Canon 5DMK3 MA focus adjustment

videonastie

videonastie

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Can anyone point me in the direction of a "how to" for 5DMK3 focus adjustment?
 
There's a great computer programme called FoCal that you can use - as easy as printing off their focus image, putting your lens on, positioning camera and focus image approx 50x focal distance apart, connecting your camera to your pc/laptop then pressing 'go' - it will do it all for you for all your lenses! Brilliant piece of software
 
Weetobix said:
Except Focal doesn't auto calibrate with the 5D3.
You can still use it to help manually calibrate it though - I've done it with my 5D3
Click to expand...

Was it fairly simple to do & what version did you purchase?
 
Metal God said:
I've used FoCal with my 5DMKIII. Although its not fully automatic (you have to set the micro adjustments manually), the software makes the process very easy to understand and do.
Click to expand...

Will the standard FoCal suffice?
 
I like Focal and have the Pro version, but for my 5D3 I don't bother with it as I find the manual tweaks to be too tedious. Instead I use a method discovered by Arash Hazeghi, which uses EOS Utility and Live view to determine the most suitable AFMA value by nudging focus from the laptop/PC until the sharpest image is obtained. Just count the nudges required, and the direction, and input the count as your AFMA value....

http://arihazeghiphotography.com/MA-web/


Something else I've seen, but have yet to try, is the approach described here....

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1187247
 
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Used FoCal today for my 85mm 1.2, (which I've always thought isn't right) on a Mac & I'm impressed with the software & how easy it was to work with.

It recommend a +4 after flying through the testing.

I tested it in my bedroom, with the target by the window, as it has been a nice bright day.

I'm out tomorrow, so I'll be shooting away to see if there is any difference & whether the alteration to the lens has worked.

Thanks for everyone's input.
 
tdodd said:
I like Focal and have the Pro version, but for my 5D3 I don't bother with it as I find the manual tweaks to be too tedious. Instead I use a method discovered by Arash Hazeghi, which uses EOS Utility and Live view to determine the most suitable AFMA value by nudging focus from the laptop/PC until the sharpest image is obtained. Just count the nudges required, and the direction, and input the count as your AFMA value....

http://arihazeghiphotography.com/MA-web/


Something else I've seen, but have yet to try, is the approach described here....

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1187247
Click to expand...

Great spot Tim :thumbs: This is genius :) So simple, works a treat. Just tried a few lenses and it matches my carefully crafted settings exactly. Thanks!

If you don't mind, I've taken the liberty of starting another thread on this so others may benefit, here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=5372837#post5372837
 
I could be wrong, but I think the latest Focal release candidate includes a new calibration method which uses this very technique. I tried it out with my 7D yesterday and got results within 1 or 2 increments of my previous adjustments. It is undoubtedly quick and painless, but only automates something we could do for ourselves with some tedium.

It's such a shame that these automated approaches still can't be fully applied to the 5D3 due to Canon's annoying unwillingness to allow the SDK to change AFMA values through software.
 
tdodd said:
I could be wrong, but I think the latest Focal release candidate includes a new calibration method which uses this very technique. I tried it out with my 7D yesterday and got results within 1 or 2 increments of my previous adjustments. It is undoubtedly quick and painless, but only automates something we could do for ourselves with some tedium.

It's such a shame that these automated approaches still can't be fully applied to the 5D3 due to Canon's annoying unwillingness to allow the SDK to change AFMA values through software.
Click to expand...

Yes, that was my thinking too - just a manual method of extracting the camera's own AF data to calibrate itself... kind of!

So simple and obvious really, surprised nobody seems to have thought of this method before now.
 
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