SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I thought it might be a typo, but there was no one obvious choice he might have meant. It could just as easily been 10-20.

claytonfm

I had a bad experience with what I believe was an uncalibrated zoom lens. Some years back we went to
Costa Rica with a Canon 80D and a Tamron 20-400 mm lens. I'm no pro but I've been taking photos for many years with satisfactory results. However, I recently reviewed the Costa Rica photos to find that they were virtually all noticeably out of focus; why I'm just now discovering this is a bit of a mystery. I'm certain that it was because the lens and camera were slightly mismatched. However, the good news is that through the miracle of Topaz Sharpen AI most were recoverable.

Later I tried to calibrate the lens/camera using the recommended procedure but found it nearly impossible to perform accurately enough to help; it's very tedious. If you decide that you need to do the calibration, send camera and lens to camera manufacturer, have them do it and save yourself an afternoon of frustration

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Thank you for sharing your experience. Just my point. I think only two reliable ways of calibrating lenses exist. You mentioned one of them: send the lens and camera to the manufacturer or reliable repair service. The other is FoCal. This also measures the focusing error as the lens searches to get into focus.

theehmann

Good information Clayton. Im sorry you had that experience but could rescue it.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Lens calibration on DSLRs is another long standing UHH discussion akin to JPEG vs raw, Mac vs PC, primes vs zooms, etc. With Mirrorless bodies, it’s not typically an issue, but with DSLRs, some pros do it religiously and some don’t. There are many ways to do it, but most require some subjective judgement by the user. One system that doesn’t is Riekan’s Focal - it provides a clear graph of acuity vs calibration or acuity vs fstop. Regardless whether you calibrate or not, it’s a great tool to tell objectively if a lens is up to snuff and where it’s the sharpest. I test all my lenses with it, whether DSLR or MILC, so I KNOW exactly what the acuity of each lens is and where it’s the sharpest. And for my DSLRs, I calibrate all my lenses, and I’ve found that the vast majority need some correction. What YOU do, is up to you.

theehmann

Thank you for your response.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Try the lens first and see how it works. If it is not rendering images the way they are supposed to be rendered, something not common with a new lens, then the lens should go back to the dealer for a replacement or sent to the distributor for replacement or service.
Do not do calibrations on your own.

theehmann

Thank you for your good advice.

blthomas438 Loc: Lewisberry Pennsylvania

The perfect answer. I learned how to take pictures with all your recommend actions in 1978, My High School Basic photography class. The start to my love and career in Photography. My teacher taught us all the techniques you recommended. 😃

CO

I just recently bought a new Nikon D780 and put my Tamron 45mm f/1.8 on it. I use the DataColor SpyderLensCal to check my cameras and lenses. This is a photo I took with it. I entered AF fine tuning values from -15 to +15 and kept adjusting until it looked right. I ended up with +4 in the lens AF fine tuning memory. The D780 has an automatic AF fine tuning feature but I haven't used it yet. I have used that feature with my D500. I put the aperture at f/1.8 to get the shallowest depth of field. The zero on the scale is in the best focus. You can see the chromatic aberration that the lens is producing. The numbers on the scale are greenish behind the zero and reddish in front of the zero. The chromatic aberration goes away when the lens is stopped down a little.

(Download)

CO

Excellent advice. I've done that also. When the camera is in live view mode, it's using contrast detection autofocus. The camera adjusts the focusing until it achieves the highest contrast at the sensor. When using the viewfinder of a SLR or DSLR, the camera is using the phase detection AF sensors and that can be error prone.