Canon Canada to calibrate lenses?

[Maria]

Has anyone sent their lenses and camera to Canon Canada to be calibrated?

My 24-70 and 70-200 on my 6D are off... I have tried to do it myself using micro calibration but can't do it... So have read that the best thing to do is send the lenses and camera to Canon for them to do????

Would love to hear what your experience has been?

[Peter]

A calibration is the real thing. It is possible to do it yourself with 3rd part software like SPT, but the software costs $200 for each camera and harder than to micro adjust.

Canon Japan takes around $12 each lens (compared to $150 in Sweden), so guess where I will go this Autumn with all my equipment....

[ebiggs1]

I wouldn't send my lenses to Canon for calibration.  I never have.  For a couple of reasons; one is you CAN do it yourself.  You don't really need any special software or gear.  A good sturdy tripod is about it.  You should already have that, right?

And two, are you sure it is the lenses?  Yeah I know but it is imperative you know whether it is you or the gear.  If it is you, Canon can't help!

One question I have for you, is anything in your photos sharp in focus?  That is a key question.

[Maria]

I have tried to do it myself - at least three times and end up frustrated each time .... latest round was yesterday... so maybe i'm not doing something correctly... 

Yes i have a tripod - a few actually 😉  yesterday was a nice day - so went outside (no not too bright in the spot i was at - just right), set up the target (which i made this time vs using a ruler last time or a book)... set up the target and the camera on a tripod .. set them about 2-2.5 meters apart... used a little hand held 8" level to check both... tried to calibrate the 24-70... set at f/2.8 and started by leaving  micro calibration default set at 0 (for wide and for tele) set lens to 65mm (which is where i usually use that end of the lens) took a shot.... and another and another... couldn’t find any place that it was perfectly sharp.. tried to adjust via micro calibrations at +/- 10, 15, 20 and still couldn’t find a sharp spot.... then redid at about 28mm (the other end i use a lot).... could see a sharper 'area' but not like a specific spot - ie on my scale it was between 0+4 not at 2 or 3 etc... and when i tried to micro adjust nothing was tack sharp no matter what the settings were...not even a moving range.. so i must be doing something wrong.... i didn't write down what settings i used for each shot (should have).... in the end just put it all back to '0'....

 yes, when i take photos there is a sharp spot - usually in front of where i focused - thus why i think it is front focusing and why i'm trying to figure this out... and yes i now it could be me and not the gear 😉 a lot of my shots are headshots, i focus on the eye but often find that the eyebrows are more in focus than the eyes or the nostrils or teeth.. that is what I’m seeing most times....

[Maria]

forgot to add that i shot tethered to LR so i could check the images vs using the LCD...

[Maria]

had posted pic but data wrong so removed to not confuse things....

[Maria]

had posted pic but data wrong so removed to not confuse things....

[RobertTheFat]

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@Maria wrote:

I have tried to do it myself - at least three times and end up frustrated each time .... latest round was yesterday... so maybe i'm not doing something correctly... 

Yes i have a tripod - a few actually 😉  yesterday was a nice day - so went outside (no not too bright in the spot i was at - just right), set up the target (which i made this time vs using a ruler last time or a book)... set up the target and the camera on a tripod .. set them about 2-2.5 meters apart... used a little hand held 8" level to check both... tried to calibrate the 24-70... set at f/2.8 and started by leaving  micro calibration default set at 0 (for wide and for tele) set lens to 65mm (which is where i usually use that end of the lens) took a shot.... and another and another... couldn’t find any place that it was perfectly sharp.. tried to adjust via micro calibrations at +/- 10, 15, 20 and still couldn’t find a sharp spot.... then redid at about 28mm (the other end i use a lot).... could see a sharper 'area' but not like a specific spot - ie on my scale it was between 0+4 not at 2 or 3 etc... and when i tried to micro adjust nothing was tack sharp no matter what the settings were...not even a moving range.. so i must be doing something wrong.... i didn't write down what settings i used for each shot (should have).... in the end just put it all back to '0'....

 yes, when i take photos there is a sharp spot - usually in front of where i focused - thus why i think it is front focusing and why i'm trying to figure this out... and yes i now it could be me and not the gear 😉 a lot of my shots are headshots, i focus on the eye but often find that the eyebrows are more in focus than the eyes or the nostrils or teeth.. that is what I’m seeing most times....

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You're overthinking what is basically a simple and fairly intuitive process. Sit your subject down; place the active focus point on the eyes; and take a series of pictures with different AFMA settings, e.g. 0, +1, -1, +2, -2, +3, -3. If the shot with AFMA set to 0 has the eyes most in focus, you're done. If one of the others is better, use that as the base and take another set of pictures on each side of that setting. Repeat until you're sure of which setting works best. Purists in this group will tell you to use targets, specialized software, etc., etc.; and if you're really an expert at setting those things up, you might save a little time. But I can't imagine a situation where I'd be likely to bother with that stuff.

One caution: when you've decided on the correct setting, don't forget to leave the camera set that way. And be sure to write down the settings for each lens (I record them in a spreadsheet), because sooner or later the camera will get reset, and you don't want to have to do the test shots again.

[ebiggs1]

"at least three times and end up frustrated each time ...."

Maria,

Let's see if we can stop the frustrating!  Set the camera settings all back to 0.  Matter of fact reset the entire camera back to factory defaults.  This will give us ground zero.

I think indoors might be a better place to do this.  Make sure the tripod is your best and strongest.  Set the camera for a pretty normal exposure.  Use the most open aperture your lens has,... f2.8.  For a target use a yard stick or a ruler. Preferably a wooden or metal ruler.  One that is also solid.  Make sure you are more than minium focus distance of your lens. 10 feet is good.  Make sure the rule is flat on the floor or a table.  Focus at a mid point.  Something should be in sharp focus.  The ruler will tell you which way to adjust.  So here are my steps;

1. Ruler
2. Ensure bright, good light to get a fast shutter. Do not use fluorescent lights.
3. How to set the camera.  I use........
   1. Av – aperture priority
   2. Widest aperture.
   3. Turn off image stabilization if it has it.
   4. ISO, 400-800 
   5. Select center focus point only, very important !
   6. Adjust the tripod height about two feet above the floor.
4. Place the ruler flat on the floor. 5 or 10 feet in front of the camera.
5. Level the camera and align the target square in view
6. Aim the center focus point to the middle line of the ruler. 
7. Choose a mid-zoom length.
8. Defocus the lens.
9. Focus only once and snap picture.
10. View photo on your computer in LR up to 100%. Check focus accuracy.
11. Adjust MFA in camera by three or four increments at a time.
12. Reshoot and adjust by two or three increments.
13. Repeat.

Come back and let me know how it went.  You know you will have to do this for each and every lens?

[Waddizzle]

Ernie has pretty much covered it.  I

• I would add using a yardstick is better than a ruler, sitting at a low angle.
• Place the ruler at a distance of about 50x the focal length.
• Use the shutter lockup, and a remote release, or the shutter delay timer in the camera.
• Bright sunlight will give you more consistent results than artificial lights..
• You should perform multiple tests, and compile an average result .... but don't change settings, yet.
• Do the tests a second time, on a different day, and compare results to the first set of test shots.

Do a search on YouTube for "Dot Tune Auto Focus".