Reikan Focal Pro: Full Auto Calibration only works on Nikon D3/D3S; Why?

TriShooter

I know there are other threads on camera calibration methods but I feel like we have a missing that Nikon could do something about to make all of our lives better. I've changed a lot of my gear this year so have been doing a lot of lens calibrations with Reikan Focal Pro. Luckily for me, two of my full frame cameras are still D3S models which use the full auto calibration features of the Reikan software, which is delightful to use.

However, ALL of the newer Nikon cameras in FX, and DX have to be calibrated semi-automatically / manually which means I have to stand there dialing in the numbers for the software when doing AF Fine Tuning because Nikon now does not interface Reikan software to change the AF Fine Tuning. This seems strange since it works with the older Nikon D3 and D3S models. Regardless none the newer cameras including the Nikon D4 and D4S in the FX, or DX models.

AF Fine Tuning lenses is important, especially with the faster normal / super telephoto lens including our zoom lenses. IF we use Nikon's Teleconverters the need to AF Fine Tune is essential to get anything close to the quality potential of each TC/Lens combination because the variations AF Fine Tune can be huge. For example my 600mm FL ED is either -2, 0,0,+1 on my primary cameras, but adding the TC17E ii changes those settings by as much -13 to -15, so calibration with a TC frequently makes dramatic difference in quality.

Why is Nikon not supporting interfacing at least their pro FX gear, and high end DX gear that frequently will use their most expensive normal and super telephoto lenses with calibration software like Reikan's, and others?

Nikon is shooting themselves in the foot by not making the calibration process a no brainer for their users. Doing this will not only enhance their customer's experience for getting the best quality out of their lenses; it will also reduce returns because many Nikon users are unaware of the need to calibrate their lenses to each of their camera bodies. This is a need that will remain until we get to high performance mirrorless cameras that are as good as dSLR's for focusing fast action shots.

Nikon would be well served to include a calibration program with all of their super telephoto lenses, or suggest it is necessary to achieve maximum lens performance on every camera body. More users would see for themselves the amazing quality of Nikon's lenses which would create more customer loyalty. Nikon would also be well served to offer AF Fine Tune across the range of zoom lenses which most people calibrate for the long focal length since it the most critical. The capability to calibrate short, medium, long focal length for zooms would improve their lens performance at a modest cost. It is a win - win for everyone.

I like Nikon, but think there are things that would make Nikon better without spending huge amounts of money on product development that would enhance their products. Nikon is prone to spending a lot of development money on things like auto program modes, i-ttl, video, and superfluous tweaks like their new clarity control setting on the D750, and D810 that are good, but have a relatively small impact on creating great images for most serious shooters. What I want is cameras with superior sensors, fast precise focus speed in low light on still and moving subjects, repeatable accurate internal metering that works consistently in Manual/Aperture/ Speed modes in conjunction with a variable ISO, high shutter speeds, and an accurate histogram readout. The basics are the most important to me, along with ability to tweak my equipment combinations to their maximum performance.

I love shooting, and any time I can save tweaking camera/lens combinations is more time for me to shoot. The time spent is significant given calibration is something that ideally needs to be done every six months if you are shooting frequently.

Am I alone in feeling this way? Are there others here with similar feelings?

TriShooter

I am surprised to see no comments here because most of us know that matching our cameras to each of our lenses is important to get the best quality out of our systems, but it takes time away from what we like doing best, making good images.

To get a feel for the ease, and time difference between full automatic lens calibration which Reikan Focal calls "Hands Free," and Semi-Automatic watch the videos below. I also included a DotTune video because their method is free, and works well with af-s lenses other than a few shortfalls which I mention below.

The "Hands Free" Full Automatic Calibration is faster, and more accurate because the users hands do not touch the camera to change AF-Tune settings which is important when dealing with fast lenses, and super telephoto lenses.

The Nikon D3/D3S are the only Nikon camera models that have an interface which supports hands free calibration fully automatic calibration.

Canon on the other hand has more than a few cameras, including the 70D that support hands free calibration.

Reikan Focal Camera Support Page

Having a sturdy tripod, and a heavy duty (gimbal/ball head) mount is important for any lens calibration to work accurately. The same goes for the focus target.

Reikan Focal Hands Free Automatic Calibration

Reikan Focal Semi-Automatic User Assisted Calibration

Another semi-automatic that is Free is DotTune which I like, with the exception of having to touch the camera numerous times, and taking a modest amount of extra time. DotTune is also not checking for the repeatability of the auto-focus system in the lens itself which is not an issue on any of the af-s lenses I've tested here, but can sometimes be a serious problem with the older AF lenses, and AF-D lenses which can be erratic when it comes to repeatability in focusing. These issues aside, the DotTune process is impressively well thought out, and work well on AF-S lenses.

The Free DotTune Calibration Process

heartyfisher

No DSLRs that I know of can do auto calibration of lenses.. and Mirrorless cameras dont need it. Not having a DSLR that can do auto-calibration is a problem .. true .. but its a problem WITH a work around. Also its a workaround that most DSLR owners never use. and many that do want to calibrate it, send it in for Nikon to do rather than doing it themselves. So its a minor issue that will go away soon when mirror less systems arrive..

it would be nice to have auto calibration built in... but i don't see it coming anytime soon.. It would be so easy to implement that if the SDK was fully open and people were allowed to hack it. It could be available in 2 shakes of a monkey's tail.. That and dozens of nice to have features...

spraynpray

It isn't the end of the world to me, my friends Canons do it automatically, I do it manually. Just takes a little longer is all, but it isn't something you do often and doing it manually expressed as a percentage of the time to do the rest of the job is not too significant really. IMHO

haroldp

The setup of tripod and position for camera and target takes most of the time. Figuring out the calibration is easy once you know what to look for. It is critically important to do.

As mirrorless cameras get phase detect AF, they will likely also benefit from tuning even if the PD elements are on the sensor, because PD AF anticipates arrival at focus points based on focus motor speeds. That is why different lenses have different calibration points on the same camera.

Ironheart

Heh, maybe I'm old-skool, but setup for me is like 30seconds, and fine-tune about 5min total. Mount camera on tripod, place yard-schtick at 45° angle, focus on 18", take a photo. Adjust +5, take photo, adjust -5 take photo. Compare results, decide on plus or minus (i.e. pick the better one, let's say it's -5). If it's minus, then I do -10 and compare to -5. If -10 is better I go to -15, if -5 is better I try -2 and -7.

Anyway, you get my point. In about 5-7 photos I can narrow it down to within 1 or 2 of the best number. Obviously zoom lenses take a bit more time to find the sweet spot for the entire range. Or not, if you know what FL you shoot most of the time.

haroldp

@Ironheart

You left out remembering where I left all that stuff, which is the time consuming part for me.

I agree with the rest of your post.

The point being that auto calibration would not save a significant fraction of the time for me since I now nail it it 3-4 shots, sometimes less.

Canon lets you tune zooms separately for the wide and tele ends. Nikon has the internal metadata to do it but does not open he user interface.

... H

Ironheart

@Ironheart

You left out remembering where I left all that stuff, which is the time consuming part for me.

Heh, yeah. I can find my camera pretty quick, but the yardstick and tripod can be a bit of a scavenger hunt.

I agree with the rest of your post.

The point being that auto calibration would not save a significant fraction of the time for me since I now nail it it 3-4 shots, sometimes less.

Canon lets you tune zooms separately for the wide and tele ends. Nikon has the internal metadata to do it but does not open he user interface.

... H

This is one place where Sigma has it right with the dock and the ability to adjust at multiple FLs and Focus distances (Canon only does two FLs). If you send your camera and lens off to nikon for an adjust it all comes back perfect, so we know "it's in there" they just don't let us mere mortals mess with it. Probably for good reason.