5D II AF microadjustment

[mark_pierlot]

<p>What's the most efficient way to microadjust the AF of my primes on my 5D II? The advice I've been given by a friend (shooting a test chart and using Photoshop to view the results at various f/stops, etc.) makes it seem overly complex (at least for me!). Is there a more straightforward way that a digital neophyte like me could make use of this feature?</p>

<p>Also, it's my understanding that zooms can be microadjusted at only one specific focal length, and that this throws off the AF at other focal lengths, rendering the process useless (if one intends to use zooms as zooms). Is this correct?</p>

[arie_vandervelden1]

<p>Here's what I've done, with my 7D. I put the camera on a tripod, point it at the newspaper on the wall. Autofocus, then flip to live-view with max magnification, then try to manually tweak focus. Repeat, repeat again. If it consistently needs a tweak then dial in some AF adjustment. Repeat the above test until AF gets it right.</p>

<p>On the 7D you can set live-view AF to "quick-focus" which means it drops the mirror, uses the phase-detect AF, then flips the mirror back up and goes back to live-view. This speeds up the above process quite a bit. Not sure of the 5D2 has this feature.</p>

<p>As for zooms needing different adjustment for different focal lengths - yes I found this to be the case for my 17-55/2.8 IS. However the values were something like +8 for the long end, +10 for the middle and +8 again for the long end so something like +9 gets you close enough. </p>

[scott_ferris]

<p><a href="http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/cameras/1ds3_af_micoadjustment.html">This is far and away the fastest and most accurate method</a> I have come across, it is free too......</p>

<p>The interference pattern method is how the finest lenses are polished and finished by hand even today.</p>