Lens & AF body calibration - Reikan FoCal - Anyone use it?

[flyangler]

So I was reading a review of the Canon 50mm 1.8 STM lens on a reviewer's site. This guy reviews dozens of lenses and his only commercial link appears to be B&H. He gives this lens qualified high marks, when adjusted for the price point. 
 

During the review, he mentions using Reikan FoCal to calibrate the test lens with his test bodies (several Canon full frame and cropped DSLRs including my 70D). I had never heard of lens calibration nor that you could test it and do it for specific lens and body combos. Nor that the modern bodies can remember the calibration settings to improve autofocus capabilities. 
 

The standard software is like $50 and the Pro version is $100. From the company: 
 

Tune your camera autofocus at the touch of a button.

Check, Tune, Analyse and Shoot Sharper

Reikan FoCal is a software tool that takes control of your camera, guides you through the setup and fully calibrates your camera autofocus with minimal interaction from you.

 

The reports available off of the Pro version are fascinating as is the range of calibration. My 70D is rather long in the tooth as is the EF-S 18-135 I bought with the body. My Sigma 150-600 is newer and I just update its firmware but that is only about the lens and was minor tweaks. I also have a EF-S 10-18 which I use for really wide work. 
 

So, I do wonder if they all could work better together with the older body. The 70D is one of those bodies that can be calibrated, 
 

So anyone done this? If so, what were your results? 
 

https://www.reikanfocal.com/

 

 

[Rickman]

I have the Pro version and love it. Made an amazing difference.

[flyangler]

14 mins ago, Rickman said:

I have the Pro version and love it. Made an amazing difference.

Thank you. Was looking for some sort of personal-use confirmation because it sounded "too good to be true" but all indications were that it was. 

 

I was definitely doing to do the Pro, too many added feature to not do for the extra $50. 

 

Also, I can do it with my 70D now and then with the rental 90D when it gets here before my Montana trip.

 

Thanks

[Rickman]

Just now, flyangler said:

Thank you. Was looking for some sort of personal-use confirmation because it sounded "too good to be true" but all indications were that it was. 

 

I was definitely doing to do the Pro, too many added feature to not do for the extra $50. 

 

Also, I can do it with my 70D now and then with the rental 90D when it gets here before my Montana trip.

 

Thanks

I do Nikon but used it on both my D850 and D500. With the 500mm and the 150-600 I take it outside weather permitting. I set the computer and camera on tripod just inside the garage (out of the glare) and put the target on a stand in the drive way. 

[mike NJ]

Does it do all of the calibration for you through the software, or is it still something that you have to judge how sharp a picture is and then calibrate it yourself?

[flyangler]

28 mins ago, mike NJ said:

Does it do all of the calibration for you through the software, or is it still something that you have to judge how sharp a picture is and then calibrate it yourself?

Fully automated and automatic from what I have read. 
 

Rickman? 

[Rickman]

4 hours ago, mike NJ said:

Does it do all of the calibration for you through the software, or is it still something that you have to judge how sharp a picture is and then calibrate it yourself?

 

3 hours ago, flyangler said:

Fully automated and automatic from what I have read. 
 

Rickman? 

Fully automated if it can completely control your camera. It does not directly control my Nikons as far as changing the focus settings so it will guide you step by step, take a pic, tell you to change the setting. Once done, hit enter. It will take the next pic and repeat. At the end it will tell you the optimal setting.

Edited May 24 by Rickman

[flyangler]

OK, finally bought the right cable (Canon old Mini USB to USB-C Macbook) and performed the test on my "standard" lens on the 70D, the Canon 18-135 f3.5-5.6. Total process took about an hour, but that was extended too long due to it being my first time. Set up in the backyard below. The lens to target distance had to change with focal length so that chair moved several times. 

 

 

In the end, the AF micro-adjustments called for were +5 at 135mm and +5-6 at 18mm so it was +5 for each. The 70D allows values for both end of telephotos but in this case the adjustments were identical so that feature was not important. 

 

I paid for the Pro version ($99) to get the extra reports. I won't bore you with all the outputs but here are a few with most performed at the 18mm setting. The top one is overall scores where 100 is perfection. This lens model, based on the average data available via focal, are usually in the 75-78 range so mine is pretty average for the model. However, aberration data is pretty low. 

 

I look forward to running the same battery of tests on the rented 90D and L100-400 when they arrive. Higher scores will help justify the expense.

 

What was not captured so I cannot post it here was the Dust on Sensor test. It found 56 dust particles which was deemed acceptable. The lens also passed with solid scores the Image Stabilization test with a measured real-world 2.8 stops of IS on this lens. I do not know why Vignetting is blank below, maybe I did not perform that test. 

 

Anyway, sometime over the weekend I will run the Sigma 150-600 through this gauntlet. A bit more complex as the focal lengths require minimum distances over 50 feet so I need to determine where to execute that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[flyangler]

On 5/23/2022 at 8:11 PM, Rickman said:

 

Fully automated if it can completely control your camera. It does not directly control my Nikons as far as changing the focus settings so it will guide you step by step, take a pic, tell you to change the setting. Once done, hit enter. It will take the next pic and repeat. At the end it will tell you the optimal setting.

The 70D works in "hands off" mode and did everything by itself. Interestingly the 90D, two models newer, is "user assisted" which I believe is what you describe. That will likely extend the test time for the AF portion of it which is the trial & error process.