AF Micro Adjust

[HDNitehawk]

<span style="font-size:small;"]Ok.., I have 8 lenses (3 of which are zooms), 3 bodies, and 2 extenders. So.., that sounds like a lot of different combinations.


<span style="font-size:small;"]Perhaps someone will figure out how many combinations that is, and how long it's going to take me.

Rich should the zooms count as 3 since you should check it wide middle and narrow?


I think the longest part for me with the lens align was the learning curve on how to read the scale quickly. At first I tried reading the exact center of focus, tried various ways to determine if it was front or back focused. I ended up with an average method that was very fast. I would take a series of 30 to 40 pictures in grey scale. Pull the card from the camera and down load to a folder that I named whatever the setting was at the time. Then I went through in adobe bridge at 100%. I found a number on top of the scale like that had just started going out of focus. Then one at the bottom that had just started. Then I would scroll through and just pick up on the numbers, if 20 was in focus on top and out on bottom of the scale it was back focus, you get the idea. I would give them like 1 star, for ff, on focus 2 star, 3 star back focus. Then once I went through them I just looked at the info on bridge and it told me how many of each I had. A typical pattern of a set might be 15 Front Focus 10 On Focus and 15 Back Focus, I would consider this lens to be calibrated.


When testing use an even consistent light. Variations in light change results.


But really do you think you have lenses that need calibration?


Rick

[Richard Lane]

<span style="font-size: 10px;"]Rich should the zooms count as 3 since you should check it wide middle and narrow?


Rick

Sure, the zooms should count as 3 or more, but then the 70-200mm should count as 3 or more without the extender, then 3 with the 1.4X and then 3 with the 2X, then times 3 bodies.


Yikes!


I think I 'll just start with one prime and one body until I could figure it all out.


Rich

[HDNitehawk]

Sure, the zooms should count as 3 or more, but then the 70-200mm should count as 3 or more without the extender, then 3 with the 1.4X and then 3 with the 2X, then times 3 bodies.


Yikes!


I think I 'll just start with one prime and one body until I could figure it all out.

Ok I will try to figure this out to:


Provided you do three settings on each zoom


EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 X2 Bodies would be6 settings (no extender)


EF 24-70mm f/2.8LX 3 Bodies would be 9 settings (no extender)


EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II X 3 BodiesX 2Extenders would be 27 settings


EF 85mm f/1.8 X 3 Bodies X 2 Extenders would be 9 settings (EDIT: Not Extender Compatable so this would be 3)


EF 85mm f/1.2L II X 3 Bodies X 2 Extenders would be 9 settings (EDIT: Not Extender Compatable so this would be 3)


EF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro X 3 Bodies X 2 Extenders would be 9 settings (EDIT: Not Extender Compatable so this would be 3)


EF 135mm f/2.0LX 3 Bodies X 2 Extenders would be 9 settings


EF 300mm f/2.8L IS X 3 Bodies X 2 Extenders would be 9 settings


Which would come up to 87 (Edit:it would be 69 with thecorrections)if you want to go to that extreme


I would guess, maybe be wrong, that you probably treat your multiple bodies just like I do mine, just selective lenses on certain bodies. One is a back up and its only calibrated to one or so lenses. The 1D IV stays on my big teles and the 70 x 200 so I do not do the wide primes on it. My main 5D is calibrated to most of the same lenses as the 1D IV plus the wide lenses and 100mm macro. And the 7D is calibrated to the 500mm and no other, and it never gets used any more anyway. None of mine are calibrated to the 2x as the IQ isn't good enough in my opinion any way. Only the big tele's are calibrated with the 1.4x because I am not going to use it on other lenses.You get the idea, I doubt you will go to69 different settings unless your are very meticulous and then Ithink you should seek counseling about this disorder.


Your idea of tackling one of the primes first is a good idea. The wide primes are harder to do, and the zooms seem more so. Start with the 300mm with your 1D IV, it would be the easiest.


One thing I found after I got my 1D IV, is how much more accurate the 1D body is than the 7D and 5D. All the lenses I have calibrated with the 1D IV except one have been dead on. The shot patterns out of the 1D IV are tighter. The 7D and 5D both loose an occasional shot for no reason, maybe 1 in 20 it just doesn't focus. The 1D almost never misses. These are just observations off of the tripod using lens align.


Good Luck


Rick

[neuroanatomist]

EF 85mm f/1.8 X 3 Bodies X 2 Extenders would be 9 settings


EF 85mm f/1.2L II X 3 Bodies X 2 Extenders would be 9 settings


EF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro X 3 Bodies X 2 Extenders would be 9 settings

Hey Rick, These three lenses are not compatible with Canon extenders.

[HDNitehawk]

EF 85mm f/1.8 X 3 Bodies X 2 Extenders would be 9 settings


EF 85mm f/1.2L II X 3 Bodies X 2 Extenders would be 9 settings


EF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro X 3 Bodies X 2 Extenders would be 9 settings

John


Thanks for correcting me. I was just getting ready to go to the Canon web site and start checking them to see.


But that gets me to 69 compared to your 63, still off somewhere.


I would have thought the 100mm would have been compatable.


Rick

[neuroanatomist]

But that gets me to 69 compared to your 63, still off somewhere.

Yep, I was off - 69 it is.

[Richard Lane]

Wow!


Thanks for the info guys, now I could at least right this down for a plan. I knew it would be a crazy, and unfortunately Rick I am very meticulous like the rest of you guys and gals (you know who you are; insert your name here__________), when it come to things like this, so now you know why it's still sitting in the box. It's called "avoidance".


Now that my little secret is out of the bag, I guess I better get busy. I'm sure I will be searching the archives and counting on you guys for advise, when I finally get busy.


Thanks again..., now everyone get back to work! []


Rich

[Andy Stringer]

Richard,


Just to complicate matters, I have found that my wide aperture primes (f/1.4 and f/1.2) and my 180mm macro all need a slightly different setting at their closest focus distance compared to the typical testing distance of 25 times focal length.


Of course, you can only register one adjustment per lens (or lens+extender combination) on each camera (that's 13 for your 1D and 14 for each 7D, so you'll have to write down the results somewhere if you find (unusually) a large variation in adjustment at different focal lengths and/or focusing distances.

[Richard Lane]

So, when I check wider aperture lenses I will be sure to test them at their minimum focusing distances, as well as the recommended 25 times FL distance.


I didn

[Andy Stringer]

I didn't realize that there was a limit to the amount of lenses that you could register

There is a limit of 20 lenses that you can register per camera (a lens plus extender counts as a separate lens for this purpose), so you won't need to worry about that limit for a while. I was just saying that you have only 13 combinations that will work with your 1D, and 14 combinations for each 7D. You can only register one adjustment per lens, so if you test a zoom lens at three different focal lengths and find that it requires three different adjustments, you'll have to choose one adjustment that suits the way you normally use the lens.

You might choose to do 21 tests with your 1D, but you'll only be able to register 13 values because you only have 13 lens and extender combinations for that camera.