# Best way of doing AF MA?



## Alex (Sep 13, 2012)

Hey guys,

Sorry if this has already been posted before but I was unable to find anything on it.. Sooo... 

What have you found the best way to do the micro adjustment on the autofocus??

Cheers
Alex


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## neuroanatomist (Sep 13, 2012)

Reikan FoCal.


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## cliffwang (Sep 14, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> Reikan FoCal.


+1
If your camera is supported by FoCal, you can adjust a lens in 5 minutes in auto mode, 15 minutes in semi-auto mode.


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## ddl (Sep 14, 2012)

I've tried various eyeball methods (LensAlign Pro, Spyder LensCal, etc.) and have realized that Reiken Focal (Pro for me) is the way to go.

Focal is by far the fastest, easiest and most consistent.

Just be sure to verify focus accuracy at various subject distances where you typically shoot at other than 50 x Focal Length recommended for MA.


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## Viggo (Sep 14, 2012)

FoCal for me also. Now with Mac beta release out. Not for mountain lion.


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## RunAndGun (Sep 14, 2012)

FoCal


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## DanielG. (Sep 15, 2012)

Viggo said:


> FoCal for me also. Now with Mac beta release out. Not for mountain lion.



The beta doesn't run on Mountain Lion?


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## Viggo (Sep 15, 2012)

DanielG. said:


> Viggo said:
> 
> 
> > FoCal for me also. Now with Mac beta release out. Not for mountain lion.
> ...



Something about a driver from Canon being released in October I think. I swapped to Lion from snow leopard, but it never worked with my hardware so I'm still running SL.


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## DanielG. (Sep 15, 2012)

Viggo said:


> Something about a driver from Canon being released in October I think. I swapped to Lion from snow leopard, but it never worked with my hardware so I'm still running SL.


Thanks, now I've found the info myself (of course after asking).



> At present, the Canon interface files don’t work on Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8), so you need Lion (10.7) to run FoCal. The Canon website indicates that they will support Mountain Lion in early October, and we think that there won’t be any change needed to FoCal in order to run.
> http://www.reikan.co.uk/focalweb/index.php/2012/09/first-focal-for-mac-beta-release/


Good thing I didn't have the time for updating to ML yet.


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## canon816 (Sep 15, 2012)

I've tried all the methods and focal pro is the best. The fact that there seems to be consensus here speaks volumes as to the effectiveness of focal.


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## kaihp (Sep 16, 2012)

I really like FoCal as well, although I'm getting incorrect results on my 70-200 Mk I. Focal concludes that -1 is the optimum AFMA value, but real shooting shows that +6 is the right amount. I suspect that my setup around the focus target is the culprit, not focal itself.


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## Axilrod (Sep 18, 2012)

Do you need some kind of physical object for focal to work or...?


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## neuroanatomist (Sep 18, 2012)

Axilrod said:


> Do you need some kind of physical object for focal to work or...?



FoCal provides targets that you print out yourself, ideally on heavy matte paper with an inkjet printer


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## aznable (Sep 18, 2012)

focal is easy to use...nothing miracolous but you will save a lot of time

here a link to buy with 40% discount
http://www.reikan.co.uk/focal/mbp45/


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## funkboy (Sep 18, 2012)

Keith at Northlight has a really good tutorial on how to do AF calibration for free on your computer monitor. Reichmann at LL also has a nice tutorial on how to use the LensAlign tool.

Good luck


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## csli (Sep 18, 2012)

aznable said:


> focal is easy to use...nothing miracolous but you will save a lot of time
> 
> here a link to buy with 40% discount
> http://www.reikan.co.uk/focal/mbp45/



Should I get the Focal Plus or Focal Pro?

Thanks,


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## bkorcel (Sep 18, 2012)

Get the pro version so you have access to all of the other cool tests and reports.



csli said:


> aznable said:
> 
> 
> > focal is easy to use...nothing miracolous but you will save a lot of time
> ...


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## csli (Sep 18, 2012)

bkorcel said:


> Get the pro version so you have access to all of the other cool tests and reports.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## csli (Sep 18, 2012)

bkorcel said:


> Get the pro version so you have access to all of the other cool tests and reports.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



OK, thanks!


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## bklein61 (Sep 19, 2012)

I am wondering when you do the microadjustment with FoCal do you leave your UV filter on or take it off. I presently using B&W XS Pro on my lenses.


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## bkorcel (Sep 19, 2012)

Since AFMA is calculated using internal functions it technically shouldnt matter if you leave it on or take it off. I would take it off if it were me (I dont use filters on my lenses). 

However you can also run a sharpness test with the pro version and it will cycle through every F stop and calculate the best Fstop for the sharpest image. Test with and without the filter to see how much your filter is affecting your images.



bklein61 said:


> I am wondering when you do the microadjustment with FoCal do you leave your UV filter on or take it off. I presently using B&W XS Pro on my lenses.


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## Studio1930 (Sep 19, 2012)

Yep, another focal pro user here.


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## felipey (Sep 20, 2012)

Question about AFMA for two 5D3s. Do I need to do each AFMA separately or can I just use the settings from the first body and copy it to the second?


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## Studio1930 (Sep 20, 2012)

felipey said:


> Question about AFMA for two 5D3s. Do I need to do each AFMA separately or can I just use the settings from the first body and copy it to the second?



You have to do it for each body. The whole point of a AFMA setting is to correct the slight differences in lenses and bodies. One body may be off by -2 and a lens may be off by +2 which means it focuses just fine (net of zero) but the other body may be off by -6 and the same lens is off by +2 for a net of -4.


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## felipey (Sep 20, 2012)

I see, is it typically done for all the lenses you use or just the ones you are having issues with?


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## Studio1930 (Sep 20, 2012)

felipey said:


> I see, is it typically done for all the lenses you use or just the ones you are having issues with?



All of them since you may not realize that you are not getting the sharpest image possible. Some of my lenses I thought were pretty good actually needed a fair amount of correction. They are crazy sharp now.


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## felipey (Sep 20, 2012)

Sounds good, thanks. I'm going to try them all tonight when I get home.


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## bkorcel (Sep 20, 2012)

Dang....now I need to get a 200 f/2!



Studio1930 said:


> Yep, another focal pro user here.


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## Wideopen (Sep 21, 2012)

Just got Reikan Focal Pro last night for my mac since theres a beta version now and absolutely love it. Very simple to use Well worth the price.


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