Calibrating lens with FoCal software...

dmcdtc

http://www.reikan.co.uk/focalweb/

Has anyone used this software?  Any thoughts, recommendations on this software?

I'm thinking of purchasing it and was looking for opinions on it.

Thanks in advance.

Dennis

Jerry

I haven't used this piece of software myself, however, since I saw your post, I've spent a couple of hours reading reviews/blogs etc. about it, all good as far as I can see, and a lot of people seem to recommend it. It has actually peaked my interest in possibly purchasing it myself.

Cheers

Jerry

CanonJay

@dmcdtc.....I have used this software on every lens I have for a Canon 5D Mark III. I have had great results. I would highly recommend it. Money well spent!

TonyT

Same here, I bought the plus version earlier this year then decided to upgrade to the pro version. Very pleased with the performance of the software, the few L lenses I have were pretty good anyway and needed only minor tweaking. My old 28-135mm was slightly soft on my 6D (not that I use it much nowadays) but Focal did its job and now it's sharpness is much improved. The pro version gives you a few more tests and allows you to save the reports, 

Aperture sharpness test is a good one.

Not all cameras have full auto adjustment supported but that's down to the camera manufacturer releasing the sdk for reiken to utilise.

I know the 5DMk3 was semi-automatic unless that has changed recently.

Worth the money imo.

dmcdtc

Thanks for the reviews...I have the LensAlign system but I find it cumbersome.  From the reviews I've read and your recommendations I think I'll be purchasing the Pro version soon.

Thanks again.

Dennis

Zenon

CanonJay. I had read a while ago that they could not break the code for the 5D3 so the software advertised as fully automatic is actually not fully auto. I know it still works. It has been a while. If this is still the case I imagine it will be the same for the 7D2.    

CanonJay

Hi Zenon! I use FoCal Plus in semi automatic. For what it is worth, it is pretty simple to use. The fist time using it was a little rough, since I wasn't sure how things work, but once you go through it once or twice, it goes smoothly. (Hint) When putting a target up, make sure it is in good natural light I have found. I tried the first time and put a modeling light on it from my monolight with mixed results. 

Zenon

Thanks. I have read lighting is critical. 

sazerac

I have used the Pro version for my Nikons and it does work well. Occasional crash but generally is working smoothly. You have to enter the Fine Tuning points manually in the Nikon but it's no problem.  

dmcdtc

Okay so I went ahead and purchased the FoCal Pro version and dialed in a few of my lenses.

But, now I'm confused what to do with one of my lenses...I have the 70-200mm 2.8 VR (not the new VRII version).

I ran the test on a few focal lengths to see where there may need to be adjustments...here are my results:

70mm....-12

105mm...-17

135mm...-14

200mm...-1

I ran the test twice to confirm (especially at 200mm).

So my concern is what to set the correction at to get the best overall results.  I'm concerned that the numbers are so 'high' for 3 focal lengths and then when it gets to 200mm it's only 'off' -1.  I really don't know where to set it for a good average overall...initially i was thinking at -7 but just aren't sure.

Another concern is that maybe there's a lens issue that needs to be fixed by Nikon?

Anyways what are your thoughts?

Thanks

Dennis