people have of using this software - how easy is it (or otherwise) and did they notice much improvement.

Looks worth £20 to get sharper images out of a £3k camera with £1k+ lenses attached.


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## crash (Jul 19, 2012)

Coming from the 5Dc I am relatively new to AFMA but my shots on the 5D3 were not quite as sharp as I was expecting. I went with FoCal pro - ran AFMA on my most frequently used lenses to start. I also ran some of the sharpness analysis on those same lenses so I know the sweet spot on each. The improvement in sharpness from applying AFMA and hitting the sweet spot on each lens was noticeable.

I was not one of those who ever claimed the 5D3 was "soft" but the improvement was definitely noticeable and worth every penny. 

As far as usability goes - it will be nice when the 5D3 is fully automated but it's not really that difficult to adjust manually.


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## Phenix205 (Jul 19, 2012)

I'd recommend Focal Pro. There is also a separate testing distance guidance document for various lenses.


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## bkorcel (Jul 19, 2012)

Restart the software and it should prompt to restore the settings.



RunAndGun said:


> I just bought and DL'd the FoCal Pro software a few hours ago and started using it on one of my 5DMKII's and my 5DMKIII. It's pretty slick on the MKII because its fully automatic, but on the MKIII you have to enter the AFMA values manually into the camera because they still can't gain FULL control over the camera.(the software does prompt you when to enter and waits on you). I have had a few issues with it locking up/hanging up on both bodies, but it may because there isn't a Mac version yet and I'm running it on Windows 7 via Parallels. Never rule Windows out as the cause of a problem   . While attempting to MA the long end of my 24-105 on my MKIII it looked to be about 3/4 done and just hung in what appeared to be a loop of analyzing and acquiring data/images, even though it wasn't taking any more pictures. I had to force quit the software. But the sessions with my 70-200v2 and 100mm Macro on the MKII went off without a hitch. One thing to be aware of(and this could be user error, I haven't read all the way through the manuals), is that the software leaves your camera in the state that IT did the testing, i.e: mirror lock-up on, picture style changed, ISO changed, metering changed, focus, etc.
> 
> Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to finish all the lenses on all the bodies and see what the real world results are. Thank goodness there's software now, because doing this all manually with just a target and having to look at all the images yourself, with even just one or two lenses, would be insanely tedious. It felt bad enough having to just enter the software prompted AFMA values into the MKIII by hand after watFching it with the MKII on auto-pilot  .


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## bkorcel (Jul 19, 2012)

It is always worth the effort. None of my lenses are sharpest at AFMA=0. Get the pro version so you access to new beta versions as they come out. They can be quirky but usually the Results are worth it.



nonac said:


> Has anyone calibrated the focus yet on their 5d MK III? If so, did you use any software to do it, or did you set up your own test? Finally, did your lens require much calibration (was it worth the effort)?


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## nonac (Jul 19, 2012)

Thanks for all of the discussion. I think I may buy FoCal this weekend and start to work on my lenses.


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## RunAndGun (Jul 19, 2012)

bkorcel: It was "user error". When the software crashed I unhooked my camera and it didn't restore the settings. On subsequent sessions when it was successful it restored the original settings(except for RAW on my MKIII, for some reason).


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## RunAndGun (Jul 19, 2012)

Using it on the 5DMKIII isn't difficult, but it will take longer than the fully automatic session on something like a MKII AND it will take longer than their manual suggests(at least on zooms). Granted I was running with the "tight" tolerance set, but it took over 20 minutes to do my 70-200 v2 on my 5DMKIII vs. about 10 on my 5DMKII.


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## bkorcel (Jul 20, 2012)

Yeah and be prepared that older and well used lenses can often take longer and many more exposures to hone in on that perfect AFMA value. It's all pretty much based on repeatability but it does quite well with what it's given.



RunAndGun said:


> Using it on the 5DMKIII isn't difficult, but it will take longer than the fully automatic session on something like a MKII AND it will take longer than their manual suggests(at least on zooms). Granted I was running with the "tight" tolerance set, but it took over 20 minutes to do my 70-200 v2 on my 5DMKIII vs. about 10 on my 5DMKII.


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## RKK (Jul 20, 2012)

RunAndGun said:


> I just bought and DL'd the FoCal Pro software a few hours ago and started using it on one of my 5DMKII's and my 5DMKIII. It's pretty slick on the MKII because its fully automatic, but on the MKIII you have to enter the AFMA values manually into the camera because they still can't gain FULL control over the camera.(the software does prompt you when to enter and waits on you). I have had a few issues with it locking up/hanging up on both bodies, but it may because there isn't a Mac version yet and I'm running it on Windows 7 via Parallels. Never rule Windows out as the cause of a problem   . While attempting to MA the long end of my 24-105 on my MKIII it looked to be about 3/4 done and just hung in what appeared to be a loop of analyzing and acquiring data/images, even though it wasn't taking any more pictures. I had to force quit the software. But the sessions with my 70-200v2 and 100mm Macro on the MKII went off without a hitch. One thing to be aware of(and this could be user error, I haven't read all the way through the manuals), is that the software leaves your camera in the state that IT did the testing, i.e: mirror lock-up on, picture style changed, ISO changed, metering changed, focus, etc.
> 
> Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to finish all the lenses on all the bodies and see what the real world results are. Thank goodness there's software now, because doing this all manually with just a target and having to look at all the images yourself, with even just one or two lenses, would be insanely tedious. It felt bad enough having to just enter the software prompted AFMA values into the MKIII by hand after watching it with the MKII on auto-pilot  .





RunAndGun said:


> I just bought and DL'd the FoCal Pro software a few hours ago and started using it on one of my 5DMKII's and my 5DMKIII. It's pretty slick on the MKII because its fully automatic, but on the MKIII you have to enter the AFMA values manually into the camera because they still can't gain FULL control over the camera.(the software does prompt you when to enter and waits on you). I have had a few issues with it locking up/hanging up on both bodies, but it may because there isn't a Mac version yet and I'm running it on Windows 7 via Parallels. Never rule Windows out as the cause of a problem   . While attempting to MA the long end of my 24-105 on my MKIII it looked to be about 3/4 done and just hung in what appeared to be a loop of analyzing and acquiring data/images, even though it wasn't taking any more pictures. I had to force quit the software. But the sessions with my 70-200v2 and 100mm Macro on the MKII went off without a hitch. One thing to be aware of(and this could be user error, I haven't read all the way through the manuals), is that the software leaves your camera in the state that IT did the testing, i.e: mirror lock-up on, picture style changed, ISO changed, metering changed, focus, etc.
> 
> Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to finish all the lenses on all the bodies and see what the real world results are. Thank goodness there's software now, because doing this all manually with just a target and having to look at all the images yourself, with even just one or two lenses, would be insanely tedious. It felt bad enough having to just enter the software prompted AFMA values into the MKIII by hand after watching it with the MKII on auto-pilot  .



Hi - Where did you buy the FoCal software from?


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## Razor2012 (Jul 20, 2012)

Does anyone know if there is any specials on for FoCal Pro?


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jul 20, 2012)

Razor2012 said:


> Does anyone know if there is any specials on for FoCal Pro?


 
Yes, there are discounts. 
http://www.reikan.co.uk/focal/mbp45/


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## Razor2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> Razor2012 said:
> 
> 
> > Does anyone know if there is any specials on for FoCal Pro?
> ...



Great thanks. 45 pounds seems like a good price.


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## Razor2012 (Jul 21, 2012)

RunAndGun said:


> Using it on the 5DMKIII isn't difficult, but it will take longer than the fully automatic session on something like a MKII AND it will take longer than their manual suggests(at least on zooms). Granted I was running with the "tight" tolerance set, but it took over 20 minutes to do my 70-200 v2 on my 5DMKIII vs. about 10 on my 5DMKII.



Did you find much difference with the 70-200II after running FoCal Pro?


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jul 21, 2012)

Razor2012 said:


> RunAndGun said:
> 
> 
> > Using it on the 5DMKIII isn't difficult, but it will take longer than the fully automatic session on something like a MKII AND it will take longer than their manual suggests(at least on zooms). Granted I was running with the "tight" tolerance set, but it took over 20 minutes to do my 70-200 v2 on my 5DMKIII vs. about 10 on my 5DMKII.
> ...


Understand that every lens and every body is different. Sometimes tolerances cancel, and sometimes they oppose and the mismatch gets worse. 
The only lens I owned (of 15) that required "0" AFMA on all my bodies was my very old and well worn 300mm f/4L.


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