How to Get Sharper Photos - Auto Focus Micro Adjustment (AFMA)
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2024
- Want sharper photos? Are you using auto focus micro adjustment or lens calibration USB docks? Check this out!
Gear used in this video:
Canon 5D Mark IV (affiliate): geni.us/can5DIV
Canon 50mm f1.2L (affiliate): geni.us/Can5012L
TIMELINE
What is autofocus micro adjustment? 0:39
Methods of “AFMA” 2:38
Do you need it? Things to keep in mind 4:21
Getting ready to adjust your AFMA 5:07
Testing my lens with Focal software 7:07
Focal Software: www.reikanfocal.com/
B&H Article: www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/...
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I have watched a lot of videos on this subject and I feel like this is the best video I have seen thank you.
Jason
Thanks so much! I'm really glad it was helpful :)
Agree with Jason below: excellent explanation, thank you! I will definitely use Focal for my camera & lenses.
Thanks so much! I really appreciate that and glad that it was helpful :)
Great video, easy to understand and nice to see a YT presentation from someone who actually knows what they are talking about!
Thanks so much! I appreciate that :-D
I'm rolling with manual adjust but your overview of pros/cons of storing AFMA adjustments in the lens vs body was quite useful, thanks Scott!
I Always Use Auto Focus as an assist Then DMF. Works Every Time !
well done, seems like you really know your stuff and covered everything. I will bookmark your video and revisit when I'm ready to tackle micro adjustment. Thanks !!
Awesome, thanks so much for that! :) Hope it helps!
Excellent video Scott....I'll be doing this with FoCal in a few weeks. Great tutorial!!!
Thanks so much! :)
Brilliant. Brief. Very well authored & tutored. Thank you.
Thanks so much! :)
Hi Scott, just stumbled on your vid explaining AFMA. While as said by someone else that you talk a little quickly, I have to say you speak very clearly and extremely concisely. A very well explained and easily understood 'how to' indeed! Great job and thanks as I've got a 5D MkIV that has had some lens issues that were fixed, but at the moment I've unfortunately got a 'loaner' camera and have found one of my lenses is a little soft, so I will definitely tackle this your way. Thanks again, excellent video (;->
Hey thanks so much! :) Glad that you could understand my rambling :-P
Hope it helps you out! Loaner cameras can be a pain in that way. Had to go through this all over again for all my lenses when I got my camera serviced by Canon too. Works great but takes a little time. :)
thank you so much. i did do it
With 7 prime lenses and 3 bodies, Focal saves me alot of time with focus adjustment. So it was well worth the price for me..
Totally agree! :)
Well explained thank you!
thanks so much for watching!
Absolutely awesome Vid. Reality easy to follow
Thank you! Very glad to hear that :)
Great video-thank you!!
Thanks for watching! :)
Thanks for the video Scott. GO BRUINS !!!!
Thank you for making this vidoe. This is a very helpful tutorial. Well explained.
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!
@@ScottDumas Your video helped me determine that I have a couple len's with possible aspherical abberations. Wide open i can nail foucs. when i stop down to f/8 & f/11 the focus shifts back away from the targeted area. I read this can happen with some problem lens'? Any solutions or helpful knowledge you have that I should know about? Thanks Scott! Eric
Do you know how I can get my camera auto exposure mode set to manual?
Great video. Where did you get the target you use to calibrate the lens?
Great video! Thank you.
Glad you liked it! :)
Scott Dumas does Focal work with video? I have a Canon 7D II and I have noticed soft focus on my video.
Thanks, and I love the hat. Go Bruins!
Thanks so much! Glad to see another Bruins fan :)
How to calibrate zoom lenses on nikon body then? I got the sigma 17 50 and nikon d7200. I have already bought this software as well
It's been a while since I've done this with a Nikon but in my memory they don't have separate settings for wide and tele, so you could just test it somewhere in the middle or calibrate it at the focal length you tend to use most. If anything, I'd probably go for the tele end since the depth of field will usually be shallower and problems with focus will be more noticeable than at the wide angle. Hope that helps!
Wow love your video I’m have some of the exact issues. I have a 7d Mk2 with a sigma 18-35 1.8f would you recommend using the sigma doc or using focal and will focal do different focal lengths.
The Sigma doc allows you to calibrate it more detailed than Focal will, but for me I'd prefer focal because it does it based on a computer program and not my own eyes' judgement. It's also potentially a much faster process and overall I just trust it more than I trust myself.
Hi Scott. I have the Nikon D810 and just purchased the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 VR lens and the 70-200 f/2.8 VR lens. Both seemed to be back focusing so I tested them both twice on REIKAN FOCAL. With the 24-70 at 24mm the test gives a calculated fine tune of -11. At 50mm it is -7. At 70mm it is -8. Reviewing the last page where it discusses the Front/Back Focus and shows the green band, the average zero point is -8.
With my 70-200 lens at 70mm test 1, the calculated fine tune is -9 and test 2 it is -7. The zero point is -9 and -7 respectively. However at 200mm the calculated fine tune is -1. The zero point is -3.
I have 2 questions related to these lenses and I'm wondering if I should send them back to the dealer. Is the range on the 24-70 acceptable for the different focal lengths? If so, what should I set the AF fine tune at? Same question for the 70-200? Is the range between the different focal lengths acceptable? What should I set the AF fine to at ?
I so much appreciate your help. I'm pulling my hair out. And again I'm wondering if I should keep the lenses with these large differences in the values for the different focal lengths. Thanks for taking the time to study my problem.
Hi! Thank you for watching :) I do have one question that I can't remember from when I was using Nikon. With zoom lenses and AFMA, can you set different values for the wide and tele ends? (like -9 at 70mm and -1 at 200mm or something like that)? On Canon bodies you can do that and I often find that same situation where one end needs more correction than the other.
If you CAN'T do that, I'd have a couple of recommendations.
-Adjust the AFMA for whichever end you shoot more often (I almost always shoot my 70-200 at or near 200mm, so I'd try to adjust for best performance at that end). You could still try to balance it a little so that the performance on the other end is not terrible, but try a few settings and see how it looks when you actually shoot with it.
-Setting the AFMA for the tele end, especially on the 70-200, will likely be more important because you'll usually have a shallower depth of field at 200mm than at 70mm. In a lot of cases, the depth of field at 70mm (even f2.8) might cover any small inaccuracy.
-You could make the adjustment right in the middle. Those ranges don't seem too super wide and you'll probably still get pretty good performance. Again, I'd advise to set it, test it and see how it looks.
-If all of these results aren't satisfactory you could send your lenses AND camera body to Nikon and they will calibrate them together for you. It takes a little time (maybe a week or two?) and you may have to pay at least for shipping, depending on your warranty etc, but you should get perfect results without having to return your lenses.
If it were me, I'd try and set the AFMA somewhere close to the tele end, test it out a little and if the results seem satisfactory just keep it like that. If it was still bothering me after that, I'd consider sending it to Nikon to be calibrated.
I hope that helped, please let me know how it works out!
Thanks Scott. I appreciate your reply. I will work with this to see how I can make this work.
Hello, Can I just print the target by myself, or I have to buy the one from the online store? Thanks.
I printed it myself- I think there should be a file you can download to do that.
Focal was able to make the adjustments for me on my 80D
Yep! I believe the everything in that line after the 60D can do AFMA.
I was having trouble with my 85mm 1.8. Adjusted to +4, now it is sharp as hell. I use the screen of my computer to test focus, when I can see the pixels perfectly, everything built by little squares, it's because it is in maximum focus. Also when I shoot by a very slight angle I can see if pixels in front or back are more or less in focus, so I know where to go. I do it handheld, since I use the camera handheld. At 1.8 it's precise enough, I don't use lenses faster than that.
Awesome, and thanks for the idea of using the computer screen. That sounds like it could definitely be easy and quick in a lot of cases :)
What distance should i keep between my lens and the chart printed?
There are recommended distances which you can check within the app, when you check the chart it will alert you of things like that. But, I typically just aim for the average distance from my subject that I tend to shoot at, so the results will be most accurate at my most used distance.
Can you combine Focal with the Sigma USB dock to adjust the AF or can you only use either one? Great video, thank you!
I don't think that would work since the lens needs to be mounted directly onto the camera for Focal to take and analyze actual photos. What you could do though is use Focal to get your overall AFMA dialed in (for wide and tele on zoom lenses for example) and then if you notice anything that still stands out as being significantly off, go in and adjust it manually with the dock. In my experience Focal has been more than enough though in most cases.
does focal work for zoom lenses too at multiple distances and focal lengths? does it work for 3rd party lenses at all?
It does to a point.. I've only tried it with Canon cameras so I'm not sure if it's different for others, but with Canon I can calibrate the wide end and long end separately for zooms. It works exactly the same with 3rd party lenses as well in my experience.
How do I calibrate my canon T5 to my new tamron lens? I do not have a setting for micro adjustments on my T5.
If the T5 doesn't have the AFMA available, the best way would be to get the Tamron dock and calibrate the lens itself, instead of calibrating the camera to the lens... that is, if the Tamron lens you have is compatible with their dock
Ok thank you
Hi, great video; my dilemma here is that what happens once I made the adjustment? does get stored in the lens or in the camera? because I noticed that once I shut the camera, the AFMA is back to "Disabled".... it is these little things that can close the circle and make total sense.
Hi! Thanks so much. You should be able to set the AFMA by lens, and the camera will recognize which lens is attached and automatically set the adjustment in camera when that lens is mounted.
Thanks Scott, I readjusted my three lenses and the camera maintained its settings finally :-)
perfect, glad to hear it :)
Hello Scott, great presentation. I have a 100-400mm what be the distance from the camera to the Focal chart. Can calibration be done outside. Thank you.
The app should have a function to tell you the recommended distance based on the lens, but for me I prefer to do it at the distance I find myself most often using the lens. I believe you can do it outside with no issues too, as long as wind doesn't interfere and you have good even lighting on the chart
@@ScottDumas Thank you so much. Regards, Jay
@@ScottDumas Thank you so much.
What distance.are.you required to be when using focal to calibrate your lenses?
It will depend on the lens/focal length but the app will also give you recommendations if you're too close or too far. I typically do calibration at the distance I most often use the lens though.
How far do you set your camera from the target chart?
It will depend on the lens/focal length. You can check the target within the app and it will actually tell you if it recommends you move closer or further away, but I typically try to do the test at a distance I typically use the lens, to get the best real world performance. Not sure if that's the best advice or not, but either way the app will let you know so you can follow that if you'd like :)
@@ScottDumas how do I get the target print out? Is it from the focal store on I have to download that separately?
Another question, if I purchase the forcal pro, how will I download the software? I'm sorry of my question sounds somehow I'm pretty new to this
@@Connect04 You can download the target here and print it out: www.reikanfocal.com/documents.html
Once you purchase the software you can download it from a link they provide you. No worries of course, if that doesn't help, let me know! :)
Hi Scott! thanks alot for info cause i dont trust myself either 😂
Another question here, where did you buy the software from? I went to their web, they don't accept dollars. Thank you again!
It's displayed in pounds not dollars but you should be able to buy it anywhere since it's just software. The cost will be converted when you pay.
Scott Dumas Thanks for reply!
I've calibrated several time using my 50mm 1.8g on my nikon d7200 but always get acceptable results and not excellent like yours. Why so? It gives me -6 Af fine tune
I think the acceptable/excellent results are related to the consistency of the focus each time and how tightly it fits the curve they find for it. If the lens's focus is not as consistent it might cause the acceptable results, but should still be fine. More than likely it's the best possible fine tune setting, especially if you get near the same result more than once.
Scott Dumas still the pics at f1.8 are not sharp. They are soft. Why so?
Hmm... are they soft overall or is the focus just not where it should be? (either in front or behind)
if the image is just overall soft, then it's not an AFMA issue but possibly the lens itself, too slow shutter speed etc.
If there is a part of the image which is sharp though, but it's not where you placed your focus point, then there's some other issue. Let me know
Scott Dumas it is sharp on a spot where i've not placed my focus point. In portraits my focus point is on the eyes but the eye is never sharp. You can find that the upper body is sharp but not the face
Scott Dumas give me your email address. We shall talk upon this there
If you change lenses, do you have to run it again and know the settings for each individual lens?
You do have to run this for each lens that needs it but the camera will remember them and change settings as you change lenses automatically
@@ScottDumas it remembers the lens?
@@antdx316 Yes it does :)
crisp sharp presentation.. would like to see some tests ran by you..
Thanks so much! Do you mean lens calibration tests?
Yes Scott. Also, please explain how Focal can calibrate front or back focusing on a vertical target instead of having it 45 degree inclined?
@@rajatsarkar8693 To be totally honest I've been using the EOS-R instead of a DSLR lately so it doesn't need calibration any more. But as for the target, a 45 degree target will let your eyes visually see if the focus falls in front or behind of the intended target so you can manually adjust it. But with Focal, they're using their own target which the software can analyze, and it takes a number of shots with different AFMA settings (usually -20, -10, 0, 10, 20 and one or two extra) and marks them out on a chart to work towards the setting which gets the highest amount of detail (sharpness). When going through the process you can visually see the curve of which AFMA setting approaches the highest level of detail/sharpest photo, so it's easy to trust. It also takes multiple shots at each AFMA setting just to make sure the results are consistent, and will also analyze how consistent/reliable the results are, so if your lens is focusing erratically it will notice and tell you that. It's really quite a clever piece of software, and I trust it far more than my own eyes looking at a 45 degree angle target haha.
Hope that helps!
Hi Scott, Many thx for taking time to answer me. I totally agree that mirror-less camera removes the possibility of error due to misalignment, however I am, for now will stay with DSLR to wait for Canon to come up with an acceptable camera body. Mean while, my primary question for Focal will be, A. Does the software calibrate the focus using live view or focus through mirror ? B. I came across many remarks on FOCAL's error while using a laser printed QR target. what is your recommendation ?
Focal will use normal shooting through the viewfinder (not live view) so that it will properly calibrate the misalignment. It imports the photos into the software and analyzes them there.
As for errors with the target, I haven't personally had any problems and I've just printed them on normal home printers. There are some guidelines in the software for lining up the target correctly depending on focal length, and you can check it before starting the test. It will tell you if there are any errors in distance or placement, and recommend how to fix the error (moving closer for example).
Overall, the software has worked nearly perfect for me with maybe 1 or 2 crashes in probably between 50-100 times using it and the corrections it makes have always seemed to be accurate in my actual use of the lens after calibrating it.
How far as to be the camera from the wall ??
It depends on the lens/focal length, but usually the app can give you a recommendation. I, myself, usually test it at the distance I most often use the lens at (so I test an 85mm at the typical distance for a headshot for example).
Hi my friend me again :-)
I have asked u about distance to target for calibrating both tamron 24-70 and 70-200 g2 lenses.
What happened is that i have done it for 24-70 and it was ok when i finish,but after that when i start doing some shoots i see again some back or front focus...Don't understand...I align camera and Spyderlens cal and start from 0 and than add plus or minus until i get sharp results at 0 on myspyderlens cal..i wrote it and later i add those values on my tamron tap in consol and today i see again there is some front or back focus issues...dont know what to do it makes me angry :-)
And also when i start af adjustments i check 2-3 times to be sure its good value...sometimes i run to a problem that no matter what value i put its the same result...i think it was just some minor bug in camera...but like i said i have done it it was good values and today i see its not ... I DIDNT USE LIVEVIEW WHEN I CALIBRATED LENSES....
i use d7100 and 24-70 g2 and 70-200g2
I bought focal but i didn't use it for tamron zoom lenses...
Hey! Sorry to hear you're having trouble. I would say test out the Tamron lenses with Focal and see what results you get. Judging by eye/manually with the tap in console can be really tricky and frustrating, that's why I switched over to Focal. The tap in console doesn't help if you have 2 camera bodies either since they'll both probably be slightly different. The benefit, of course, is that you can program the calibration in much more detail. Personally, it's not worth the time and frustration for me though haha.
Anyway, for now, if you can try out Focal with those lenses I'd be curious to see if you get better results. If they still give you problems after doing that then maybe there's something wrong with the lenses. With Sigma lenses I'd say the problem might be focus consistency (even if it's accurate at first it can become less accurate very easily or it will be off and on). But, I haven't seen those issues with recent Tamron lenses so I don't think you should have to worry about it.
Let me know how that goes!
It seems complicated to me. I'll just use manual focus when using shallow depth of field (when using wide aperture on a lens....way easier!
I don't know... I have two Nikon DSLRs: one is a D2X, which doesn't surprise me that there is no "AFMA" option, but that's my 'backup camera'. My 'main' camera is a Nikon D4S and there's no AFMA on that either.
I'm not trying to imply that one brand is superior to the other, (different, yes. But better? Not so much). However, the D4S is a Nikon "flagship", professional camera and therefore, I'm surprised that it wouldn't have this feature if it was actually as critical as you're saying it is.
If Nikon did have this feature, they would likely have called by a different name so maybe it's there and I just don't recognize it.
I've been shooting the D4S for 1.5 years but it's not at all beyond possibilities that I still have options or features I'm unaware of. I always carry the manual with me where ever I take the camera and I've lost count how many times I've read it.
There is the focus calibration adjustments that can correct focus inaccuracies in any particular lens and then save the offset to be automatically applied each time that specific lens is mounted. But then, I'm pretty sure Canon has that as well.
When I get a chance, I'll come back and watch the rest of your video. I was only able to watch the intro before I had to leave, so maybe there's something that I'll recognize as being similar to the Nikon line.
FWIW,
Thank you,
Rich
Hi! Thanks for watching. The D4S is a fantastic camera, I shot with it for about a year or two myself and loved it :) There is AFMA on most Nikon bodies above a certain level as well, and it's definitely included on the D4S, though I believe it's called "AF Fine Tune" in the menu. If you're able to find that you should be able to use it in the same way to correct any calibration issues with your lenses, if they're significant enough to cause you trouble.
Let me know if that helps :)
I stand corrected! I completely forgot about the AF Fine Tune and yes, it is in the D4S. In fact, I didn't read your reply until 5 minutes ago (I got it yesterday but didn't open until today).
I would have read it today but the very reason for why I started the computer, was to go back to this video and correct myself about not having an AFMA, (Nikon's AFFT). I just happened to remember the AFFT when the two lenses that I rented for our vacation trip, was delivered this morning.
I rented a Sigma 500mm F4 (it's a beast, for sure!), and a Sigma 14mm to 24mm F2.8 (T. Hogan's review found it to be better than the Nikon version). Anyway, I unpacked and checked out the two lenses, as well as the two other items I rented: The Sigma USB Docking station and the Sigma Circ Pol Filter Ring that is used for the 500mm.
That's when I thought to myself that I need to try to get the focusing accuracy (and other lens related features), done using the Lens Docking Station instead of the AF Fine Tune feature in the camera....
"AF Fine Tune feature! That's the same as the Canon AFMA! That's what the You Tube video was referring to, and which I said wasn't on the D4S!" LOL. So yes, it is the AF Fine Tune in the Nikon's and I stand corrected!
We're leaving the day after tomorrow so I've got a lot of preparations to do (other than the camera equipment). In addition, I have several tutorials I need to watch regarding the Sigma USB Docking Station and I must read up on that monster 500mm/F4 lens as well!
In fact, one of the tutorials I need to watch from start to finish is this one! I used the AFFT many times already but if there's one thing I've learned since I started shooting on a more 'serious level' back in 1980, it's that I am often surprised at how much I didn't know about the equipment and the art, that I thought I knew!
Often, it's some feature that had an additional use I never considered. I really have read the manual/s on my camera bodies several times, but when you're dealing with 600+ pages of material, it's not hard to forget and/or mix up the details. That's why I always take the manuals with me.
Thanks again and I'll definitely get back here to watch the video in the next 24 hours.
Rich
Glad you were able to find it :) Sounds like you'll be having some fun with those lenses, enjoy! :-D
Dude, are you in Japan? fucking rock and roll man \m/
I am! haha :)
the background instrument is too loud, but nice video btw
My apologies :) And thank you!
Presentation is good however once it gets to the details you are waiting for, the explanation is hurried through and you can't quite see what he is doing unless you freeze the image. In that sense it is not very helpful.
Appreciate the constructive criticism. Will work on that in the future!
jumping all over super fast could not even see what he pressed to get into the mode
Took to long to get to the point.
Sorry for that
i have a better idea, if you are unhappy with the lens focus on your camera, send the lens back, and keep returning it until you get a lens focus you can live with......your way is to change the adjustment not only every time you put a different lens on the same camera body, if using a zoom everytime you adjust the zoom to either closer or further away you must change the adjustment....This leaves very little time to enjoy taking photos, personally i can not be bothered with all this, so i will do as my first sentence says.....smile....i have 8 camera bodies which i use and many lenses, this would drive me crazy........i honestly i have a problem with some of my lenses, that being they are too damn sharp, this causes me much photo shop work......
I'm sorry but I'd have to disagree here. Nearly ALL lenses expensive and cheap can benefit from calibration. If you've lucked out with yours, that's great but especially with very wide apertures like 1.8, 1.4 and 1.2, the calibration becomes more and more necessary.
Once you calibrate a lens on a body, it remembers it. If you switch lenses back and forth it automatically remembers them all. On a zoom you can adjust it for the wide and tele ends and it remembers both and will automatically adjust, there's nothing you have to do. It's a one time process (aside from re-calibrating after a while because things can get a little off over time even if you don't do this process). Yes, you'd have to do it for each body/lens combination but once it's done, it's done. You'll get the absolute best out of every lens.
A big thing to keep in mind too regarding your comment about the lenses being too sharp and it causing you too much photoshop work, is that this process does NOT make the lens sharper at all. It adjusts the accuracy of the autofocus and that's it. You can have the sharpest lens in the world but if the focus is on the tip of the nose instead of the eye, no amount of photoshop work will save that photo. A sharp lens is a sharp lens, but the focus needs to hit where you intend it to hit and this helps.
Also, sending lenses back until you can "live with it" won't help if it focuses differently on each body you have, which does happen because the problem is not only in the lens but in the body. You CAN send the body and lens to Canon '(or Nikon or whoever) to have them calibrated to each other in the factory, but then you'll be without that lens and body until they come back. Again, these the alignment can slightly get out of whack over time too, so even if you send a lens back until you get one you're happy with, over a year or two it may be able to benefit from this process anyway.
It's not always necessary and sometimes you'll even get an AFMA of 0 from the program, and that's great. But, it's peace of mind knowing your lenses will be as accurate (not "sharp") as they can be. Again, especially wide aperture lenses really benefit from this.
If you think about the amount of elements in each of your lenses, a slight knock can effect the point of focus, humidity can effect how your lens performs. After buying and using this software I can say that it doesn’t matter how much you paid for a body or a lens, they all need calibration.
If you keep sending the lenses back you’ll have to send them in a parcel, we all know how rough postal services can be, the first thing I would do on a lens returning is to calibrate it…
You have 8 camera bodies, not one of them you can Micro Adjust per lens?! - both my 5d mk2 and mk4 I can adjust per lens.
He talks very fast with a very monotonous tone. I could barely understand him.
He does talk fast, but I had no problem understanding him. What I like about his presentation is that he doesn't meander on and on like many people do in their video presentations. He's concise and to the point, and appreciate that. I can't tell you how much time I've wasted watching videos where people go on a tangent for 5 minutes and never get to the point of their video. I've learned to stop wasting my time with people who waste my time. If you haven't told me anything of value within the first 2 minutes of your video, I stop watching.
Your comment is more an indicator of your lack of processing power. Would you rather sit thru a slow talker who drags his knuckles for 30+ minutes... ?? This was a useful video!
slow it down in the gear icon... "speed". I have to do this on a lot of non-native English speakers to understand what they're saying. :)
yes he does talk very fast but I've noticed many people that make instructional videos do the same thing. Maybe they do it to make the video time shorter ( not the right reason) or to try and keep the viewer's attention like "freelancer" said above. If I find a good one, I just pause it until I feel I understand then resume play or play a portion over and over. There is the occasional video that is Perfect. Some guys just have "it". I'm not one of those........
Samuel Bagasin That’s too bad.