Datacolor SpyderLensCal - Optimize Your DSLR's Auto-Focus. Essential Tool for Razor-Sharp Focus and Outstanding Images

Worked great!!

Already used to adjust 5 lenses and my pictures are more sharp. The ruler is hard to differentiate when calibrating (at least with my lenses). I have a hard time determining the sharpest point and the smaller lines between the main numbered lines are no help. I have to determine the out of focus numbers in front and in back and then adjust from there. I paid full price which means that this was a bit pricey, but I have kept this in my camera bag which I take with me every week as I travel (airline). Folds flat and very convenient to have with me as I switch lenses (Gear Acquisition Syndrome, I have way too many lenses). Seems to be holding up well and it is pretty durable for my needs. I usually set the Lenscal on the back of my rental car, so the built-in level comes in handy. It should be about $20 less to make it a good value for the money, but I would buy again.

I knew my lenses were not focusing correctly and I tried the manual approach of printing out focus test charts from the web and trying to do the 45degree angle thing with a tripod, it didn't work as well. This takes all the hassle of the manual process and makes the calibration easier to accomplish. I'd agree with a lot of the reviewers that this is an overpriced piece of kit for the what you get but I think in the long run it will pay for itself. The parts are a bit flimsy and the ruler arm needs to sit right with the notch holding up the vertical part. The bubble level helps keep things square and the metal threaded hole makes it easy to mount this on a light stand or small tripod. Every lens I owned needed a bit of adjustment. It was easier using this tool for lenses with lower F-Stops (i.e. 1.4 and 2.8.) where the short in-focus range is more pronounced wide open. You'll need to calibrate twice for zoom lenses; once for the wide and then for the tele end of the focal range. My Canon 24-105 and 16-35 had micro-adjustment settings for both ends of the focal length. I noticed that it was harder deciding which lines around the zero mark on the ruler were in focus for the higher F-Stop lenses. In reality it may not make a difference since the subject would have also been in focus. Dropped a star due to the cost.

You spend a chunk of change on a DSLR and great prime lenses and get frustrated because your images aren't that sharp. For the cost of getting one lens calibrated you can DIY with this great tool. Yes, there are ways to do it for free with printed PDF and/or a ruler. But get one of these things and you can start charging your friends. :) Seriously easy to use and a must have if you're serious about your equipment.

I bought this to use with my Tamron lenses that work with Tamron's Tap-In unit. For the shorter focal length lenses it made it easy to snap the images, adjust the lens through the Tamron software and retest. Could I have made something with a ruler and smoother materials for a lot less, yes, but this was just convenient and quick. Now I don't see how this would work for longer focal lengths as you need to be a good distance away and actually seeing the ruler demarcations becomes a bit challenging after zooming in within LightRoom. Great tool overall though. It is plastic, but folds flat and can fit into my camera bags easy enough.

Just because they market it to "pros" they seem to be able to charge an arm and leg for virtually 2 pieces of plastic with some markings. You can make definitely DIY this with a ruler, printer and some boards and it would cost you virtually nothing. Price aside, it's well built and easy to use although the calibration process itself is painful but it gets easier with experience. It will last you forever (yay plastics!) and you can use it for any calibrate-able camera/slr so it's a long lasting investment in the hobby. Protip: DIY if you're not a professional. Only get this if you're a professional who can pass on the cost to your clients. Calibrate once a year at least and after lens servicing. Super protip: This will NOT help you take better pictures, sorry!

Until we all switch to mirrorless cameras, adjusting the focus with a tool like this is necessary. Every lens and camera is a bit different and if you want accurate focus you need this. However don't get fanatical with it. You really don't have to setup a tripod and perfectly level everything, just generally shoot at the target a few times, zoom in on the results from your camera screen, and adjust the settings in camera. This cost more than printing out a test chart, but it folds up, is easy to use, and has a great target for a focus system to lock on too.

I got this to check out the autofocus on my new Nikon D850 DSLR. The design permits an extremely fine readout of the subject focal distance, perhaps too fine for a reliable adjustment. However, as you work with it, you can get a sense of where your autofocus sits, particularly with a very sharp lens used wide open. I'd guess most photographers could check/adjust their autofocus just fine without this device. But for very fussy photographers curious about how precise they could adjust their autofocus, this is it.

Le prix a bien augmenté mais l'article est conforme et très utile pour l'usage requis. La qualité est bonne.

Está bien diseñado y cumple con su función. El material básico es plástico, pero es de calidad, viene bien terminado y la pieza roscada de latón de cogida al trípode funciona perfectamente integrada en la base. El nivel es muy útil para comprobrar que la base está paralela al suelo en todas las direcciones. Considero , no obstante, que el precio es excesivo. de ahí que la relación calidad/precio la haya valorado con tres estrellas.

One of my camera lenses, bought second had some years ago, has always had a tendency to back-focus (subject is out of focus, with sharp focus falling on a point behind the subject) . That's not such an issue with images shot at a distance, but its irritating when trying to take close-ups. My camera has the facility to pair with a given lens and, with the right tools, or by simple experimentation, trial and error, this can be corrected. I've tried to do this in the past with home-made focus calibration devices, but never with much success. I spotted this tool while looking for some lens-caps and thought I would give it a try. It's easy to set up, and with the bit of research (there's a number of YouTube videos' that demonstrate how to use this tool), I was able to calibrate all of my lenses in a few hours. Having gone through the calibration procedure, I've found that all of my lenses back-focused to a greater or lesser degree, and the one lens that was clearly a long way out of whack is back in trim again and now focuses to perfection. So, five stars for Accuracy, and five stars for ease of use. It takes a bit of practice, but within a few tens of minutes, I was able to able to make adjustments on my camera quickly and accurately based on the information gleaned from using the tool. Four stars for value for money. It's a damn good tool, no question, but it's very expensive for what is only a bit of moulded plastic with stickers on. Having said that , it's a fraction of the cost of several of my lenses, so I guess it's not a ridiculous price to pay. If you absolutely must have pin-sharp images and your camera is capable of retaining the micro-focus adjustments necessary to get the best out of the lenses, then this is a great little gadget.

Het product doet waar het voor is en is daarvoor een aanrader. Maar, het is gewoon veel te duur voor wat je krijgt. Een simpele, in een hoek te plaatsen, plastic liniaal. De verpakking is volledig geseald dus die moet je open knippen aan de randen en is daardoor bijna niet meer bruikbaar. Aangezien er geen opbergdoos is meegeleverd (?) had het zeer wenselijk geweest dat de verpakking daarvoor gebruikt kon worden maar die moet je open knippen en werkt daarvoor dan echt minder. Zelf in de aanbieding gekocht voor 37,95 (wat ik al (te)veel vind) maar de adviesprijs van 64,99 is echt veel te veel. Enfin, voor kalibratie een prima product.

El material es resistente y de buena calidad, por el precio menor a 800 pesos se me hizo una buena opción ya que no es de cartón y los números están nítidos. En especial para la calibración de los sigma