asiafish Loc: Bakersfield, CA

I started shooting with Canon in 2012 with a Canon 6D and 24-105mm f/4 L kit (-4 at 24mm and -8 at 105mm AF adjust), to which I added an 85mm f/1.8 (+6 AF adjust) and a 35mm f/2 (0 AF adjust). I sold that equipment in early 2014 to help fund another Leica body, and bought another 6D in late 2014, again with the 24-104mm f/4L in the kit. The second 24-105 (+7 at 24mm and +5 at 105), a 50mm f/1.8 STM (0 adjust) suggested that things had gotten a little better. The zoom was of the same vintage (2012) as my first one (old stock), but the 50mm lens was from 2014 and like the 35mm I had before, was perfect right out of the box.

I've since sold the zoom and bought another that had been sent to Canon (0 AF adjust at either end of zoom range) and a set of L primes, all with 2015 or 2016 date codes and ALL having dead-on focus out of the box. 35/1.4 L mk II, 50/1.2 L and 100/2.8 L Macro, all of them perfect. I then added a new 5D mk III body and all of my lenses again tested perfect for focus accuracy. For fun I even put a roll of film through my 1987 EOS 650 and sot the focus test with each lens (no AF micro adjust capability) and again all lenses came out perfect.

This tells me either one of two things; that I got EXTREMELY lucky, or that Canon has really stepped-up their quality control when it comes to lenses. Most likely some of both. My zoom was adjusted by Canon (by the previous owner) and most likely my cheap 50/1.8 STM was a lucky fluke of getting one that is perfect. My other lenses are all expensive L primes, and being primes are easier to get right, and likely are checked more thoroughly than the consumer-grade lenses I had before.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

We do (or at least should expect) to get what we pay for. Canon and the other big vendors are aware of criticism and are making an effort accordingly. Glad it worked out in your situation.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Very interesting - what calibration tool did you use?

asiafish Loc: Bakersfield, CA

I have a chart that I obtained on a Leica forum with a bold center line and hash marks extending out to the sides. Taped to a wall with the camera at a 45 degree angle it shows if a lens is front or back focusing.

This chart is critical when using various lenses on rangefinder cameras where you aren't viewing through the lens and the focus mechanism is a mechanical linkage rather than an optical one.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Thanks. I can't find any pattern to mine relative to date of manufacture. My newest 85 f1.8, which came from Canon refurbished in the last few months required -8. My 2013 vintage 24-105L required 0 & -2. My older 2014 17-40L required -9 & -4, my 70-200L (mk1 IS) required +4 & +9 and my older 100-400L mk1 required -4 & -2, all on a 5D3. I do have a much older 50 f2.5 macro that required -16 (!), but that's at a distance and it's a macro, so probably not relevant (sharp a a tack up close) Go figure... Just glad for MAF. While you may not be able to easily see +or-2, +or-8 is very obvious without MAF (blurry).

asiafish Loc: Bakersfield, CA

Most Canon lenses have a code with two letters and four numbers, separate from the serial number near the lens mount. My 24-105 has a code of UA0924. U indicates the factory, A indicates the year (2012) and then 0924 is the month and day (September 24).

I never bothered looking on my 50/1.8 STM so I'm not sure if it has one or not. My 35/1.4 L mk II does not have a date code, but all of my other Canon lenses do.

RRS Loc: Not sure

You must be just lucky. I have several Canon lenses and everyone of them has had to be aligned. I use LensAlign and all of the lenses needed adjustment even the series II L long lenses. I had been shooting Hasselblads ,all manual focus and was not too happy with my first results from a 5DMKII with a 70-200mm f/2.8. I thought for that amount of money that the focus would have been right on. Now that I have micro-adjusted all my lenses my AF works well but if able I still prefer manual focus.

ole sarg Loc: south florida

I do hope you did this for each f stop for each lens.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

With all due respect, I use Nikon and I am not saying it is better than Canon but I have never experienced front or rear focus with my cameras. I also believe that the quality control Nikon had in the 60's and 70's when Ehrenreich was the CEO of Nikon in this country was superior to what we have now. I have known of the poor performance of some bodies made in Thailand. We never experienced that regularly when the cameras were made in Japan.
Service is not the same either. I quit sending my gear to Nikon for repairs a long time ago.
I guess everything changes over time.

Regis Loc: Coeur d' Alene, Idaho

I have had many different Canon cameras and lenses over the last 15 years and have had great results with all of them straight from the boxes with no adjustments.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

All this tells me is that you don't "pixel peep" very much... which is a good thing.

An unintended consequence of digital imaging has been that people tend to view their images far more critically than they ever did with film (or even earlier, lower resolution digital). That's simply because it's so easy to massively magnify images on their computer screens, which have also grown in size and increased in resolution.

It's gotten worse as digital camera resolution has increased.

Now on the typical computer monitor when you display a image from a 20MP camera "at 100%" that's like enlarging and printing the image to roughly 40x60", and then critiquing it from 18 or 20" viewing distance. (Of COURSE it looks like crap! Are you really planning to print it that large?)

The result was that a few years ago the camera service departments started to get inundated with "calibration" work! Cameras and lenses were being sent in under warranty to fine tune focus adjustments.... Standards of adjustment being used had been fine with film and really are fine for digital too. But now people were looking at their images far more magnified than is necessary or even applicable to their actual intended use of the image. Unless you're planning to make a huge print and view it from ridiculously close, the degree of accuracy people are thinking they need is actually unnecessary. If folks wouldn't "pixel peep", would back off to 25% or 33% to evaluate things like sharpness and focus accuracy, they'd be much less concerned. And this level of magnification is actually more practical, since it's a lot closer to the size of prints most people actually make. Heck, if they only share on line they can even use lower magnification and their images will still look great!

Sure, to retouch and edit images you might use 100% or even higher... But it's usually ridiculous to use such high magnification for evaluation of sharpness and focus accuracy.

The response from Nikon, Canon and all the camera manufacturers was to provide a lens focus fine-tuning feature in their cameras (which is actually a rather brilliant solution when you think about it) so that users can make the adjustments themselves rather than sending their gear in under warranty. It's also given rise to a whole new industry of DIY focus calibration targets and even software to test and automate the process (Reikan FoCal, DXO, etc.) Most modern DSLRs from mid-grade-consumer or better are likely to have some form of DIY focus calibration feature.


As to your second point, that you "...quit sending my gear to Nikon for repairs a long time ago", well all I can say is good luck with that if any parts are needed for repairs now. You'll have a tougher time getting current and future Nikon serviced anywhere other than Nikon or a rather short list of their "approved" repair facilities. In early 2012 Nikon Inc. issued a memo that by mid-year they would no longer sell repair parts to independent shops, will only provide those to their "authorized" repairers. In the memo Nikon explains they were implementing this policy to insure quality repairs (...not to have near monopolistic control over the pricing of repairs). According to their website that currently limits your choice in the U.S. to sixteen repair facilities (including two Nikon factory repair sites).Many dozens or even hundreds of independent repairers are now SOL, when it comes to "genuine" Nikon replacement parts. After a couple years under Nikon's policy there's now a pretty extensive and active underground "black market" of used and knock-off repair parts for Nikon cameras and lenses.

In contrast, so long as a part is still in production, Canon Service Dept. will sell and ship to anyone who calls with a part number and a credit card. Heck, they'll even help you figure out the part number if you don't know it. As a result, you can choose among hundreds of possibilities to have your Canon gear fixed: their factory repair facilities, their authorized repairers, as well as myriad independent repairers.

Thankfully, modern gear is pretty good stuff and doesn't break down or get out of adjustment all that much.

Aeneas Loc: Somers, NY

I was not aware of the need to recalibrate the autofocus of older EF lenses. If I buy the soon to be released EOS 5D Mark IV camera, will I need to adjust exposure settings for my older lenses 50 f1.8 and 24-105 f4 L? Will the camera manual supply the needed information? Forgive my ignorance. I do not even know how to test lenses to obtain the needed adjustments.

RRS Loc: Not sure

Well in fact you are not doing anything to the lenses at all. The adjustments if needed are done all within the camera body and it's for "AF" only. There's a reason that many people don't see a need to (fine tune-Nikon) or (micro-adjust-Canon) and that's due to what and how you shoot. If you shoot the 50 f/1.8 or the 24-105 f/4.0 at f/5.6 to f/11 and depending on what distance you may never see any problem. If by chance you are using a lens wide open there's a much better chance of seeing that the focus could be off. I shoot BIF and other wildlife and due to lighting I have to shoot wide open because of my subjects movement and lighting. Buy your new camera and check it out in AF and if it looks good to you don't worry about it. If you do see a problem just ask here on this forum and there will be many that can and will help you out.

Aeneas Loc: Somers, NY

Thanks so much.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Exactly. 👍