Posted by Kalin Wilson on March 7, 2009 at 2:12 AM
Anyone in the Denver/Colorado Springs area have a Lens Align?
I'm planning on buying one but they are back-orderded and I'd like to check the focus alignment on my gear prior to a trip in a few weeks.
Posted by Rajeev Thomas on March 7, 2009 at 11:33 AM
Kalin.... sounds like a great tool. Thank you for sharing the info...regards, Rajeev
Posted by Scott Bacon on March 7, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Nice timing! I recently received my new 5D2, so I'm interested in this topic also.
Call me a skeptic (and cheap, if you like ), but I'm not sold on the whole Lens Align thing. It seems like many people have microadjusted their lenses just fine without it for a number of years. But who am I to say? I've neither microadjusted my lenses (but I'll post back after I do - today or tomorrow) and I've not used the Lens Align tool. So I'll reserve final judgment. Maybe it just makes the task easier/faster. It had better be MUCH easier/faster for $80-$140 plus shipping.
Chuck Westfall has a good post on the topic (scroll to 2nd article). FWIW, he recommends NOT using an angled chart. This is the technique I plan on following. I'll let you know how it goes.
Edit #2 FWIW, I used Jeffery Friedl's chart and technique this afternoon on my Canon 5D Mark II with both 24-105mm f/4 L IS and 70-200mm f/4 L lenses. The exercise took a little over an hour - mostly reading, printing the chart and set up. Once I started taking and evaluating test images, it went quite quickly even though I tested a number of focal lengths - 24mm, 50mm, 70mm, 105mm, 150mm, and 200mm. My 24-105mm (from the 5D2 kit) required 0 adjustment - cool. And I ended up applying a -2 microadjustment setting to my 70-200mm. So as it turned out, my camera and lens combinations needed very little (or no) adjustment. But it was interesting and now I know exactly what my autofocus situation is.
Regarding Lens Align... This was an easy and quick enough procedure that I think I'd recommend saving the $$$ for some other toy. Each to his own, of course.
Posted by Kalin Wilson on March 7, 2009 at 11:17 PM
Good info, Scott. I'd seen some of the other techniques and I'd thought about trying them but hadn't gotten to it. The lens align may have some merit, especially as a shared tool or if you have a wide variety of lenses or changing equipment. I'll take a look at Jeff's writeup again. Thanks!
Discussion
3 repliesI'm planning on buying one but they are back-orderded and I'd like to check the focus alignment on my gear prior to a trip in a few weeks.
Call me a skeptic (and cheap, if you like
Chuck Westfall has a good post on the topic (scroll to 2nd article). FWIW, he recommends NOT using an angled chart. This is the technique I plan on following. I'll let you know how it goes.
Edit: More techniques...
From Jeffery Friedl
From Keith Cooper
Edit #2 FWIW, I used Jeffery Friedl's chart and technique this afternoon on my Canon 5D Mark II with both 24-105mm f/4 L IS and 70-200mm f/4 L lenses. The exercise took a little over an hour - mostly reading, printing the chart and set up. Once I started taking and evaluating test images, it went quite quickly even though I tested a number of focal lengths - 24mm, 50mm, 70mm, 105mm, 150mm, and 200mm. My 24-105mm (from the 5D2 kit) required 0 adjustment - cool.
Regarding Lens Align... This was an easy and quick enough procedure that I think I'd recommend saving the $$$ for some other toy.