Micro Adjustments Canon 50D

[Ricko]

Hi all

Waas just wondering if any of you 50D owners have tried adjusting this setting on your 50D?

Also has anyone got any method of testing if this needs to be adjusted at all? Because the way I read it is, that if the AF locks on and you take the shot and the picture is focused then there is no need to alter this setting!

[Colin Southern]

Hi all

Waas just wondering if any of you 50D owners have tried adjusting this setting on your 50D?

Also has anyone got any method of testing if this needs to be adjusted at all? Because the way I read it is, that if the AF locks on and you take the shot and the picture is focused then there is no need to alter this setting!

Hi Ricko,

It's a "micro" adjustment, so you'd be hard pressed to see the difference at anything other than 100% magnification.

I've played with it on my 1D series cameras (1D3 then 1Ds3) and concluded that (for me anyway) there was nothing to be gained by using it. I got what was (debatably) a (barely) noticeable improvement at one focal length, but it made it worse at another length - so I just gave up.

Correct capture sharpening makes a FAR bigger difference.

[Ricko]

Correct capture sharpening makes a FAR bigger difference.

That im learning,I seem to be getting very soft images from my 50D. Although I'd like to blame the equipment I know its me thats at fault really

[Colin Southern]

That im learning,I seem to be getting very soft images from my 50D. Although I'd like to blame the equipment I know its me thats at fault really

How about posting a reasonable size 100% crop (say 1200 x 800 pixels) and we'll take a look.

Are you shooting RAW? What post-processing are you applying?

[Ricko]

I shoot in RAW mostly and apply PP (CS3) by experimenting at the moment with different things to see what effect it has. By 100% crop do you mean reduce the overall image size to 1200x800?

Also from RAW to jpeg I use File/ Scripts /Image processor in CS 3 is this a good method to convert the files?

No PP in any of these photos

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Ricko,

I have this problem with my Sigma lens on a Nikon D5000 and no micro-adjusts to correct it.

In my experience, we'll need two more things from you;
1) The image EXIF data, so we can rule out other factors like camera shake
2) To know, with certainty, what you focused on (not easy if you don't always use the central point!)

By "100% crop" we mean cut a lump from the whole image that is 1200 x 800, no re-sizing should be done at all. e.g. Full frame and 100% crop, although my crop example isn't 1200 x 800.
On your first shot, we'd expect to see just the girl's heads.

The red box in my 100% crop is a handy Nikon feature in their PP software that says, without doubt, which focus point was active, I don't know if Canon can do that.

If you look at my thread on this, it'll give you the idea.
Here's a couple of longer distance pictures to prove my problem:
focus on branches Heron is sitting on
focus on water in front of Heron
in each case, you decide which bit is sharper!

Cheers,

[Ricko]

ahhh thanks, i can overlay the focus points in Digital Photo Professional but havent figured out a way to save the photo with them on it.

defo more in focus with AF point on the water

[Dave Humphries]

but havent figured out a way to save the photo with them on

I think I did it with Vista's screen snip tool

[Ricko]

ok, hope i got this right



F 5.6
1/100
ISO 400
auto
Flash fired
Focal lenth 60MM

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Ricko,

ok, hope i got this right

Looks like you did to me.

I agree these are not stunningly sharp, but as Colin will no doubt say (and possibly demonstrate), nothing that some careful sharpening wouldn't put right.

If this was a kit lens, this may be as good as it gets as they are built down to a price.
Compared to mine, there's nothing in the shots that is noticeably sharper than the girls eyes, which I guess is what you focused on. If you focused on the shorter one, it is possible it is focusing just in front, as the catchlights look smaller in the taller girl's eyes.

To confirm or dis-prove, I would suggest taking a picture of something at a 45 degree or shallower angle, but make it something with a definite focus line on. This may help.

However, technically, this kind of chart is much better, because you focus on something parallel to the sensor plane, then read off the angled scale.

Hope that helps,

[Jim B.]

Hi Ricko,

I use a 50D.I will agree with Colin.Unless your lens is way out of calibration you won't see much of a change when microadjusting.
The best thing you can do is learn how to sharpen your photos.
Regards,
Jim

[Colin Southern]

Hi Ricko,

I've only really looked at the latest one with the two girls upfront, but it looks pretty normal to me (considering it's a crop) (although I've only just got up, so my eyes need a bit of "micro-adjustment" too!).

I'll give it some sharpening later on in the day when I'm at work and see how it sharpens up (I would expect pretty well) (I'll list my steps).

[Ricko]

Great and thanks for all the comments, time and effort !! Appreciated (couldnt sleep btw)

[Colin Southern]

Great and thanks for all the comments, time and effort !! Appreciated (couldnt sleep btw)

Hi Ricko,

Here's what I came up with after a Photoshop 30 Second Makeover (TM!)

- Opened in RAW converter
- Reduced exposure 0.25 stop to reduce washout in skintones on girl on left
- Little fill light
- Raise black clipping point slightly
- Upped saturation 10%
- Open in Photoshop
- Capture Sharpen (USM 300%, 0.3, 0 Threshold)
- Content Sharpen (USM 40%, 0.2 pixels)

Skin tones are looking a little waxy - something I often see at higher ISOs (yours was shot at ISO 400).

Overall, the girl on the left is looking pretty normal, the girl on the right is still a little soft; not sure why.

Overall (remembering that these are crops), I thought the lens was OK - it's never going to be as sharp as an L-Series, but then again, and L-Series is never going to be the price of an EF28-135 IS either!



PS: I've got a similar shot of my two girls - had to bribe them with new clothes to get them to agree to be this close!

[Ricko]

Thanks for the info, how come you don't sharpen in ARC ?

you havent by any chance got an image shot with a standard lens and an L series lens to compare the difference? Or know of a review?

[Colin Southern]

Thanks for the info, how come you don't sharpen in ARC ?

you havent by any chance got an image shot with a standard lens and an L series lens to compare the difference? Or know of a review?

Hi Ricko,

Your very welcome.

I don't sharpen in ACR because the radius doesn't go low enough. It's possible that it's just a different scale to Photoshop, but since Photoshop does it just fine, I haven't really thought about it any further. In most cases, if you CAN do something in ACR then you SHOULD do it in ACR, but sharpening is one of those exceptions - like resampling - where it doesn't make any real difference.

I don't have any side-by-side comparisons of L-Series -v- EF28-135 (I use L-Series exclusively), but I'm including a couple of 100% crops below shot with an EF85mm F1.2L II L-Series lens. The first has virtually no post-processing (only tiny exposure / fill light tweak), and the 2nd is the same shot, but with capture sharpening applied. Be sure to click the bar so that you see the image at full resolution.





Note: At JPEG quality of "12", these were too big - so I've reduced the quality to "10" to get them to a reasonable size

[Ricko]

Great photo, out of the two I prefer the unsharped one

- Capture Sharpen (USM 300%, 0.3, 0 Threshold)
- Content Sharpen (USM 40%, 0.2 pixels)

Is there a post that goes into some detail on how do this?

could be here i guess https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tu...sharp-mask.htm

[Colin Southern]

Great photo, out of the two I prefer the unsharped one
Is there a post that goes into some detail on how do this?

could be here i guess https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tu...sharp-mask.htm

Thanks It's more of a testiment to what you get with an L-Series lens, although to be fair - although L-Zooms are pretty sharp, this was shot with Canon's top-of-the-line 85mm lens, which has exceptional sharpness, colour, and contrast.

Keeping in mind too that these are 100% crops - you wouldn't have a finished print with the same degree of apparant sharpness.

In terms of info on sharpening, I'm sure that Sean's tutorial will be great (haven't looked at it for a very long time personally), and also you might get some additional info here.

[Ricko]

Thanks

Keeping in mind that these are 100% crops - you wouldn't have a finished print with the same degree of apparant sharpness.

In terms of info on sharpening, I'm sure that Sean's tutorial will be great (haven't looked at it for a very long time personally), and also you might get some additional info here.

Awsome, you're the best Colin Thanks

[Markvetnz]

I spent some time altering the micro focus on my 50d. I have a 100 to 400 L which focuses just fine. My other L lens (16 to 35 2.8L) seemed a bit soft to me. I was expecting heaps from this lens after doing all my research. The first batch of shots all seemed to lack sharp detail. I adjusted it +4 after taking countless shots of a printed page. I don't know if I was expecting too much from the lens or whether it was the camera. I know the 50d has got some criticism because of the 15Mp. Nice to have the ability to fiddle a little though.