FoCal MA tool available for 1DmkIII & 1DmkIV

sparkling elk · Feb 26, 2012

i found myself drinking a coffee while my good old 1D3 was "focaled" just over my head towards the target on the wall. that says it. i think you have to run and re-run series (at different apertures and different distances) to find the optimal MA value. this is like 3-dimensional microadjusting.

i could run auto tests immediately, without needing to study a lot. great: you can change the AV value via monitor and repeat series of the same setup with different apertures.

i knew that my 200L was backfocussing and the value documented is somehow what i found out via manual MA.

but what surprises me was the +15 of my 135L (all close and wide open). i will check that now and see if this is true. thought the 200L was worse than the 135L. so such kind of surprises seem to become reality with focal.

i can confirm that good lightning is a must to get good series.

M Stewart said:
Richard said:

How hard have users found it to get the target set up exactly right especially in the Pro version?

Richard

Click to expand...

I bought the Pro version on Friday, and had to buy a USB extender cable, and then read the manual to understand what I was trying to do.

I started my testing yesterday evening in poor artificial light - CFLs in my lounge. The software warned me about low light levels. I added a reflector 60W tungsten at about 4' from the target, and this removed the error messages. I then did a number of tests using EF 50F1.4, EF 85 F1.8 and EFs 18-55. Bodies used were 50D, 1D III, & 5D II. I used the fully automatic mode, and frequently the software got to the default warning count of 30 shots, and in many cases the fit of the curve was poor. I think my worst results were with my newest lens - the EF 70-200 F4L IS, and which has a small maximum aperture, so exposures were quite long.

This morning it's sunny, so I've opened the curtains, had another go with the 5D II & the EF 50 F1.4. What a difference! The curve fit is reported as "excellent" and it only needed 11 shots for its test. Same set-up as last night, 2.3m distance, same tripod etc. but much more light & a totally different result, and with an "Excellent" fit recorded for the curve.

I've done a wide range of tests over the years, so I didn't need the target search assistance tools although I did try them briefly.

If this software gets accepted, it could have a big effect on the used lens market! The only thing missing at the moment is the serial number of the lens under test, which as far as I know isn't reported by the lens to the camera body.

Illumination for indoor testing? I'm now thinking of using 300W or 500W tungsten-halogen lamps so that I can test my shorter lenses in the evening. (i.e. Builders' flood lamps.)

--
M. Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK

--
e.aland

mevbo · Feb 26, 2012

M Stewart said:
Richard said:

How hard have users found it to get the target set up exactly right especially in the Pro version?

Richard

Click to expand...

I bought the Pro version on Friday, and had to buy a USB extender cable, and then read the manual to understand what I was trying to do.

I started my testing yesterday evening in poor artificial light - CFLs in my lounge. The software warned me about low light levels. I added a reflector 60W tungsten at about 4' from the target, and this removed the error messages. I then did a number of tests using EF 50F1.4, EF 85 F1.8 and EFs 18-55. Bodies used were 50D, 1D III, & 5D II. I used the fully automatic mode, and frequently the software got to the default warning count of 30 shots, and in many cases the fit of the curve was poor. I think my worst results were with my newest lens - the EF 70-200 F4L IS, and which has a small maximum aperture, so exposures were quite long.

This morning it's sunny, so I've opened the curtains, had another go with the 5D II & the EF 50 F1.4. What a difference! The curve fit is reported as "excellent" and it only needed 11 shots for its test. Same set-up as last night, 2.3m distance, same tripod etc. but much more light & a totally different result, and with an "Excellent" fit recorded for the curve.

I've done a wide range of tests over the years, so I didn't need the target search assistance tools although I did try them briefly.

If this software gets accepted, it could have a big effect on the used lens market! The only thing missing at the moment is the serial number of the lens under test, which as far as I know isn't reported by the lens to the camera body.

Illumination for indoor testing? I'm now thinking of using 300W or 500W tungsten-halogen lamps so that I can test my shorter lenses in the evening. (i.e. Builders' flood lamps.)

--
M. Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK

After using this software several times, I have found that natural light works the best by far. I did mine the first time with halogen spots - 4 x 500W. While it worked, I wasn't quite happy with the results in the real world. I re-did on a sunny day with all the curtains open and good natural light on the target. It worked much better. I still need to do my long lenses outside once the weather allows

M Stewart · Feb 26, 2012

mevbo said:
After using this software several times, I have found that natural light works the best by far. I did mine the first time with halogen spots - 4 x 500W. While it worked, I wasn't quite happy with the results in the real world. I re-did on a sunny day with all the curtains open and good natural light on the target. It worked much better. I still need to do my long lenses outside once the weather allows

Most of my serious photography is birds, and to check my long lenses against a target in my garden, I needed something longer than the 3m of my initial USB extension cable. My set-up is a powered USB2 hub, and then 6m of USB2 extension cables (2 x 3m) and then a 0.9m USB to mini into the camera. The shop salesman gave out warnings about daisy-chaining USB2 extension cables, but it all seems to work with my 50D.

I also picked up a 400W flood lamp (500W are no longer available!) and will give it a try, bearing in mind your comments about daylight being better.

Now - can anyone recommend low cost or free software to edit the FoCal pdf reports down to just the summary 2nd & 3rd sheets?

--
M. Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK

Hank3152 · Feb 27, 2012

Richard said:
How hard have users found it to get the target set up exactly right especially in the Pro version?

I finally got a powered 16' USB extension so I can set up and tether my 1DmkIV in the hallway for a 35' shot down the hallway to the wall where I posted the target. This distance is good for a 200mm lens but I still needed better lighting since it took 37 shots before completeing the test.

To answer your question, I aligned the center of the target perpendicular and to the same height as the center of the lens which was secured on the tripod, then adjusted the center AF point on the target. It took a few minor tweaks to get it right........

I connected the USB cable and verified it was zeroed on my monitor which displayed a large green check mark and then proceeded to the test.

All in all it's a time saving and efficient program which is well worth the price if you have a supported MFA body or two with several lenses..........I'm thrilled

--
Regards,
Hank

Hank3152 · Feb 29, 2012

Believing the camera was actually taking pics of the target since I was hearing the shutter/mirror slap I was pleasantly surprised to see that no images were recorded therefore unaffecting the shutter count.
Am I missing something..........?? Was I just hearing the mirror slap?

--
Regards,
Hank

M Stewart · Feb 29, 2012

Hank3152 said:
Believing the camera was actually taking pics of the target since I was hearing the shutter/mirror slap I was pleasantly surprised to see that no images were recorded therefore unaffecting the shutter count.
Am I missing something..........?? Was I just hearing the mirror slap?

--
Regards,
Hank

Your images I guess are recorded to temporary files, and just the cropped centres used for analysis are saved to the pdf format report. I've checked my image numbers before and after using FoCal, and they're continuous.

I've no idea whether this is normal when the camera is used in a tethered mode.

--
M. Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK

Hank3152 · Feb 29, 2012

M Stewart said:
Your images I guess are recorded to temporary files, and just the cropped centres used for analysis are saved to the pdf format report. I've checked my image numbers before and after using FoCal, and they're continuous.

I've no idea whether this is normal when the camera is used in a tethered mode.

Perhaps when it's tethered you lose most of the physical controls over it.....

I was expecting the 100 or more samples to increase my shutter count so I was surprised it remained intact..........
--
Regards,
Hank

Hank3152 · Feb 29, 2012

M Stewart said:
Your images I guess are recorded to temporary files, and just the cropped centres used for analysis are saved to the pdf format report. I've checked my image numbers before and after using FoCal, and they're continuous.

I've no idea whether this is normal when the camera is used in a tethered mode.

I just received an email from the FoCal developer -

QUOTE

"I'm working hard on FoCal 1.3 at the moment and it's got 3 more tests in (AF consistency, one to find the sharpest aperture for your lenses and another to show you all the dust on the sensor and tell you when and where it will affect your photos), as well as loads of GUI tweaks and bug fixes. It's due mid March - you'll get an email about it when it's ready.

As for the shutter count - there are definitely shutter actuations. It seems that some (or possibly all) of the Canon cameras don't increase the shutter count when the shutter is controlled from the PC (so this would apply to any tether shooting application also)."

--
Regards,
Hank

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FoCal MA tool available for 1DmkIII & 1DmkIV

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