Focus tune-best ?

Thinking of getting theLens Align Mark II with Focus tune. Yikes- $124.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1018336-REG/lensalign_la_fus_lensalign_fusion_bundle.htmlhttp://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1018336-REG/lensalign_la_fus_lensalign_fusion_bundle.html

Pricey!!  This is for my 7D II and 100-400II.  Do I need the $85  longer ruler for my 100-400 as well? Ridiculous.  Maybe I should just send the rig to Canon or EJ.   Hate to be without it during prime bird migration though, and seems like I should learn to do this myself, and use it on my husband's camera and my old 1DIV and 400 5.6  Any suggestions for alternatives? 

Thanks as always for your collective wisdom.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1018336-REG/lensalign_la_fus_lensalign_fusion_bundle.html

Try this (it's sort of crude but will get you very close) :

Tripod mount your rig on your driveway or a sidewalk

Lay a 12 inch ruler on the ground about 30 feet from the camera

Zoom to 400mm

Use a single point to focus on the 6 inch line

Magnify the image to see if you are front or back focusing.....adjust the AFMA and repeat until it's right.

Basically you are tilting the sensor rather than the ruler but it seems to work quite well

You will need to move the ruler closer to adjust the AFMA at 100mm

Joel Eade wrote:Try this (it's sort of crude but will get you very close) :

Tripod mount your rig on your driveway or a sidewalk

Lay a 12 inch ruler on the ground about 30 feet from the camera

Zoom to 400mm

Use a single point to focus on the 6 inch line

Magnify the image to see if you are front or back focusing.....adjust the AFMA and repeat until it's right.

Basically you are tilting the sensor rather than the ruler but it seems to work quite well

You will need to move the ruler closer to adjust the AFMA at 100mm

Hi Joel-thanks-I could try that. I thought the target was supposed to be parallel (exactly) to the lens.....but I haven't used a ruler. Last test I did myself was a dollar bill taped to a cabinet.  Pretty hard to tell what was going on.

The method above is highly error prone and contrary to the best known practices. By shooting something at an angle, you have no control of where along the diagonal under the focus point the actual focus is occurring. You have to focus on a target that is perfectly perpendicular and the camera must be perfectly alligned vertically and horizontally, the digonal ruler is what you read the front or backfocus from but you should never ever use it as the subject to focus on. Rake a look at the lens align unit and how it is built. you focus on the vertical focus target and read off of the diagonal ruler. Do not use the method outlined above, it will likely induce more error rather than less.

E.J. Peiker wrote:The method above is highly error prone and contrary to the best known practices.  By shooting something at an angle, you have no control of where along the diagonal under the focus point the actual focus is occurring.  You have to focus on a target that is perfectly perpendicular and the camera must be perfectly alligned vertically and horizontally, the digonal ruler is what you read the front or backfocus from but you should never ever use it as the subject to focus on.  Rake a look at the lens align unit and how it is built.  you focus on the vertical focus target and read off of the diagonal ruler.  Do not use the method outlined above, it will likely induce more error rather than less.

Ok-thanks E.J.  Do you think this product is a good choice? I'm willing to buy Focus tune, but I am not excited about spending an additional $84 for the long ruler.

If you use the 25X distance for testing at 400mm, you don't need the long ruler. You can check this out using the LensAlign Distance Tool calculator on the LensAlign website.

http://michaeltapesdesign.com/lensalign.html

aolander wrote:If you use the 25X distance for testing at 400mm, you don't need the long ruler.  You can check this out using the LensAlign Distance Tool calculator on the LensAlign website.

http://michaeltapesdesign.com/lensalign.html

Thanks Mike. Glad to hear that!

Just looked at my post. Sorry for all the links. Thought I erased them!

You don't need the long ruler and you don't really need the software. If you tether your computer to the camera you can see the focus in real time and magnify it and make your adjustments.

E.J. Peiker wrote:You don't need the long ruler and you don't really need the software.  If you tether your computer to the camera you can see the focus in real time and magnify it and make your adjustments.

Oh!  Ok.  I'll try that then.  See if I can manage.  Thanks, E.J. Seems like the auto-focus is a bit off on this combo. Likely user error but no way to know if it's something else unless I try to calibrate.

If you do go for Focus Tune you don't need the long ruler even for a 600mm lens, unless your initial factory adjustment is way off. Calibrate for both the 100mm and 400mm ends. The camera will interpolate settings as needed. And you can calibrate with the 1.4X also.

The software and hardware may not be that necessary but I like the graph display of the results -- if it is clean it gives me an extra bit of confidence in the results.

EJ -- I've often wondered how much calibration matters, but I would think that as you shoot close-up subjects with more magnification that it might make some difference, trying to focus on a bird's eye with a wide aperture. I've calibrated lenses on three different bodies from 24mm to 600 + 2X and gotten repeatable results with extremes that vary from about -7 to +7, but mostly in the +/- 3-4 range.

E.J. Peiker wrote:You don't need the long ruler and you don't really need the software.  If you tether your computer to the camera you can see the focus in real time and magnify it and make your adjustments.

EJ can you lay out the steps for this?  I assume you place the target at the correct distance with camera and lens pointed at it.  Then connect your camera to the computer with the HDMI cord.  Then what?

You set it all up with the proper alignment using the alignment holes in the LensAlign. You then follow the instructions for your camera on how to tether it.  I use Capture One for tethering but the cameras generally come with their own tethering software or I believe Lightroom lets you tether as well.  In C1 it's just a matter of plugging the camera into the computer, C1 recognizes it, you then take your shot, examine the image, adjust the focus calibration setting in the camera, take another shot, and fine tune it that way.

In LR go to File > Tethered Capture.  Go to full screen with the F key and you can zoom in as needed.

Thanks EJ and Diane. I'll give this a try.

I use a cereal box with clear patens and font, for my 600 mm I place it around 60ft away ,I take a shot in live view to get a sharp shot as a guide then micro adjust shot's normally -10 0 + 10 and then home in from there .

Once im happy with that I take 5 shots if most are sharp say 3 out of 5 then to me im well in the ball park and other things are more likely to have an influence i.e camera shake,.cloud passing , not seeing the bird quick enough, heat haze, etc.

Not to mention the flask in one hand and the cup in the other

Rob.

Nobody mentioned Reikan FoCal , a software of UK origin.
I use it lately and I think it is simple enough to use.
It is fully automated with 1D Mark IV and semi automated with Canon 7D Mark II.
You need a laptop and the target printed out that they provide.
I used to use the Focus Tune but found it time consuming and difficult to set it up properly.

+1 for FoCal 2 --- reliable, consistent and easy to use. Only caveat - needs lots of light and large target.

EGrav wrote:+1 for FoCal 2  ---  reliable, consistent and easy to use. Only caveat - needs lots of light and large target.

Have heard mixed reviews with this one- for some it stopped working, I think.

Prior to v 2, FoCal was ... "cantankerous." I think v 2 fixed it.
It stopped working on EJ's machine,  and he stated in a post:
"A quick follow-up. After a few weeks of back and forth with Reikan and trying everything under the sun including disabling virtually everything that isn't necessary for the computer to run, the software continues to abort on the first shot and is completely useless on my laptop. It was working one minute, and literally the next minute it was not, almost as if some Trojan Horse went off in the software. I'm not saying that that's what happened, just making an analogy." 
Not sure what is the latest with him, but I have not read of anyone else having his problem. And it seems that the general consensus is that v 2 is good.
Anyway, for me, FoCal 2 is great. I had the target printed larger at a copy center (16x20"), I use halogen work lights at angles with circulation to keep away heat waves and I get the green checkmark within a second or two and a couple of minutes later it is done. It has been extremely reliable.
I found the Dot Tune method very variable. YMMV

PS I don't have any connection to FoCal - just happy with it. I have Canon bodies, Canon lenses and 1 Sigma lens.

Cynthia Crawford wrote:Thinking of getting theLens Align Mark II with Focus tune. Yikes- $124.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1018336-REG/lensalign_la_fus_lensalign_fusion_bundle.htmlhttp://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1018336-REG/lensalign_la_fus_lensalign_fusion_bundle.html

Pricey!!  This is for my 7D II and 100-400II.  Do I need the $85  longer ruler for my 100-400 as well? Ridiculous.  Maybe I should just send the rig to Canon or EJ.   Hate to be without it during prime bird migration though, and seems like I should learn to do this myself, and use it on my husband's camera and my old 1DIV and 400 5.6  Any suggestions for alternatives? 

Thanks as always for your collective wisdom.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1018336-REG/lensalign_la_fus_lensalign_fusion_bundle.html

Cindy,

I bought the package to use with long glass(400/600/800mm). I've found that the target is worth the price, the software gives me such varying results as to be essentially useless. It may work better on shorter lenses and closer target distances but I've not found any of my lenses shorter than the 400/2.8 that need tuning.

It's mandatory to do AF fine tuning with a target that is square and centered on the lens axis and the Focus Tune target will do that if you follow the instructions. I'd suggest you buy the target and use it, forget the long ruler and the software.

HTH,
Bill