Reiken FoCal

[Whiskeyman]

I recently purchased the Reiken FoCal Pro software and ran some tests on camera & lens combinations. I had no problems testing my D7100 and AF-S 70-200 VRII, AF-S 300 VRII, each on their own and with TC-14 and TC-20, and my AF-D 80-200 w/o any converters.

I am running into issues with the AF-S 300 on my D700, although it may be because of the varying light caused when some clouds started interfering with the light.

It may also have something to do with the heat. I was working outside and the temp was over 90 degrees Fahrenheiht, and the camera was quite warm as the test really works the autofocus motors, and I wasn't resting the equipment at all.

I previously performed manual focus tests on my camera and lens combinations and really wasn't happy with the results, and this software and analysis is pointing to my previous autofocus fine-tune settings as being an issue.

I'm interested to hear about results that anyone else has gotten using this software, as well as if anyone has sent equipment in for service based upon results from testing accompanied with photo results.

WM

 

[Don Kuykendall_RIP]

I have tested 3 cameras so far with my software. D7000 (Wife's) D7100 (Mine) and a friends D7200. All three have been great. I have a long section indoors of about 30 feet so I have been doing all my testing indoors using a very bright worklight. I have found it to be more consistent doing it this way and also a lot cooler. It gets hot way down south.


i had tried several methods of tuning the D7100 and had never been quite satisfied with any of them. The lenses were OK but never quite where I though they should be. The FoCal software got them just to the right point. The only odd lens I have worked with was the 40mm Macro for the D7000. I ended up getting the target as close as I could and running the tests there. That is the way the lens is going to be used so I think it worked the best there.

 

[Bourbon Neat]

I have good results with the D700 and D7200 using the following lenses: Nikkor 50 f1.8G, Tamron SP 70-300, and SP Tamron 150-600.

The Tamron 60mm macro was a no go at any distance, it is known for searching.

 

[Whiskeyman]

Don Kuykendall and Bourbon Neat,

What kind of QoF numbers are you getting with your gear? I shot in daylight and saw a very big difference where I thought there should be only slight ones. I'll be repeating my tests over the next few weeks, as well as running some new ones and pixel peeping my new settings to see how it does.

WM

 

[10 Gauge]

I think consistent lighting is very important for this software. I bought it as well, and I did have a static light on my target, but the light from a nearby window would overpower it and change the lighting from shot to shot as the clouds rolled over. I ended up being happier with my indepedent micro adjustments using the dot tune method. I also didn't realize that the mid grade version of the software apparently won't work with my 150-600, so it was pretty much a complete waste of money for me. I'd like to give it one more try on my other lenses when I can get a better indoor lighting setup in place.

 

[Horoscope Fish]

I recently purchased the Reiken FoCal Pro software and ran some tests on camera & lens combinations. I had no problems testing my D7100 and AF-S 70-200 VRII, AF-S 300 VRII, each on their own and with TC-14 and TC-20, and my AF-D 80-200 w/o any converters.

I am running into issues with the AF-S 300 on my D700, although it may be because of the varying light caused when some clouds started interfering with the light.

It may also have something to do with the heat. I was working outside and the temp was over 90 degrees Fahrenheiht, and the camera was quite warm as the test really works the autofocus motors, and I wasn't resting the equipment at all.

I previously performed manual focus tests on my camera and lens combinations and really wasn't happy with the results, and this software and analysis is pointing to my previous autofocus fine-tune settings as being an issue.

I'm interested to hear about results that anyone else has gotten using this software, as well as if anyone has sent equipment in for service based upon results from testing accompanied with photo results.

WM

I recently calibrated two Sigma primes, one Nikon prime and a Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 all on my D750 using FoCal and I'm very happy with the results. All the lenses I tested needed adjustment; the smallest adjustment was a -5 and the biggest adjustment was a -8.

I really wouldn't want to test my lenses using FoCal without being totally confident about the setup and, too be frank, your setup does not sound optimal to me. Lighting, especially, seems to be critical when using FoCal.
....

 

[Don Kuykendall_RIP]

Don Kuykendall and Bourbon Neat,

What kind of QoF numbers are you getting with your gear? I shot in daylight and saw a very big difference where I thought there should be only slight ones. I'll be repeating my tests over the next few weeks, as well as running some new ones and pixel peeping my new settings to see how it does.

WM

I have not saved all my reports so really can't tell you what they are. I did save the 35mm aperture sharpness report though. here is the top aperture report

 

[Bourbon Neat]

Don Kuykendall and Bourbon Neat,

What kind of QoF numbers are you getting with your gear? I shot in daylight and saw a very big difference where I thought there should be only slight ones. I'll be repeating my tests over the next few weeks, as well as running some new ones and pixel peeping my new settings to see how it does.

WM

About QoF numbers, I truly am not straight on that info yet. Originally at purchase I downloaded version 1.9.10.406. Next, downloaded the beta because it included the D7200. Finally downloaded version 1.9.11.416 as it was the official release that included the D7200.

In the 3 versions, charts have a different feel and the numbers are not the same. One day this week I will be running all lenses on both bodies with the 1.9.11.416 version.

I had posted the aperture results of two lenses here: http://nikonites.com/general-lenses/31236-post-your-focal-reports.html?highlight=reports

The results are a bit confusing compared to the chart and the summary box. The diamonds and lines are similar but not the same, so how to interpret that is unclear.

 

[Whiskeyman]

I installed FoCal 2 (beta) on my old laptop yesterday and ran both the D700 and D7100 with the 300mm AF-S. I'm really surprised by the significantly lesser scores or the D7100 over the D700. :apologetic:

I ran these tests inside with constant lighting for the entire test. I'm beginning to think that the D7100 needs to go back to Nikon...

WM