Where is the 'AF Calibrator' function?

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Where is the 'AF Calibrator' function?

Post by Guest »

Hi,

I downloaded the trial version of Helicon basically to try out the 'AF Calibrator' function, as I would welcome an automated setup for this. The remote app works fine with my D300 but I can't find anything mentioning 'AF Calibrator' while the helpfile and website just say to 'use it'. So where can I find it?

Thanks,
Philip
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: Where is the 'AF Calibrator' function?

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Philip,

Sorry, we removed this feature in the new 2.x version of Helicon Remote. The live view,especially from Nikon, does not provide enough resolution to get consistent results. You are welcome to try AF calibrator in older 1.x version and I would appreciate your feedback. Use this download link for the older version of Helicon Focus and Helicon Remote:
http://www.heliconsoft.com/downloads/He ... 5.1.19.exe
Guest

Re: Where is the 'AF Calibrator' function?

Post by Guest »

Thanks Stas,

I tried the former version with the AF Calibrator tool using a number of lenses. First I want to say that the Live View with Camera Control Pro (so as well with the SDK I guess) differs between Mac and Windows. With a Mac a portion of the image from the computer screen is enlarged when you zoom in, so the amount of detail stays the same, but with Windows you actually see a smaller part of the sensor image with much more detail. Just FYI.

What shows from my tests (with Windows) is that the live focus does not seem to change during the tests when I use older AF-D lenses that use the motor inside the body, although I hear the lenses purring. Somehow they do not seem to respond and the AF Fine Tune advice is all over the place, like -20, while the images were sharp. When using AF-S lenses that use their own motor the focusing works, but with wide angle zoomlenses the differences caused by the live focus sampling seem to be very small, while when using the AF fine tune feature normally one step on the scale has a much more profound impact with a wide angle lens than with a tele. Your software seems to work the other way round. Maybe the AF fine tune does not correspond 1:1 with steps of the focus motor, as your software seems to use, but is a mathematical function applied that uses the focal length. So I only got satisfactory results using prime AF-S lenses and longer AF-S zoom lenses. Still with the longer zooms different zoom settings caused widely different AF Fine Tune advices. In the end I doubt the system is usable in this state, which is a pity.

My main interest was to see if this calibration function could be used to quickly identify misaligned lenses, by checking four corners of an image taken from a flat target and determine if they're equally sharp. I found serious misalignment recently in a batch of 70-200 VRII lenses, before that in two 70-300VRs, three 24-70s and one 50 f/1.4G. My older AF-D lenses do not have these problems so it's my belief the production or design has changed somehow so newer lenses are more prone to serious misalignment. Maybe you guys can keep this in the back of your mind if you revive the AF Calibration feature in the future.

I also spent five minutes playing with image stacking which is an interesting technique that will no doubt become handy one day, although I usually shoot people:

http://03jisq.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p ... /test1.jpg

:wink:
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: Where is the 'AF Calibrator' function?

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Thanks for info. We will check ASAP if it is really possible to get optical zoom with Nikon, that would be great.

I appreciate your comments about the lenses. It is a pity, many things are not documented by Nikon so we have make blind guesses.

PS. Great picture :) It is like a joke which only photoghers can understand :)
brentbristol
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Joined: 15.12.2011 18:23

Re: Where is the 'AF Calibrator' function?

Post by brentbristol »

I ran across this discussion on the 'AF Calibrator" function that mentions that an automated micro-adjustment feature used to exist in Helicon Remote:

http://www.pointsinfocus.com/2010/01/au ... live-view/

Seems like an incredibly useful feature. Are there any plans to restore this feature in the future?
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: Where is the 'AF Calibrator' function?

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

So far we are not planning to return this functionality. There are several reasons that do not allow the program to get reliable measurements, sorry.
brentbristol
Posts: 62
Joined: 15.12.2011 18:23

Re: Where is the 'AF Calibrator' function?

Post by brentbristol »

Thanks Stas,
This is a fine program. I appreciate that you guys are always improving it.
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