How To AF Fine Tune Microadjust in the Field | Nailing Your Autofocus

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Today I do a quick tutorial on how to fine-tune the autofocus of your camera/lens in the field.
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Опубликовано:

9 июл 2018

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Комментарии : 89

@angeleescobar 2 года назад

Of all the videos on YT, this is the most informative video on how to fine tune your lens. Thank you.

@brentboughton7681 6 лет назад

Congratulations on being the grand prize winner of the 2018 Audubon Awards. Excellent photo of that great gray owl.

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

Thanks!

@tomdullage1531 6 лет назад

Useful tips, Steve, something I've been meaning to do for a while, no excuses now! Thanks.

@davidbryant4792 6 лет назад

Thanks Steve, I’m gonna try this. Love your videos.

@Liam2E0LDQ 6 лет назад

Excellent video, just got the exact same ones delivered and you explained the best way to use them, Cheers for the video

@Daverazzi 6 лет назад

Great info I have been meaning to do this, I’m gonna take this as a sign that it’s time to do it since my favorite RU-vid photog. Made a how to video!! Thanks keep up the great work!

@rodrigomalutta 6 лет назад

Perfect time for this video. I really want to fine tune the AF on my sigma 100-400mm. Thanks for the video.

@patricksmith2553 4 года назад

I personally do not AF Fine tune ever, and I have images regularly published in the L.A. Times or magazines like S.I. and here is why! Firstly I own all professional "hand-made" in Japan Nikon lenses and two D4s bodies, D500. However even the best lenses can need adjustment and I do know that, but Nikon will not let you Fine-tune AF for different focal lengths, like on zooms. Also it does not let you fine tune AF for different distances. I will quickly add that almost all of my images are in focus, almost all of the time and probably because I have been doing this for 22 years! Especially when using the new 70-200mm FL or my 400mm 2.8 FL lenses and the newer pro bodies that I mentioned, you really shouldn't miss focus and a -5 or +5 adjustment is not going to matter! When Nikon addresses these issues, then I will be the first to buy a test target and recommend people do this technique! Until then, it's kinda a waste of time for me at least, but if it helps you than great!

@isaacmazique1530 6 лет назад

Very insightful. I have noticed that when shooting a flying Common Grackle flying through a tree from about 200 feet away, with the Nikon D500 and 200-500mm 5.6 lens at f8 and 500mm, that the bird was in sharp focus, but limbs of the tree in front of and behind the bird were soft. I was using single point focus hand held while sitting 1/1600 second and auto ISO. I have not had to calibrate the Nikon D500 yet.

@Jackleong29 4 года назад

Very useful and informative video for me who is a Nikon user. Thank you.

@yujinlandscapephotography.7787 6 лет назад

Great tips,👌 Steve.

@ungavaproductions 5 лет назад

Thanks to share. Very good job and very useful

@loosecannontv614 6 лет назад

Great tips Steve n thanks for sharing 1love

@ChrisSmith-wz4cc 6 лет назад

Steve your the Awesomest... Great explanation on the fine tuning of lenses... Keep the tricks to better photographs coming for us amateurs... Thanks Steve

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

Is 'awesomest' a word?

@ChrisSmith-wz4cc 6 лет назад

I'm working on it becoming part of Webster's book...

@philduffoutdoors9882 6 лет назад

Steve - congratulations on winning the Audubon Grand Prize! Beautiful great grey owl image. Something maybe obvious or not so obvious is when adding a teleconverter the AF Fine Tune should be also be checked and adjusted with the TC on lens. The camera will save a separate AF Fine Tune setting for the lens both with and without the TC. At least a D500 will.

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

True.

@kimpedersen Год назад

Thanks alot! - had to take some portrait pictures of my GF with my new Sigma 135mm f/1.8 and even tho i picked the "closest eye" - it was the one furthest away that was sharp on almost all pictures. Time to micro-adjust :)

@keithmacdonald4805 6 лет назад

Great tips Steve, thanks very much. I would really like to see you do a video on your post work flow. You do an excellent job of post on you images I think you could really help us amateurs. Thanks again.

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

Will do.

@SultanenNex 6 лет назад

Thanks for this video! 😃

@buc71x24 6 лет назад

Informative, thank you!

@trypersistence 5 лет назад

You published this on my birthday. Why weren't you celebrating with me? 😂😂😂👍🏼👊🏼

@SteveMattheis 5 лет назад

Nothing like an AF fine tune party...

@johnsholian4318 6 лет назад

Thanks Steve! I’ve been a little hesitant to mess with the fine tune but you showed that it’s a piece of cake.

@orviskid 3 года назад

What focal length do you use for a zoom lense, does it matter? You forgot to mention how far away from the target to be

@pete-r51 5 лет назад

Great info.

@kevinmurray781 6 лет назад

Great informative video Steve thank for the advice.

@Jimmy_Cavallo 8 месяцев назад

💥I really appreciate your efforts. I was drawn here by the title “fine tune microadjustment in the field” but I’m wondering who happens to have a focusing target with them out in the woods. From what I’m seeing this is what someone would be doing back home having such equipment since no one wants to carry this target around all day “in the field”. 🤟🏼

@soak000 4 года назад

LIked your nice, clean video. How far away did you set the target box from your lens at 500mm? Thanks.

@thebobster2024 6 лет назад

Best video on this topic I've seen... Thanks How far away from the target do you need to be when testing a 600mm lens, or doesn't if matter?

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

It isn’t super important in practice. I wouldn’t do it at minimum focus distance, but you need to be close enough to the target to be able to discern the minor differences in adjustment.

@miljo2146 4 года назад

Have you tested some wide angle lenses on the D850? My 14-24 needs significant autofocus fine tune even at closed apertures where depth of field is quite big. I've already had it checked by Nikon a couple of months ago because that problem was even more significant back then.

@macmcmillen6282 6 лет назад

Hey Steve, this was really great. Hope to see more videos like this. Would be curious to see how you fine tune the AF on a Sigma with the Sigma USB Dock. I know you have the Sigma 100-400, so I'm guessing you're familiar with the Dock. Thanks for these great videos!

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

Yep. Frankly, it’s a pain to do it but I’ll put it on my list of videos to make so others can give it a try because it does make a big difference.

@macmcmillen6282 6 лет назад

Thanks!

@manosskg 4 года назад

Yes we really need this!! Any chance we will see it this year??

@schweglerd 6 лет назад

Awesome, a few weeks ago I accidentally bought the smaller target which is essentially useless for testing infinity focus at 600mm....... I just bought this one from your link. Wish me luck

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

Good luck! Testing focus at infinity is nearly impossible anyways because depth of field is still way too big, I’d suggest trying at 25 yards or so.

@schweglerd 6 лет назад

Steve Mattheis yea, I'll give it a shot but you're right.

@koolkutz7 6 лет назад

Good tips Steve, very helpful. Is there a limit to how many lenses can be AF Fine tuned on Nikon DSLR's-I have about 6 lenses in my kit!

@tedshillitto6062 5 лет назад

I believe it's 20..

@johnmontana18 5 лет назад

How many feet away were you for the 500mm?

@Hellgap50 6 лет назад

steve you touched on my biggest insecurity and that's IS MY LENS CALIBRATED . Thanks ill do just what you've showed us ive used the sigma dock but like you say the lens can get bumped out of focus and to check it regular . ty

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

Haha, that’s your biggest insecurity? You must have a great life. Keep it up!

@Carloscarmo 8 месяцев назад

Steve, a very important question: what is the distance between you and the target (your car) when you adjust the focus in the 200-500 ? Thanks a lot!

@cii1072 6 лет назад

Nice video. I've fine-tuned all my lenses. I've done them manually with a chart similar to yours and I've also used Reikan Focal. The zoom lenses are tricky as you mentioned. Question for you. If for example, your 200-500 is a -6 at 200mm and -10 at 500mm, do you set you AF Fine tune to somewhere in the middle, say a -8 to average it at both ends? Also, what would be an acceptable difference in both focal lengths that you would or wouldn't find that you would tolerate? In other words, how much of a gap difference could you live with? I hope you understand my question. Thanks.

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

I don’t think there is a ‘right’ answer but I would set the -10 because you have a lot more depth of field at 200mm so you probably wouldn’t notice it at 200mm

@cii1072 6 лет назад

Thanks. That makes sense.

@K_R_W 3 года назад

I find these staged target, micro adjustment tools somewhat confounding in that how often are you able to be perfectly parallel to you subject in real shooting conditions. I have had great success micro adjusting with a simple 3 dimensional target of reasonable size and focus wide open at a high shutter speed that I would normally use and that shots a various micro adjustments then view them in Lightroom and find the best focus with equal DOF.

@adamw2911 3 года назад

I think there's a number of methods which are valid. Ultimately if you want guaranteed perfection it needs to be calibrated in a lab. However I've found the 'test card' and 'real world' techniques can get you more than close enough to consider the lenses fit for purpose. I think another good tip is not to get massively hung up if the lens is different values at different focal lengths. In 'real world shooting' you probably won't notice .

@tobeetwo 4 года назад

Steve, thanks for this tutorial, is there a proper distance to target for each lens?

@SteveMattheis 4 года назад

Some people say 40x the focal length. In my experience, it doesn't seem to matter very much but I generally try 2x the minimum focus distance.

@RogerZoul 6 лет назад

Canon lets you enter a AFMA value at both the near and far ends of the range for a zoom lens. My problem with Fine tuning AF is how do you make sure the target and lens are perfectly aligned so that you are truly perpendicular? I think it is hard to do even at home in the backyard, so doing it in the field is likely off the scale. This is the one thing I hate about DSLRs. Just a slight angle will throw off the fine tuning, if it matters. I think for many telephoto lenses it won’t matter that much because at f/4 to f/8, there is plenty of DOF for most subjects.

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

Making ‘sure’ is quite difficult. Getting it ‘good enough’ is pretty simple once you’ve done it a few times and are being diligent.

@philduffoutdoors9882 6 лет назад

A method I've used in backyard. Select location that has a flat vertical surface like a door or side of building to initially position focus target. Use bubble level on the camera body to ensure it's level. Then lay down a straight line 90 deg (use carpenters or dry wall square, etc.) from the focus target with something thats fairly long and straight to position camera side-side. Then move the focus target around on the door/wall into exact position in the camera viewfinder. Doing this is a bit more trouble but should help ensure the lens is close to perpendicular to the target.

@redauwg911 6 лет назад

Great video. Smart to mention how temperature can effect autofocus calibration.

@patricksmith2553 4 года назад

I am not down voting you, but the comment in the video about this btw. Just because there is heat or heat waves does not mean that you need to adjust your AF fine tune and I think he is wrong. Obviously you should avoid shooting in these conditions if possible, but if you do need to your lens is going to suffer and so will image quality no matter what you do. Also Nikon does not let you adjust for different focal lengths on a zoom or different distances on either a prime or zoom so I just don't believe in AF fine-tune at this point in time. I do realize there are benefits for many people who work at around the same distances, etc. However I shoot Sports and Breaking news, so photojournalist work and this feature does me no good lol!

@tobiasyoder 6 лет назад

I know gear questions are super boring, but I was wondering if you feel like the 200-500 is too heavy to handhold for a long period of time or not, with the VR in mind. I have been wanted to switch from my little canon 400 f5.6 but the weight of the Nikon worries me a bit as i almost never use a tripod.

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

I hand hold it all the time but I suppose it depends on your strength. Also note that Nikon is coming out with a very light 500mm 5.6 PF soon which will be very lightweight.

@tobiasyoder 6 лет назад

Hmm was not aware that was coming out! thanks for letting me know. I hear great things about the 300 pf so that 500 may be great.

@outdoorsykindaguy 4 года назад

It appears on your demo the 0 on the screen you show is the point in most focus...not 3 or 4. I wonder why?

@Bowriverguy 6 лет назад

Is a distance of 15-20 feet sufficient to fine-focus a 500 mm focal length?

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

Probably. If that’s where your subject usually are, do it. Otherwise, I’d suggest a bit farther, maybe 30-40 feet.

@tomdullage1531 6 лет назад

Any chance of an Android version of your app, Steve? I don't have an IOS device!

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

Sorry, I haven’t made it for Android.

@PhotographybyTimWMoore 4 года назад

Steve, at what distance should the test card be placed from the camera? I take it that the length of the lens affects this distance.

@WhittyPics 4 года назад

Closer to the camera is also a more shallow DOF? Out to infinity will have the most DOF

@SteveMattheis 4 года назад

Correct

@rontopp 4 года назад

What about distance from focus target?

@randygoodsell1533 3 года назад

Lens align distance tool calculator. Michaeltapesdesign.com/lens align.html

@aussie8114 4 года назад

Problem is if you try it again tomorrow you will get a different reading 😂 It’s very frustrating. Especially with zooms. Have you noticed a better consistency in the AF fine tune and focus accuracy consistency with the D850 compared to the D810. I have 2 D810 bodies. It’s a little frustrating at times, I know the D850 is a better AF system but I don’t have one to do a real world comparison. The D810 is perfectly fine normally but I don’t always trust it in a critical focus situation. I just try to shoot extra to try and nail the focus if it’s something like an eye.

@SteveMattheis 4 года назад

I found the 810 AF to be very inconsistent too. The D850 is sooooo good.

@brandt_bennett 6 лет назад

How often do you do this?

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

I try to do it a couple times per year as the seasons change, or when I notice that my focus isn’t tack sharp.

@markmozley5604 6 лет назад

Do you need to do each lens?

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

Yes. If it isn’t focusing properly.

@markmozley5604 6 лет назад

I live in Georgia but have had a place in Driggs Idaho for over 20 years. We should hook up for coffee maybe next time I am out there.

@SteveMattheis 6 лет назад

Sure, let me know.

@mr.bennman2726 5 лет назад

Does the distance not have to remain consistent. Making tripod a must?

@SteveMattheis 5 лет назад

No tripod needed if you can make a sharp image while handholding.

@andreika6681 4 года назад

just in case - don't do it live more, you may be trying to calibrate cdaf and you may find that strangely all of your lenses are just fine :-P this method works faster than using reikan, i used reikan but i have older version, d500 is not supported. and d500's automatic af tuning didn't work, at the end it'd refuse to write the values. so, i tried this kind of ruler - after 2-3 tries it's ok. personally i don't focus on central pattern (i've got exactly the same pattern on aliexpress for like $2 shipping included), i just focus on some integer on the scale, checking in focus point nailed it with thar red square showed in play and next zoomin in to see the misses. almost all of my lenses needed a significant adjustemnt (+ or -10, a couple of sigma art even 15-20 range)

@Hellgap50 5 лет назад

Steve I just got off the phone with Gentec , canon, and sigma tech support I’m pissed here’s why .i have the dock for sigma sport ,art,contemporarty lenses well guess they flat out all told me they are junk if you own and use more than one body ,the dock is specific one body to that single lens once calibrated it will not create sharp images I’m like you I own 3 canon body’s and a lot of sigma lenses now I’m mad they told me is a asshole remark most people only have one body well not me now I was even more pissed .i then contacted a local repair shop t hat calibrates and reican focal is the only software being used for more than one body .yes micro adjust gets you close but not perfect . I was so mad after talking to sigma I asked why have screwed so many people into believing the dock works when in fact it doesn’t when a second body is introduced