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Do all non-Canon lens need caliberation?

amatula15
Enthusiast

Hi!

I purchased a Sigma 17-50 F/2.8 lens for my Canon SL1.

When I had demo'd the images seemed sharp, at least at F8.

Does the lens need caliberation?

 

I have read of this online and it seems a bit much for me to do myself if needed (AKA: I would prefer if someone else did it)

.
So hoping I do not, and if I do, that the local camera shops can do.

 

Thank you!

Annie

 

8 REPLIES 8

Ray-uk
Whiz

Whether a lens needs calibration has nothing to do with who made it.

 

Camera bodies and lenses are made to perform within certain tolerance bands, if your body is at one end of the band and the lens is at the other then you may need to adjust the MFA to achieve the best results of that lens/body combination.

 

If you use the same body with another lens or another body with the same lens then the calibration needed (if any) will be different.

"Camera bodies and lenses are made to perform within certain tolerance bands,"

 

Thank you, Ray,

What is a tolearance band and how to you know if this is an issue?

 

I use a 24 mm EF F/2.8 lens on my Canon and expect to switch between the two (if I keep the Sigma).


Thank you so much!

Annie


@amatula15 wrote:

"Camera bodies and lenses are made to perform within certain tolerance bands,"

 

Thank you, Ray,

What is a tolearance band and how to you know if this is an issue?

 

I use a 24 mm EF F/2.8 lens on my Canon and expect to switch between the two (if I keep the Sigma).


Thank you so much!

Annie


If you mean the EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens, then I had one of those lenses.  I thought the images were always soft, and focusing was always a bit noisy.  Canon also has the EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM, which is probably a much better lens.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."

Waddizzle, I have the latter, the EF 24 mm F/2.8 IS USM (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/843009-USA/Canon_5345B002_EF_24mm_f_2_8L_IS.html)

Yes, I think it is very good glass 🙂

 


@amatula15 wrote:

 

What is a tolearance band and how to you know if this is an issue?

 

 


You have to realise that cameras and lenses are precision items but they are mass produced so that some slight variations can occur during manufacture. Generally these variations are adjusted at the final setup and test stages so that every camera and lens will work together.

 

Obviously this adjustment takes time which adds cost to the product so the manufacturers have to decide on a certain tolerance either side of an excellent match. This means that with a focus system they decide that it will be acceptable if it is adjusted to within plus or minus a few fractions of a millimetre either side of the exact point, this is a tolerance band.

 

If they made every item to be a perfect match then they would probably cost ten times more than they do now. A lot of users will never notice if their equipment is slightly off from perfect but for those that do they now have the option (with a lot of cameras) to make their own micro focus adjustments.

 

 


@amatula15 wrote:

Hi!

I purchased a Sigma 17-50 F/2.8 lens for my Canon SL1.

When I had demo'd the images seemed sharp, at least at F8.

Does the lens need caliberation?

 

I have read of this online and it seems a bit much for me to do myself if needed (AKA: I would prefer if someone else did it)

.
So hoping I do not, and if I do, that the local camera shops can do.

 

Thank you!

Annie

 


I assume you're talking about autofocus microadjustment (AFMA), since it's the only type of calibration for which you're likely to encounter the need. The truth is that that AFMA adjustment isn't nearly as complicated as it's often made out to be, even by some in this forum. (Tedious, yes; but not very complicated.)

 

That said, I don't think that the SL1 has AFMA. So if your lens/camera combination does need it, you may have to send it to Canon to get it done.

Bob
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

Thank you,

 

I do not understand microadjustment but found this page that lists cameras that have it.
Few Canons are on it; but many Nikons:

 

https://www.mtdhelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205765060-Which-cameras-have-the-AF-MicroAdjustment-and-ar...

 

All the best, Annie

wq9nsc
Authority
Authority

If the images are sharp, it is OK but the way to test this is with the lens wide open (f2.8 in this case)   Test with an outside setting in good lighting so that you can use high shutter speed to avoid shake without a tripod. 

 

As others noted, I don't think the SL 1 has user accessible focus calibration.  But to test the setup, aim at an object with high contrast (something like a yardstick works well) stuck into a lawn and choose a single focus point and put it on the yardstick.  Take several shots and closely examine the results on the computer monitor and if the auto focus adjustment is correct the yardstick and the grass just in front of and behind will be in sharpest focus with the focus becoming less sharp the further you look from the focus point.  If the point of best focus is in front of or behind the yard stick, then focus calibration is off. 

 

Usually, the issue of focus calibration is most critical with long and fast telephoto lens because the depth of field is so shallow.  With shorter focal length glass, unless you are on top of the subject the depth of field is deeper and a minor deviation from perfect may not be of concern.  All of my long white primes were dead on with all of my 1DX bodies

 

Prior to moving to 1DX series bodies, I was using a 1D Mark II which did not have the ability for the user to adjust focus calibration.  With that body, I never found an issue with any of the glass I was using so it isn't like every lens or body needs adjustment and most people didn't even think about this issue until the ability to user adjust focus calibration begin to appear.

 

Rodger

EOS 1DX M3, 1DX M2, 1DX, 5DS R, M6 Mark II, 1D M2, EOS 650 (film), many lenses, XF400 video
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