FoCal - Automatic AF Microadjustment Calibrator

[andyz]

Thx. Could be a real profit for photo stores as well.

[Sonny]

***UPDATE***

FoCal is pleased to announce the release of FoCal 1.2. Reikan FoCal - Automatic AF Microadjustment Software

FoCal 1.2 completes support for all AF microadjust capable Canon cameras by adding support for the EOS-1D Mark III and EOS-1D Mark IV. There are also some extra features:

For all versions of FoCal:

- A new method of restoring settings after tests which gives an indication of operation and is more reliable
- Slight tightening of the tolerance for Target Setup
- Slight tweaks to the test report
- Some fixes to Manual Mode to better support non-English versions of Windows

For FoCal Pro:

- An "Expert Mode" panel in the Settings window for FoCal Pro users which allows changing of the defocus method, test aperture and test ISO
- More accurate Target Optimisation functionality which should better remove the effect of small position changes during the test

[Sonny]

Cool new feature coming to version 1.3. This is a post from FoCal's facebook page.

This afternoon, I've been playing with the aperture profiling which will be a feature in FoCal 1.3. It lets you see which apertures are sharpest for your lens.

Todays tests of our Canon 100L show it's a great lens and sharpest from f/4.5 to f/6.3, but generally very sharp anyway until diffraction kicks in (theoretically at around f/9 on the 1D Mark IV which I'm testing with).

The Canon 35L is sharpest by f/2.5 through to f/7.1, but it's not until f/16 that it drops back down to the sharpness level when wide open.

The Canon 50 f/1.8 is a different story... Massive increase in sharpness from wide open through the f/4, then it keeps building slowly to f/6.3 and stays good to f/9. You can definitely see the performance difference between the 50 f/1.8 and the 35L which is around 10 times the price!

This test will be available soon, along with a low-light AF performance test, and as long as we can figure out how to get around a few problems, a shutter speed vibration test too.

[Sonny]

If you're thinking of buying FoCal then checking out Martin Bailey's review.

Other Future Features

Other features that I’m told are on the roadmap are AF Low Light Performance checks. This not only allows you to check the test environment, but will also give you an idea of your lowest exposures at which you can expect good autofocus in the field. Also, a test to find the sharpest apertures of your lenses is coming, and this is very powerful. Imagine being able to just press a few buttons and find your optimal aperture for all your lenses!

Also, Shutter Vibration tests are coming, and this will basically find which shutter speeds are most affected by shutter vibration. I know for example that around 1/50 of the second is really bad for vibration with my 600mm f4 lens, but I’ve not really looked into this for other lenses. Again, being able to work through your lenses finding these details, probably in one fell swoop, is huge in my opinion.

Podcast 321 : Lens Calibration and Microadjustment with FoCal | Blog : Martin Bailey Photography

[Stargazer77517]

I went ahead a got the pro version. I really like it. There are some setup details you need to besure and do, but after that its a 1 button and off it goes type of thing. Ive done 2 lenses with it, and going to do the rest this weekend.
Ran my 24-105 and 70-200. Did 3 test each and was within 1 of each other.
With the pro, you get all the new updates, with the exception of a major change, but that will come as a discounted price.
Pro version in USD was 114.00.
Also I recommend the 50x as canon recommends, so the formula is, say for a 50mm lens
50mm x 50 = 2500mm / 308.8mm = 8 ft from the lens to the target
308.8mm = 1 foot.

[rbalcom]

Originally Posted by Sonny

If you're thinking of buying FoCal then checking out Martin Bailey's review.

Thanks Sonny!

Good information plus it includes a link for discount pricing. Makes the PRO version $74 and change.

[Jim Victory]

Worked great on my MKIII, MKIV, and 5D MKII. Can't wait for the 1Dx so I can adjust both ends of a zoom.

[Sonny]

***Update***

Straight from the FoCal fb page.

FoCal 1.3 development has been going well - over 50 tickets addressed including lots of niggly bug fixes, GUI improvements, adding a few features that people have been asking for since FoCal 1.0, 3 new tests and Nikon support.

It's pretty much feature complete now - a few minor tweaks then it's into a thorough testing cycle to make sure everything works as it should - especially the new Nikon support.

We're planning on a release in the middle of March.

[ptrd]

I bought the pro when it was on sale (~80 usd). Works great!

I can't wait for low light focusing.

[MT Stringer]

So far, I have only tried it with the 1D MK III and the 300 f/2.8. Definitely made a difference.

[Sonny]

***UPDATE***

FoCal 1.3 is here!

We're pleased to announce the release of FoCal 1.3 which you can download from our new License Management System.

FoCal 1.3 is a BIG release with the following changes:

For all versions:

- Support for Nikon cameras
- Improvements to the Target Setup utility
- Reworking of the SemiAuto test to remove the setup/test functionality and redirect to the Target Setup utility.
- GUI improvements, including graphical camera selector, specific camera graphics on the forms, new message boxes etc.
- New Results Upload feature

For FoCal Pro:

- A new AF Consistency Test which allows you to run various tests on the AF system
- A new Aperture Sharpness test which tells you which is the best aperture for the lens and camera sensor
- A new Dust Analysis test which quantifies the dust on your sensor and tells you which apertures will be affected
- Expert Mode setting to allow you to run tests at different focus points and also save the captured images from the camera.
- The ability to limit the AFMA range for Fully Auto testing, and to set your own AFMA value form this form.


License Management System
=========================

Our new License Management System can be accessed at Redirecting to FoCal LMS and allows you to do the following:

- Add or remove cameras on your license
- Change the license name
- Change your contact email
- Add your System ID (for unconnected Manual Mode testing)
- Download the latest versions of software

To log in to the LMS, you simply go to Redirecting to FoCal LMS and enter your email address and either a previously registered camera serial number or your PayPal transaction ID. Then you can make adjustments and update your license.


Nikon Support
=============

Please note that Nikon suppot is not enabled under Windows XP as this OS does not support some of the functionality required for the communications to Nikon cameras. Also, please read the section on Manual Setting Change in the manual for details on how to use all Nikon cameras other than the D3s.


Results Upload
==============

We have added a new feature to allow you to upload your results data to our server. The idea behind this is to build up a database of the typical performance of various cameras and lenses, and then you will be able to compare *your* camera and lens to others and find out how it's behaving. There are lots of other plans for the data that will come in future versions.

Please note - the data contains NO images, simply results data. The only identifiable value is the camera serial number (to look for behaviour among camera batches) which you can choose to hide if you wish to make the data completely anonymous. It would be very useful if you could enable this feature as it would let us start to build the database for enhancements in future versions of FoCal.


Manual
======

The manual has a lot of extra information in, responding to questions about certain features that kept cropping up. It's worth re-reading relevant sections as there are more diagrams and simple explanations about when things like Target Detection will and will not work, as well as details of the new tests.

[arich]

Doesn't help if your lens needs more than -/+20 though =/

[auddii]

Originally Posted by arich

Doesn't help if your lens needs more than -/+20 though =/

Just buy a new lens

[Jim Victory]

Just updated to 1.3 and it doesn't work. It is as though it was wiped from my computer. It won't respond at all. Went back to 1.2 for now until Reikan can determine what the problem is. Running Windows 7 64bit.

[MT Stringer]

Thanks for the heads up, Jim. Maybe I will wait a bit. The current version works just fine for me.