# 5dmkiii calib report from FIXATION LONDON doesn't sounds right



## Despman (Oct 14, 2013)

Hi guys, I need ur suggestions here;
I got a new 5dmarkiii but when I test it with "focal" software and the canon 50mm 1.4 is front focus, I tried 2 new canon 50mm 1.4, one need dial about +10(varies slightly with distance) or so the other need dial about +15; I also tried 2 new sigma 50mm 1.4 one need dail >+20 which is out of AFMA range and the other need dail +17; (all tested in good light condition with steady tripod at f1.4 in the distance of 1.5-2.4 meters)
It seems to me it's the camera body need calibrate, so I sent it to FIXATION in London vauxhall and their report says:" reset functions all appear ok fault may be with lens"--- all 4 new lens shows all need at least >+10 AFMA? Does that sounds normal? I felt that FIXATION didn't check the focus issue of the body properly, what do they mean by saying: "reset function?" I don't need u to reset it as I knew there is a button in the menu that I can reset all to factory settings ,and When i got the camera back from them, all my custom settings with the camera is still there!!! What exactly did they reset/do? I also don't believe that all the 4 new lens are all front focusing, does it sounds FIXATION did a dodgy job(or actually did nothing?)---please correct me if I'm wrong
Today I sent one canon 50 1.4 one sigma 50 1.4 for them to calibrate since they suggest it's lens fault--- I don't want to sent both the body and lens as I don't want they calibrate the body to suite the lens as I will buy quite a few other lens and I just want get a perfect body and adjust lens accordingly; will interestingly to see what they say when they check the lens, i attached the original body report to them as well; 
I got the feeling that the guys at FIXATION may not able to fix my problem, will us guys suggest me sent to canon RCC when I got my lens back?
Many thx in advance!


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## Jim Saunders (Oct 14, 2013)

If your AFMA is within limits, what else is there to worry about? The Sigma that was off-scale isn't going to be a lot of use but if the rest deliver useful images I'd say use them.

Jim


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## Despman (Oct 14, 2013)

Jim Saunders said:


> If your AFMA is within limits, what else is there to worry about? The Sigma that was off-scale isn't going to be a lot of use but if the rest deliver useful images I'd say use them.
> 
> Jim


for that one canon lens with the best results I tested, distance from 1.7-2.2 meter need +8 to +10, distance <1.5meter need +13 to +15, distance > 2.5meter need +15, and I didn't check >2.5 meter as text target is not big enough, the software cannot fint target constanttly; thus I don't think it is useable as it varies a lot to distance, and I haven't test with different Apeture combi yet and think the results may get just worse


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## tiltshift (Oct 14, 2013)

If lenses didn't need AFMA and needed 0 correction right from factory then AFMA would cease to exist. 

but since Canon then gives -20 to 20 to adjust with since I am guessing they feel this is the range that lenses need calibration. If your lenses fall in this range and produce good results I don't see an issue. 

If your having issues with bad results or lenses are above or below 20 then I would start to be concerned.


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## Martin (Oct 14, 2013)

My 5d3 body is extremely faulty but it is not the case in this topic. However I have tested 7 or 8 50 1.4s and ALL of them behave similar. All need AFMA od different distances, all have a lot of of focus shift. As I write in a lot of forums, below reviews etc-that lens cannot be calibrated properly. Those lens are faulty by design and I have really completely no idea why no one mention this in any review. I am 100% sure that's a problem of all 50mm, and it is not connected with AF inconsistency. This lens cannot be calibrated properly with AFMA as well as with service center. I checked a lot of this. 

1/ the AFMA on short distance does not solve problem on long distance (completely different values) 

2/ on short ( 50cm-1m) distance when stopping down to ie. f4 there is a focus shift therefore the DOF is way off the desired plane

3/ side AF points behave different than center point (it could be a body problem in my case) 

Checked with many 50s and all behave the same way.


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## Viggo (Oct 14, 2013)

Since all lenses are massively front focusing I say it's the
Body that needs calibration. 

The reason I send in both lenses and bodies is because they adjust the body to a reference body, and then
The lenses. That way lenses you buy later, that aren't whacked out, will need only slightly adjustment. All of my lenses have only needed -4 to +3 . The 24 L II needed +13 and that's obviously the lens, but it was not a very good AF lens even adjusted correctly. If that is because of the big adjustment or a useless lens, I don't know.


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## Atonegro (Oct 14, 2013)

The guys at Fixation could be right.
Check if you have the latest firmware, (1.2.1) the older can induce the faults you describe.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Oct 15, 2013)

I'd send it to Canon, ask them to calibrate the AF of the camera.
There were no firmware updates to fix front focusing issues.


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## CharlieB (Oct 15, 2013)

Despman said:


> Jim Saunders said:
> 
> 
> > If your AFMA is within limits, what else is there to worry about? The Sigma that was off-scale isn't going to be a lot of use but if the rest deliver useful images I'd say use them.
> ...



I had a similar problem with my 7D. Every lens would be one AFMA correction at distance, and a totally different correction at close up. It seems that things would focus ok at about 4-6 meters or so. Sent to Canon, got it back in two weeks. They changed a LOT, including a new card slot, release button, entire focusing unit... something else too, I forget what it is. Anyway, the camera is good to go now. My 5Dii runs all my lenses at a little bit of -AFMA correction, maybe... -4 to about -6 or so. The 7D runs everything at +AFMA by a little less, maybe around +3 to +4. 

If you have doubts, send it, AND the lenses to Canon.


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