Calibration of lenses

[Epicuros]

On another site people have been discussing the "calibration of lenses". This is a topic that, to the best of my knowledge, has never been dealt with in EOS mag. Do our Canon lenses really need calibration or is this an issue concerning only third-party lenses? I have ten Canon lenses and one SIgma lens. Do I really need to do calibration work?

[Trev B]

I’ve never had a lens calibrated in my life, canon or third party.

[@imagesBV]

I think this is micro adjustment…and Yes calibration of lenses on dSLRs has been fully documented in the magazine…more specifically the camera focus off -set is changed to account for the difference in position of the focussing sensor and image sensor…( I think it’s referred to as micro adjustment) this is not required on mirrorless as the image sensor is used as the focus sensor….that can’t be done with an optical viewfinder because the mirror is in the way …except in live view mode.
the adjustment is needed for each lens you use…by trial and error and by focussing on a subject at least 50 times further than the focal length of lens.

[Epicuros]

Thanks for responding friends. I don't recall any articles on lens "micro-adjustments"; I may have missed it or have forgotten if it was a long time ago that it was dealt with in the EOS mag. I have not noticed any focusing problems as yet, but once the issue was brought up, I will start checking my lenses. Does this adjustment require a lab or can be performed by the owner?

[DrJon]

BTW, very belatedly (sorry), I used Reikan Focal software to micro-adjust my lenses to my DSLR camera (5Dsr).

https://www.reikanfocal.com/details.html

[@imagesBV]

Yes you can definitely do it yourself. From memory you need to choose a subject that is at least 50 times the focal length of the lens distant. Then take test shots with different micro adjustments…from -10 through to + 10. Then see which is sharpest. I suggest you contact the magazine for the article reference.

[antoeknee]

Plenty of stuff on YouTube about micro adjustments.

[2Beers]

I used the reikan focal software to microadjust my lenses