# How good is Reikan FoCal?



## J.R. (Feb 22, 2013)

Hi,

I have been thinking of purchasing the Reikan FoCal software for AFMA and have gone through various threads here on this aspect but am still confused. 

How good is it? Does it really solve your problems of AFMA? 

Is there anything that you need to especially take care of when you use this software to ensure that you make the best use of it - i mean anything which is not mentioned by the Reikan guys? 

Your thoughts on this ...

Cheers ... JR


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## robbymack (Feb 22, 2013)

It's good, but it requires lots of light to work well, ideally outside on a cloudless day.


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## Drizzt321 (Feb 22, 2013)

Also on the 5D3, it unfortunately goes to semi-automatic mode where I have to manually change the AFMA settings because Canon for some strange reason left that out of the official SDK. Works for the 6D, but not 5D3/1DX. Every time I've put in a support request saying "it's not there, fix it!" I get a response saying "the SDK is what it is, we'll take it under advisement". Which more or less, to me, says screw you, we don't give a crap.


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## Viggo (Feb 22, 2013)

It think Reikan had some if the best customer service and they update and work in new features almost every week.

So what if it's semi automatic, are you incapable of touching a button without moving the camera three inches forward ?

The software needs 10 ev to work optimally and I found that the flickering lights if fluorescent makes the results front focus. Bulbs I haven't tried, I used daylight and it works absolutely flawless. I have spent so many hours tryi g to afma my lenses with other remedies and found it to be pretty much useless for consistency.

All my lenses and two cameras done in an hour or so and never worry about it again makes completely worth it. It is to my broad experience with this, THE tool to use.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Feb 22, 2013)

FoCal will not solve AFMA issues if you have a bad lens or camera. It has various levels of accuracy, those who want the best accuracy need to set it to take 10 shots or so at each AFMA setting. Some use a quick and dirty setting of 2 or 3 shots, and lens variations from shot to shot may not give the best setting.

A big potential improvement is now in beta testing, it does not close the shutter for each shot, and sounds like a major improvement. I posted a article about it, but no one has responded.
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=13059.0

Also note that Focal 2 is in the pipeline, and may be out in several months. A upgrade fee will almost certainly be levied, so buy it now and get some use out of it before the price goes up.

There is no solution for fully automatic AFMA for the 5D MK III or 1D X, and Canon is not upgrading the SDK. This is one of those things where a lot of users making their wishes known to Canon would help.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Feb 22, 2013)

privatebydesign said:


> Mt Spokane, thanks for the link, actually I have read your input in FoCal threads before, aren't you a Beta tester or something? Anyway it was the Mac compatibility issues that stopped me buying it last time I looked, if I do get it I suspect I'll wait until v2. Also, do you know if they do a club license type arrangement? I am pretty active in a club and have talked about the club getting a license and then having a calibration day, but that wouldn't work with the current body serial number based setup.


They purposely limit the number of cameras that can be licensed to keep people from abusing their license and sharing passwords, or at least they limit it. 

As to a group license, I'd ask them about the possibility, I don't know if they allow that or not, but I've seen some oblique posts hinting at something like that. 

I do not beta test, but pro licenses do have access to beta versions, and can test them, so I was just passing along the info to someone who might want to try out the beta.


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## Dylan777 (Feb 22, 2013)

It works great on my 16-35 f2.8 II and 50L.

Make sure you have decent tripod


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## Viggo (Feb 22, 2013)

privatebydesign said:


> _"So what if it's semi automatic, are you incapable of touching a button without moving the camera three inches forward ?"_
> 
> No, are you incapable of answering a simple question without belittling people?
> 
> ...



I forgot to quote, it wasn't an answer to your comment but to Drizz321's comment. Yelling and complaining about Reikan is no point when the canon SDK is the issue, as they've stated very clear. Sorry for
The misunderstanding.


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## iMagic (Feb 22, 2013)

Take focal with a grain of salt. I have two bodies a mark ii and mark iii 5d. I went through all of my lenses and noticed a pattern of 2 afma between the bodies. So i expected that difference between all the lenses. It worked on the 70-200 ii, the 85mm ii, the 24mm ii. It did not work well on the 50mm L or the 16-35 mm ii. For those lenses i used a moire pattern chart with zooming in. That technique worked and produced again the expected 2 afma difference between the bodies. I spent a lot of time and care on the focal setups but for some lenses it did not work properly.


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## East Wind Photography (Feb 22, 2013)

FoCal is the next best thing to doing it manually with something like a Lensalign or LensCal. Focal is not perfect though and in my opinion was better around version 1.4. I still need to use a 3D target to tune in the settings.


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## pierceography (Feb 22, 2013)

Drizzt321 said:


> Also on the 5D3, it unfortunately goes to semi-automatic mode where I have to manually change the AFMA settings because Canon for some strange reason left that out of the official SDK. Works for the 6D, but not 5D3/1DX. Every time I've put in a support request saying "it's not there, fix it!" I get a response saying "the SDK is what it is, we'll take it under advisement". Which more or less, to me, says screw you, we don't give a crap.



Seeing as how Canon requires any USB communication to run through their SDK, your opinion of "screw you, we don't give a crap" seems rather obtuse. If the SDK (from Canon) doesn't support certain functionality, and there is no other method of communication with the camera, how is this Reikan's fault?

I thought it would be a great idea to write an iOS app which would allow you to tether your phone (via connector port <-> USB) to your Canon SLR (who really wants to lug a laptop with them for tethered shooting in the field?). That is, until I realized Canon doesn't offer an iOS SDK, and trying to reverse engineer their API would be a nightmare.

So yeah, I can't blame Reikan at all for not being able to support functions that aren't included in Canon's SDK.


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## Drizzt321 (Feb 22, 2013)

Viggo said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > _"So what if it's semi automatic, are you incapable of touching a button without moving the camera three inches forward ?"_
> ...



Perhaps I should have clarified, it was Canon that I contacted/yelled at. I know Reikan is at the mercy of Canon in this area, and it's very unfortunate that Canon doesn't have this for the 5D3/1DX.


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## spinworkxroy (Feb 23, 2013)

Reikan is a hit and miss for me but it's still a fantastic software to use.

it works really well on my 5D3 with any lens i put on it. I use Focal to calibrate all my lenses and it does help a little...However, on a Nikon D7k, somehow the software will not get a good result on it..Keeps giving me errors in inconsistency..I'm not sure if it's the camera or the software because NO lens will work on it...


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## RMC33 (Feb 23, 2013)

I get good results with all my bodies... but 50mm lenses for some reason HATE me. My 50 1.4 is a -15 on my mk2 and -11 on my 5d3 (@ f/2). The CPS 50 f/1.2 I have is a -18 on my Mk2 and -14 on my MK3 (@ f/2). 

All my other lenses (200 f/2, 400 f/2.8 70-200 mkII 24-70 MkI 100 IS macro) are within +-5.

The $115 I paid for the pro version (should have got the middle one) has paid for it's self in better images a few times over now.


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## Zlatko (Feb 23, 2013)

I like FoCal very much. It has helped me with various cameras and lenses.

Yesterday I made some pics with my 50/1.4 on a 6D body (before adjustment) and they were not sharp. Today I ran that body and lens through FoCal and discovered that the lens needed a +17 adjustment. What a difference! It's like having a new lens. 

However, FoCal is still in development and seems a bit unstable. I've had it shut down unexpectedly a number of times. Also, it is supposed to support the 6D but I could not get it to work in the fully automatic mode without forcing the Manual Settings Change (MSC). Before I set it to MSC, FoCal would run through the whole test automatically, but it seems it wasn't actually adjusting the AFMA setting. The analysis graph showed pretty much the same results from -20 to +20, which made no sense at all. After setting it to MSC, I ran through the automatic test but with manual AFMA adjustments and the graph showed the proper curve with a peak around +17. It took some effort, but now I have a good result and it really makes a difference in the pics.

That said, I do wish that Canon would update the old design of the 50/1.4 to one that is more precise & consistent in focusing. The older designs seem to be the least consistent.


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## rdalrt (Feb 23, 2013)

I have had excellent results with FoCal Pro on all my bodies and lenses.


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## redhead65 (Mar 17, 2013)

Has anyone successfully used the Reikan Focal Fully Automatic AFMA with a 50D and Windows 7 (64 or 32 bit versions)? 

I've tried Focal versions 1.70W, 1.80W and 1.81W with my 50D and 50/1.4 and just after starting the Fully Automatic AFMA the following message is displayed "An error occurred trying to get analysis information: Out of memory.". Given that my desktop PC has 8GB RAM the issue is not with a lack of memory! 

I opened a support ticket with Reikan in early January but have not had any feedback other than a form reply stating that the problem is assigned to the developer.


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## RGF (Mar 23, 2013)

*How does Reikan Focal Compare to Focal Tune?*

Has anyone tried Focal Tune?

As I understand Focal Tune, you shoot a target multiple times (refocusing each time) and then make large AFMA adjustments (5 steps). FT analyzes your shots, discards outliers, and plots curve to show sharpness vs AFMA. Repeat the process, with smaller steps and narrower range, to get setting.

I have not tried it, software was $29 recently. Manual procedure, not sure how zooms are handled


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## Hydrogen (Mar 23, 2013)

Drizzt321 said:


> Also on the 5D3, it unfortunately goes to semi-automatic mode where I have to manually change the AFMA settings because Canon for some strange reason left that out of the official SDK. Works for the 6D, but not 5D3/1DX. Every time I've put in a support request saying "it's not there, fix it!" I get a response saying "the SDK is what it is, we'll take it under advisement". Which more or less, to me, says screw you, we don't give a crap.



As a software architect for a Fortune-sized corporation, I would like to come to FoCal's defense. I have my own peeves about their product, but actually it *is* the Canon SDK's deficit...

When Canon added the combination of Wide and Telephoto AFMA adjustments new to the 1DX and 5D3, this would require them to expose a new set of routines within the SDK that would enable setting the respective setting for either Wide or Tele.

Canon has not done so. I have a copy of the SDK. It's not there.

I think it would be great if people on this forum would start writing Canon and/or posting in their forums asking Canon to bring their SDK up-to-snuff with their camera bodies which are now a year old!


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 21, 2013)

I just bought the FoCal Pro version today and am having horrendous time ... not blaming Reikan ... need some help with some of you experts. I am using MacBook Pro 13inch (2.9 GHZ Intel Core i7, 2.9 GHZ, 16GB Ram, mid 2012 model), hooked up 5D MK III + EF 50mm f/1.4
First Time:
Tried the "Fully Automatic" mode ... heard a couple of shots being taken and in the info section it said "Defocusing Lens" then I got this error "*LiveViewStae: Action timeout*"

Second Time:
Tried the "Semi Automatic" mode ... heard a couple of shots being taken and a few seconds later, I get an error message '*DoPhaseDetectAF: Action timeout*' 

I repeated the test 3 times each (Fully auto mode and Semi auto mode) and every single time I got the same above-mentioned error messages.

Am I missing something? ... can't seem to get much out of Reikan's troubleshoot section and Google search did not yield any assistance ... just sent a message to Reikan ... meanwhile I thought of asking some of you experienced folk ... any suggestions?
My very limited experience tells me that FoCal is meant for advanced users (i.e. not really for people like me).


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 22, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> hooked up 5D MK III + EF 50mm f/1.4
> First Time:
> Tried the "Fully Automatic" mode ...



Full auto isn't supported for the 5DIII - you need to be in MSC mode.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 22, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > hooked up 5D MK III + EF 50mm f/1.4
> ...


I see that Reikan's website ( http://www.reikan.co.uk/focalweb/index.php/why/requirements/#msc) mentions "MSC Mode" & "Manual Mode" ... but my FoCal software only shows the following 4 modes:
1. Fully Automatic
2. TurboCal
3. Semi Automatic
4. Manual Mode
There is no MSC (Manual Settings Mode) ... the 4th mode (Manual Mode), according to Raikan, is for 'Offline Image Analysis' ("images captured by you and then supplied to the software")
I'm confused ... unfortunately, by the time I sent a message to Reikan it was past 5pm GMT yesterday, (they are closed for the weekend) so I'll have to wait till Monday.
Meanwhile any help from CR members would be most appreciated (please understand that I've never done AFMA before, so everything looks confusing :-[ ... Google wasn't much help ... Youtube got me a video (by Bob Keenan) but it is for a one year old version of FoCal and the interface looks totally different from the version I currently have (1.8.1M ... couple of hours after I bought that version they released the 1.9, which I have not yet updated).


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## Viggo (Jun 22, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...



I always use Fully Automatic mode for the 1dX, the only thing is that I change the afma-values myself.

Never seen the error you're describing though. Not sure why the LV error message comes up though, you shouldn't be in LV at all, except for when setting up the target...


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## dslrdummy (Jun 22, 2013)

Even with the 5Diii and 1DX you still select "Fully Automatic" but instead of it doing it all itself it prompts you when you have to change the AFMA values manually. Have just done all my lenses on FocalPro and no problems at all except for my 400 5.6 with 1.4xiii, presumably because I can't get sufficient distance between me and the target (8+ metres). Haven't had your error, sorry.


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 22, 2013)

dslrdummy said:


> Even with the 5Diii and 1DX you still select "Fully Automatic" but instead of it doing it all itself it prompts you when you have to change the AFMA values manually.



Ahhh, thanks. I've actually never done an automatic AFMA - when I got my 1D X, that wasn't supported so I needed to take the shots myself and use manual mode for analysis. I've just kept doing it that way...


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 22, 2013)

dslrdummy said:


> Even with the 5Diii and 1DX you still select "Fully Automatic" but instead of it doing it all itself it prompts you when you have to change the AFMA values manually.


That's what I remember reading on Reikan website (use fully automatic mode with FoCal promting user input), but for some reason I am getting the "LiveViewState: Action timeout" error message (when I'm not even in the LV mode)... guess I'll just have to wait till Monday for Reikan to get back to me  ... to be fair their system was pretty quick in generating a ticket number for my problem so I'm pretty confident they'll get back to me.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 22, 2013)

Viggo said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > neuroanatomist said:
> ...


I am not even in the LV mode, yet I get that message ... driving me crazy :'(


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Jun 22, 2013)

I used the FoCal the first time about three months ago with middling results. I ran it again a few weeks ago with improved lighting (I had used some of my studio Daylight CFL lights the first time, but but the chance of flicker plus a EV value that was a little too low reduced my effectiveness). The second time I used my construction stand lights (each with two 500W bulbs) and had an EV value of right under 11. Much better results.

I was dialing in two 6D bodies plus a fair number of lens combinations. I try to run auto mode at least three times with each combination to assure that I am getting consistent results. I also chart each run so that I have notes to refer to later. I am really pleased with the results I got this time.

My tips for maximizing results:

1) Make sure you have plenty of light
2) Make sure you have a good tripod on a STABLE floor surface (some floors have quite a bit of flex, particularly if anyone is walking around).
3) Setup the proper distance away. FoCal provides a chart per focal length.
4) Run it a few times and make sure you are getting a consistent result (within 1 value point, even better when you repeat the exact result).

My lenses have never been sharper.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 22, 2013)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> My tips for maximizing results:
> 
> 1) Make sure you have plenty of light
> 2) Make sure you have a good tripod on a STABLE floor surface (some floors have quite a bit of flex, particularly if anyone is walking around).
> ...


Thanks for the response Dustin ... I was really careful with the way I had the setup, I read the manual over and over again to make sure everything was set properly:
1. I used a portable construction light (500W) on a tripod to light up the target chart.
2. Had my 5D MK III setup on Manfrotto 055CXPRO4+468MGRC2, to reduce any vibration I had the tripod on a carpet and asked my kids not to walk around the house until I completed my test
3. For my 50mm f/1.4 lens the sensor was 2.5 meters away from the target chart (I actually took a measuring tape and measured the distance from the wall to the camera sensor)
4. Ran the test 6 times (3 times on Fully Automatic mode & 3 times on Semi Automatic Mode), kept getting the same error messages every single time at about the same time.


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 22, 2013)

When you installed the Mono framework, did you use Reikan's link to the correct version?


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 22, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> When you installed the Mono framework, did you use Reikan's link to the correct version?


With the first installation of Mono framework (version 3.10.12), FoCal wold not allow me to run the program it asked me to install the correct version ... so I uninstalled it and installed the correct version (2.10.9) ... after this FoCal started working ... then the above-mentioned errors occurred.


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## East Wind Photography (Jun 23, 2013)

I would spend the money on a SpyderCal or LensCal AFMA target setup. I've used FoCal since Version 1.2 and after 1.4 the program has been flaky and have not been able to get it to produce consistent and correct results. I've resulted to using a SpyderCal target (Small target with a slanted ruler) that folds up and can fit in your camera bag. With the SpyderCal I now have my lenses AF spot on and you can verify your AFMA from time to time and in different lighting conditions. AFMA will be different depending on whether you Cal in Tungsten or Daylight. I prefer Daylight as that is what I shoot the most in.

When you AFMA your lenses with FoCal you never know if it's going to be correct or not. Even with very adequate lighting EV14+ I could not get consistent results that would equal what I got with using SpyderCal.




J.R. said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have been thinking of purchasing the Reikan FoCal software for AFMA and have gone through various threads here on this aspect but am still confused.
> 
> ...


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 23, 2013)

East Wind Photography said:


> When you AFMA your lenses with FoCal you never know if it's going to be correct or not. Even with very adequate lighting EV14+ I could not get consistent results that would equal what I got with using SpyderCal.



Sorry to hear that! I do have to say, though, that you seem to be in the minority. 

Personally, I get consistent results, that match a manual estimate with a LensAlign Pro, even with the 1.9 beta version (although I will say that v1.8 crashed frequently for me under Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8, whereas v1.9b seems stable). 

What suggestions for your inconsistent results were offered by Reikan support, when you contacted them?


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## jdramirez (Jun 23, 2013)

I manually AFMA... maybe I'm way off, but I think I got pretty dang close. I initially took readings at -20 through +20 in increments of five (both wide and tele), found the zone I thought looked best by comparing in lightroom... then I took a sample of 7 spots in increments of 1.

It took about 3 hours for two lenses... but I like to think of it as fun hours rather than work and toil. 

And my results... +3 for both wide and tele for my 24-105 and +2 wide and +4 zoom for my 70-200 mkii. 

Evidently I'm productive without sports.


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## East Wind Photography (Jun 24, 2013)

I did not contact them as I was able to AFMA all of my lenses with Spydercal in fewer exposures and less time than it would take to get everything set up with Focal, including lights, targets, steady mount, reshoots because of camera movement when manually setting AFMA on the 5D3, etc.

Most of my frustration with the software is that everything has to be rock solid and super stable through out the test. I even fabricated wooden V-blocks to support the lenses on a concrete floor so shot to shot the camera would not move...not even an earthquake would move the lens.

It was much MUCH easier to use the spydercal and just take maybe 8 to 10 shots using a tripod and cable release. The software pretty much needs ideal conditions to conduct it's analysis and given that it still does not provide decent enough results. I get plot points all over the place and most of the time the software just gives up. I take 8 to 10 shots with the spydercal and AF is consistently dead on. So it's not the lenses, it's not the camera (I've used two, 5DIII and a 7D which I've sold), it's not the setup I am using and I am confident NOTHING is moving between shots. I've given it the full sun for lighting, I've used Tungsten Halogen lamps. I've tried three different computers, XP, Win7 32bit and win7 64 bit. I've done most of the tests indoors except the long tele's which need a football field and I've wasted hours trying to appease the software into submission in all cases (though I had reasonable success with my old 24-70 2.8L which is the oldest of my lenses!)

At this point I'm not going to waste more time calling them as it's easier and faster to do the calibration with a SpyderCal. I have tried each new version since 1.4 but no real improvement. TurboCal does seem to produce a result every time but it's inconsistent from one test to the next and none of the results were even close to the manually calculated AFMA using the SpyderCal.

My frustration with the program is beyond words. So I just keep putting out there that when you use FoCal, you still need a way to verify the AFMA such as with a spydercal. Dont "trust" that FoCal has worked as expected. You need to verify what it's produced and at that point you might as well just use SpyderCal or LensCal in the first place.



neuroanatomist said:


> East Wind Photography said:
> 
> 
> > When you AFMA your lenses with FoCal you never know if it's going to be correct or not. Even with very adequate lighting EV14+ I could not get consistent results that would equal what I got with using SpyderCal.
> ...


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## East Wind Photography (Jun 24, 2013)

You probably could have saved some time by just testing -10 to 10. If your AF is off my more than that you would notice it on every shot, likely even with the lens stopped down.

Using a SpyderCal, I can get a lens AFMAd in about 10 to 15 minutes..less if it's closer to zero. The SPydercal or LensCal uses a slanted ruler so once you are on the ruler, you know which way to go to make your adjustment. Very quick and very precice...though you have to review the shots on your computer screen, not on the back of the camera. That's what takes most of the time, dumping the shots down. The last lens I did, I used an Eye-Fi card and setup outside then just came inside to review on the big screen.



jdramirez said:


> I manually AFMA... maybe I'm way off, but I think I got pretty dang close. I initially took readings at -20 through +20 in increments of five (both wide and tele), found the zone I thought looked best by comparing in lightroom... then I took a sample of 7 spots in increments of 1.
> 
> It took about 3 hours for two lenses... but I like to think of it as fun hours rather than work and toil.
> 
> ...


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 24, 2013)

East Wind Photography said:


> My frustration with the program is beyond words. So I just keep putting out there that when you use FoCal, you still need a way to verify the AFMA such as with a spydercal. Dont "trust" that FoCal has worked as expected. You need to verify what it's produced and at that point you might as well just use SpyderCal or LensCal in the first place.



How do you verify your SpyderLensCal results? Personally, I never found that 8-10 shots were enough with a LensAlign Pro. 

As I said, I get equivalent results with FoCal and LensAlign when I do compare them, but the LensAlign is a lot more work. Perhaps it's that digital image analysis (of microscopy images) was part of my day job for many years, but I know that a properly-written algorithm can pick the sharpest image from a group better than a human eye, particularly when the images are close. Gauging the edges of the DoF on the angled ruler was not always obvious (particular with slower lenses at longer distances). I'll also take a quantitative analysis over a qualitative analysis any day of the week. 

I'm honestly not sure why you're getting inconsistent results with the setup you describe. But perhaps I am getting consistent results because of how I use FoCal - for image analysis only. They do seem to have worked toward predictive algorithms with each release, so that fewer shots are required per test. It may be that their algorithms aren't all that predictive - undersampling with a system that has both systematic and random error can easily lead to erroneous results. Since I got the 1D X before there was any FoCal support, I was forced to use Manual Mode - and I found it easy and very robust. I still do it that way. Granted...I know that I'm oversampling (a lot), but my curve fits are solid, and the conclusion is visually evident. Before FoCal, I wrote a Matlab script to do a similar analysis - FoCal is easier, with a nice front end GUI (something I have no idea how to code), and it works on jpgs instead of requiring conversion to tifs.

My setup is pretty simple - I leave a target taped to the basement wall (I've got enough room down there for up to a 300mm lens; outdoors I tape a target to the fence), set up the camera on a stable tripod, align as best I can (using the camera's level and my eyeball alignment), and shoot two shots per even AFMA value over |10| (defocused in opposite directions) and three shots from -10 to +10 (two defocused opposite then one without defocusing). Setup takes less than 5 minutes, taking the 83 shots per test takes about 10 minutes. It's quite obvious what the correct result should be, based on the curve. In the software, I can click on any point on the plot and see the image from which the data point was derived. What's to verify?


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jun 24, 2013)

I finally sold my lens align tool because I was not getting consistent results. After getting focal, my results are consistent and its fast, I can do several lenses in a hour.
As others have noted, a high shutter speed (lots of light) works far better than fighting to get a absolutely solid mount for the camera and lens so you can shoot at 1/10th second.

The other reason is my inability to be certain which image is the sharpest, I just can't discern the answer consistently. It probably does not matter if I am within 3 points, but in some cases, I was closer to 10 points off when doing the test with the Len Align tool.

Obviously, some have very acute vision and can sort out the sharpness difference from image to image, but they are not the majority. 

There is a learning curve with FoCal, but once you have done your first 10 lenses, it gets pretty easy because you learn from mistakes. All my charts are printed and mounted to stiff foam core which is attached to a tripod with a QR plate. I pre-ordered FoCal before the first release, and saved on the price. There was one user on CR who was a beta tester and pointed us toward it. It was well worth the cost.

With the Lens Align, I took a shot with contrast detect, and then adjusted the AFMA to be as close as possible.

Here is a contrast detect with my 100L, for example. The adjusted image looks the same. The issue comes when you realize that contrast detect is greatly inconsistent, which wasn't well known at the time.









Here is a early shot of me using FoCal indoors. The target is mounted to the tripod on the light table , while my laptop is mounted to the tripod. This caused issues if I moved, because the floor would shake the tripod, camera, and even the target. I now setup on concrete in my garage, or with the camera in the garage and the target outdoors in bright light for longer lenses.







Here is one page of the pdf report that FoCal saves for each test. All the test images are included as 100% crops in the report, so if your eyes are very good, you can confirm the results visually.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 24, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> to be fair their system was pretty quick in generating a ticket number for my problem so I'm pretty confident they'll get back to me.


*UPDATE:*
Waiting on Reikan to contact me for the ticket they generated for my complaint on Friday ... so far my Ticket Status with Reikan shows as "Being Procesed" (refer to the attachment) ... will keep posting my experience with Reikan and how they resolve this problem ... hope it helps those who are considering FoCal.


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## East Wind Photography (Jun 24, 2013)

I know you seem to have good results reading your posts over the last year or so. I wish I had similar success. FoCal seemed to be what was needed. Perhaps your manual mode is the ticket and just manually removing the outliers as needed to fit the curve. However the software should be able to do this automatically (at least the analysis part) which it does not seem to do well.

With the SpyderCal it is very easy (at least for me) to determine what is in focus and what is out of focus. In 10 shots I would say 8 produce the same result and the other two maybe off by .25cm. I ignore them and use the ones that are consistent to determine which way to move the AFMA adjustment. I've also found that changing the brightness and using unsharp masking can help reveal the lines that are in focus and those that are not. Example, using ACR you can hold the ALT key and move the masking slider to optimize your view of the infocus lines.

To be honest, looking at the Focal Target images is not easy for me to determine which ones are sharper, particularly when AFMA is maybe one or two from another. I can discern that on my SpyderCal fairly easily hence my need to verify what FoCal is reporting (which for me is obviously wrong).



neuroanatomist said:


> East Wind Photography said:
> 
> 
> > My frustration with the program is beyond words. So I just keep putting out there that when you use FoCal, you still need a way to verify the AFMA such as with a spydercal. Dont "trust" that FoCal has worked as expected. You need to verify what it's produced and at that point you might as well just use SpyderCal or LensCal in the first place.
> ...


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## DJD (Jun 24, 2013)

Does anyone have some good real world example photos of before and after using FoCal that illustrate the improvement?

Thanks,
DJD


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 25, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > unfortunately, by the time I sent a message to Reikan it was past 5pm GMT yesterday, (they are closed for the weekend) so I'll have to wait till Monday.
> ...


*UPDATE No.2*
Woke up very late today coz last night Qatar declared today as a public holiday, coz the Emir (ruler of the nation) handed over the power to his 33 year old son (I think it is brilliant to have youth leading the nation) hence the holiday and the cause to get up late ... anyway, back to the topic:
11 hours ago Reikan sent me an email (but I just saw it now, coz I woke up very late ... by the way, Reikan's website says 72 hours, I'm assuming that is business hours, for getting back to customer complaints ... they got back to me in abiut 24 business hours, as I only sent in the complaint at the end of their business week ... so I'd say Reikan's turn-around time is very good ) ... now, here is 
*Reikan's message:*

Hi,

Sorry to hear that - just let me ask you a couple more questions:

Can you confirm you installed mono 2.10.9 from the fo-cal website?

Are you using any form of usb extension cable, usb hub? Have you tried the camera in a different port?

I assume you get past the find and connect part of the connection?

many thanks
...
*
My Reply:*
Hi,

Thank you for your email.
Originally I installed the wrong Mono framework (version 3.10.12) and FoCal wold not allow me to run the program, it asked me to install the correct version ... so I uninstalled the wrong version (3.10.12) and installed the correct version (2.10.9) ... after this FoCal opened up and began the tests until I got the error messages.

Yes I was successful in getting past the "find and connect" part of the connection.

I used the USB cable that came with my Canon 5D MK III, I did not use any extensions ... I also tried 2 different USB cables just to be sure that it wasn't the fault of the cable. 

My MacBook Pro has 2 USB ports and I tried in both.

My first attempt was using the "Fully Automatic" mode ... heard a couple of shots being taken and in the info section it said "Defocusing Lens" and a few seconds later I got this error "LiveViewStae: Action timeout"

The I re-launched FoCal and tried the "Semi Automatic" mode ... heard a couple of shots being taken and a few seconds later, I get an error message 'DoPhaseDetectAF: Action timeout'

I ran the test 6 times (3 times on Fully Automatic mode & 3 times on Semi Automatic Mode), kept getting the same error messages every single time at about the same time.

Can't figure out what is causing these errors ... your assistance in resolving this issue is most appreciated.
...

Will keep you posted on further developments.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 25, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...


*UPDATE 3*
While I'm waiting for Reikan to get back, I decided to update to version 1.9.0M (which was released a few hours after I bought FoCal on 21 June 2013) ... after installation, I chose "Fully Automatic" Mode ... everything worked fine ... it took about 21 photos after that, I got a "Warning" saying: "Unexpected analysis results: adding more test photos..." ... after this it took more photos (38 in all) and gave me another message that the test yielded inconsistent results and if want to restart the test or quite (or something to that effect) ... I am assuming it might have something to do with me touching the camera to change AFMA values. I am going to rerun the test and re-post with an update. But the good news is that FoCal is working ... Yippee!
I have not informed Reikan that I updated to the newer version ... gonna do that after I re-start and complete at least one test.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 25, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...


*UPDATE 4*
I ran the test again with EF 50mm f/1.4 ... FoCal seemed to work fine, prompting me to change the AFMA values (which I did as per the prompts) but after 21 shots it said * "Warning": "Unexpected analysis results: adding more test photos..."

I clicked on OK and it took another 17 photos (total 38) then FoCal displayed the following message:
Poor Results
The result obtained from the camera and lens are not behaving as expected despite trying more testing. The overall result may be poor if you continue

Then I changed the lens to EF 40mm f/2.8 and ran the test (making sure the camera to chart distance is 2 meters i.e. 40 x 50x as per the FoCal Test Distance Chart instructions) ... this time the test ran for less than a minute and gave me the following error message:
"Error
Failed to download image from the camera"

... when clicked on OK button, I got this message:
"Error
Could not get analysis information"
                  
Sent another message to Reikan, informing them that I updated to version 1.9.0M and pretty much said exactly what I mentioned in those post ... hopefully they will have some solution.*


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## East Wind Photography (Jun 25, 2013)

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.



Rienzphotoz said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > Rienzphotoz said:
> ...


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 25, 2013)

East Wind Photography said:


> 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?


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 25, 2013)

*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.


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## Ripley (Jun 25, 2013)

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.


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## dexstrose (Jun 25, 2013)

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


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 25, 2013)

Ripley said:


> 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.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 25, 2013)

dexstrose said:


> 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.


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## mackguyver (Jun 25, 2013)

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.


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## East Wind Photography (Jun 25, 2013)

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.



Ripley said:


> 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.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Jun 26, 2013)

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).


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## East Wind Photography (Jun 26, 2013)

Both.



TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> 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).


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## Ripley (Jun 29, 2013)

East Wind Photography said:


> 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.
> 
> ...



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.


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## Rienzphotoz (Jun 29, 2013)

Ripley said:


> East Wind Photography said:
> 
> 
> > 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.
> ...


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)


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## neuroanatomist (Jun 29, 2013)

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


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## ahab1372 (Jun 29, 2013)

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 ...


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## Ripley (Jun 29, 2013)

ahab1372 said:


> 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.


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## fegari (Jun 29, 2013)

I have but problems with this software...it is the first time in my life I cannot use a software, maybe I've really dumbed down with age but since I have it (a year ago or more) I have not been able to adjust a lens ONCE.

Just installed the version 1.9 today and thought to give it a go. Hadn't used it since the first day I got it and besides not wrking It managed to block my 5D3 and had to reset it to factory parameters.

Anyway, today with my shiny new super tripod (previous one was a pain in the ass, thought that was the culprit) still won't work.

First shot, first AFMA change (+1) and the thing just loops and loops asking me to change it to +1 which I had already done...no way to get out of it but unplugging the camera. Have little patience now for this Reikan so I'm going to give the Dot-tune method a try tomorrow, which is free!


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## Rienzphotoz (Jul 1, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


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


I select 'Canon' for 5D MK III and 'Nikon' for D7100 ... see the attached screen shots of my FoCal preferences


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## Rienzphotoz (Jul 1, 2013)

Ripley said:


> ahab1372 said:
> 
> 
> > 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?
> ...


5 USB cables were used (3 for Canon & 2 for Nikon) ... also tried different USB ports on my computers just to make sure that it wasn't the USB cables/ports that were causing the problems ... during the coming weekend, I will try and borrow a Canon 7D to test it out with FoCal.


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## East Wind Photography (Jul 2, 2013)

I get the same issues with a 7D just doesn't take as long for it to error out as it is actually fully auto. Rarely can I get the routine to finish successfully. Meanwhile it just keeps racking up shutter actuations.



Rienzphotoz said:


> Ripley said:
> 
> 
> > ahab1372 said:
> ...


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## mackguyver (Jul 16, 2013)

East Wind Photography said:


> Meanwhile it just keeps racking up shutter actuations.


I know - and the last version or so seems to take 2 shots at every setting (why?) so I think I'm going to try to the manual mode next time. I realized that I had forgotten to calibrate my 50 f/1.2 last night, or I had set it to +20 for some bizarre reason, so I'll give it a try this week and report back on the results.

Also, the new Turbo mode just seem bizarre. I wish the author would explain how it works.


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## mackguyver (Jul 20, 2013)

I tried manual mode today on my 50 f/1.2 on my 5D Mark III and it worked beautifully. It's my toughest lens to calibrate and while I wouldn't use manual mode for my 5D Mark II, considering I have to sit there and fool with my 5D Mark III, it was much more efficient. It took my about 2-3 minutes total to take the shots (2 at each multiple of 5 from -20 to +20) because I didn't have to sit there while it downloaded...and processed...and calculated...

You have to manually enter the AFMA setting, but if you do -20, -20, -15, -15...15, 15, 20, 20 like I did, it's not hard. It still takes a while to process the RAW files, but overall it's a much more pleasurable experience and all but one of my shots was consistent and I got great results. No "adding more shots" crap that I get with it tethered, particularly with this lens.


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## neuroanatomist (Jul 20, 2013)

mackguyver said:


> You have to manually enter the AFMA setting, but if you do -20, -20, -15, -15...15, 15, 20, 20 like I did, it's not hard.



You shouldn't have to enter them manually, at least I never have - the values are in the EXIF metadata. IIRC, after you load the files it doesn't show an AFMA, but it pulls them up during the analysis.


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## kaihp (Jul 21, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> mackguyver said:
> 
> 
> > You have to manually enter the AFMA setting, but if you do -20, -20, -15, -15...15, 15, 20, 20 like I did, it's not hard.
> ...



If mackguyver is using backbutton focus, then he might not have held in the backbutton 
I has sure given me a couple of more grey hairs ???


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## neuroanatomist (Jul 21, 2013)

kaihp said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > mackguyver said:
> ...



With the 1D X, yes. Seems the 5DIII records it regardless. Although perhaps FoCal can't pull it up, it's recorded in the EXIF of 5DIII files.


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## kaihp (Jul 21, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> kaihp said:
> 
> 
> > neuroanatomist said:
> ...



Neuro, we discussed exactly this in another thread recently - I use BBF on my 5D3, and if I don't hold in the BBF-button when releasing the shot, the AFMA doesn't get recorded in a way for FoCal to pick up 

The AFMA info doesn't even show up on the LCD screen, if I don't hold in the BBF.


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## neuroanatomist (Jul 21, 2013)

kaihp said:


> neuroanatomist said:
> 
> 
> > kaihp said:
> ...



I recall, but it was still shown in Exiftool (for 5DIII images, not 1D X images), so it's there even if FoCal can't read it. So, back button AF may be the issue, but as I stated, when you load images into FoCal, it doesn't show the AFMA value even if it's readable.


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## mackguyver (Jul 21, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> kaihp said:
> 
> 
> > neuroanatomist said:
> ...


I didn't realize the BBF could mess things up, but yes, that's what I was using. I thought the AFMA was in the metadata as well - wonder if it's just a software bug.


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## neuroanatomist (Jul 21, 2013)

I believe there's an EXIF flag for whether AF was active, and if not, FoCal ignores the AFMA even if it's there. 

Bottom line, if you use back button AF, make sure you're holding down AF-ON when you press the shutter when shooting for manual FoCal calibration.


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## East Wind Photography (Jul 24, 2013)

I guess there is hope still.  I'll give manual mode a shot when I purchase my next lens. Shouldn't be long now....



mackguyver said:


> I tried manual mode today on my 50 f/1.2 on my 5D Mark III and it worked beautifully. It's my toughest lens to calibrate and while I wouldn't use manual mode for my 5D Mark II, considering I have to sit there and fool with my 5D Mark III, it was much more efficient. It took my about 2-3 minutes total to take the shots (2 at each multiple of 5 from -20 to +20) because I didn't have to sit there while it downloaded...and processed...and calculated...
> 
> You have to manually enter the AFMA setting, but if you do -20, -20, -15, -15...15, 15, 20, 20 like I did, it's not hard. It still takes a while to process the RAW files, but overall it's a much more pleasurable experience and all but one of my shots was consistent and I got great results. No "adding more shots" crap that I get with it tethered, particularly with this lens.


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## mackguyver (Jul 26, 2013)

East Wind Photography said:


> I guess there is hope still.  I'll give manual mode a shot when I purchase my next lens. Shouldn't be long now....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Definitely give it a try, especially if you're a 5DIII or 1DX user, and most especially if you're using fast glass. f/2.8 and slower lenses have never given me any problems, but my 135/2, 85/1.2, 50/1.2, and 24/1.4 have been a challenge, if they've even worked the first 2 or 3 tries.


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## Viggo (Jul 26, 2013)

mackguyver said:


> East Wind Photography said:
> 
> 
> > I guess there is hope still.  I'll give manual mode a shot when I purchase my next lens. Shouldn't be long now....
> ...



Interesting.. I will try manual with my 50 L and see, since it's already adjusted, it will be obvious if I failed or not.. Thanks!


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## pulseimages (May 8, 2014)

I'm thinking of getting the FoCal Pro. I know that you need a tripod and plenty of light. Would it be OK to perform these tests I guess you would call them outside on a driveway on a sunny day?


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## dcm (May 8, 2014)

Probably okay on a CALM, sunny day with no traffic. You don't want any movement/vibration of either the camera or the target. If walking across the floor can affect the results, so can wind or a heavy truck going down the street.


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## Viggo (May 8, 2014)

pulseimages said:


> I'm thinking of getting the FoCal Pro. I know that you need a tripod and plenty of light. Would it be OK to perform these tests I guess you would call them outside on a driveway on a sunny day?



Biggest problem I had outside was the occasional cloud really messing with the light level. But no wind and no clouds should be fine. Just be aware of that 10 ev is quite a bit of light and way too much light can also mess up the test.


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## jdramirez (May 8, 2014)

I did searches for Reikan FoCal @ Adorama, B&H, and Amazon... nothing. Where is the link for the thing?


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## Viggo (May 8, 2014)

jdramirez said:


> I did searches for Reikan FoCal @ Adorama, B&H, and Amazon... nothing. Where is the link for the thing?



http://www.reikan.co.uk/focalweb/

Simply download


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