Fine tuning your camera to your lenses

I would like to know if anyone has fine tuned the lenses they have to the camera they are using? If you went through the process was it worth the effort and if it did make a improvement how was it done? Mine seems to be working just fine but would this make it be even sharper than it is now? I know this is a bunch of questions but I am interested in learning more about how hard it is to do and is it worth the effort, Jeff

I had to do this for the Tamron I just got, as it seemed to front focus quite a bit. I adjusted the fine tuning in the camera though, not the lens.

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Originally Posted by n8

I had to do this for the Tamron I just got, as it seemed to front focus quite a bit. I adjusted the fine tuning in the camera though, not the lens.

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My wording was off, I know that the adjustments are done in the camera. I was wondering how hard it was, how you did it and was it worth the effort, Jeff

Note that I did have it worded correctly in the subject line.

If I had it then it would be worth it.
With my old Canon 20D and 1D bodies they and all the lenses had to go back to Canon to be aligned together.
It made a difference.
Now if you can compensate in camera that saves a lot of money!

I have measured my wide aperture lenses with several of my cameras. On the D70 a couple of lenses were slightly out but the D300 was fine. I never made any adjustments. Talking with other Nikon users it's the same story.

Here's how I do it:

- Put a 6 foot tape measure on the floor, face-up,
- Place a small object (block of wood) with nice square edges about half way along
- Put the camera on a sturdy tripod at the end of the tape measure
- Choose the focussing spot to test and focus on the point where the block meets the tape measure
- Set the widest aperture you can (shallow depth of focus)
- Do a picture
- Examine the photo closely. You can easily see from the tape measure where the camera has focussed (in front, behind, on the spot)

Look in your camera manual to find out how to make the adjustment. Repeat the test afterwards to make sure that you have actually improved matters

I have a 24-70 f2.8L that was recalibrated to one of my bodies when I had to send it in to Canon for repair. They also recalibrated the body since they had it. The pair were remarkably sharp.

Otherwise I just adjust the sharpness of the lens with my two bodies that I use the most. My preferred method is still the Nikon D70 lens test. Seems to work well every time.

maybe I need to do that
or replace the shooter lol

anyone know if there is a way to do a
Canon 40D and a 70-200 2.8 ISM II?

or does it need to be?

I wish mine were sharper like you pro guys

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Originally Posted by gryphonslair99

I have a 24-70 f2.8L that was recalibrated to one of my bodies when I had to send it in to Canon for repair. They also recalibrated the body since they had it. The pair were remarkably sharp.

Otherwise I just adjust the sharpness of the lens with my two bodies that I use the most. My preferred method is still the Nikon D70 lens test. Seems to work well every time.

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Thanks for posting the link, it was interesting reading, Jeff

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Originally Posted by Franglais

I have measured my wide aperture lenses with several of my cameras. On the D70 a couple of lenses were slightly out but the D300 was fine. I never made any adjustments. Talking with other Nikon users it's the same story.

Here's how I do it:

- Put a 6 foot tape measure on the floor, face-up,
- Place a small object (block of wood) with nice square edges about half way along
- Put the camera on a sturdy tripod at the end of the tape measure
- Choose the focussing spot to test and focus on the point where the block meets the tape measure
- Set the widest aperture you can (shallow depth of focus)
- Do a picture
- Examine the photo closely. You can easily see from the tape measure where the camera has focussed (in front, behind, on the spot)

Look in your camera manual to find out how to make the adjustment. Repeat the test afterwards to make sure that you have actually improved matters

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Thanks for your reply Charles, I think it is worth a try and will cost me nothing. I believe I might check out the D70 method also. Thanks to everyone for responding and giving me a start on what and how to do it, Jeff

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Originally Posted by Grandpaw

My wording was off, I know that the adjustments are done in the camera. I was wondering how hard it was, how you did it and was it worth the effort, Jeff

Note that I did have it worded correctly in the subject line.

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It wasn't too tough. I was just playing with the lens a couple mornings ago, more so testing the sharpness by shooting a guitar that I have hung up. I kept noticing that the guitar to the right of it, and further away from me was sharper than where I was focusing, so it seems that just having items at close, but different distances is a good way to test. On a tripod too. I basically just experimented with the settings in the camera until it matched up. Just a couple minutes of trial and error. Another victory for a lesser known feature of the d7k.

When I get some spare time I am going to check out my lenses. Looking forward to seeing the results, Jeff

Hello everyone!! I own a Nikon D7000 and I am starting to shoot weddings. I have a job in a few weeks and was looking for a good lens to buy! something with a good price that i wont have to worry about quality and speed.

I was looking at the lens Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM for nikon. Has anyone tried this lens? Is it worth buying??

Thanks

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Originally Posted by husk

Hello everyone!! I own a Nikon D7000 and I am starting to shoot weddings. I have a job in a few weeks and was looking for a good lens to buy! something with a good price that i wont have to worry about quality and speed.

I was looking at the lens Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM for nikon. Has anyone tried this lens? Is it worth buying??

Thanks

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I own one and it is on my camera most of the time, Jeff

ok!! thanx Grandpaw!!

Just to confuse you, I almost got the sigma myself based on Jeff's recommendation, but got the Tamron version instead. Seems to be quite solid as well.

What made you pick the Tamron over the Sigma??

I went through both of my bodies and all of my lenses with a lens align. Need to do it again after the D3s went in for repair. And I need to tune the D700. Some of my lenses were right on, some needed some tweaking. All Nikon. Different results on different bodies too. If you are a geek, it is well worth doing. There is no reason not to do it either. You can always go back to zero.

There are several methods out there to use. The simplest is using a ruler. I used LR and used the tethered capture to see the result instantly and tune from there. Lens aligns are cool if you have many lenses and more than one body that you want to tune.