SpyderLensCal helps fix finicky focus

The Datacolor SpyderLensCal. Photo provided by Datacolor. SpyderLensCal helps fix finicky focusBy Michael R. Tomkins, The Imaging Resource(Tuesday, September 7, 2010 – 14:56 EDT)Lawrenceville, NJ-based DataColor has announced a new tool to help with digital SLR autofocus calibration, the Datacolor SpyderLensCal.

Designed for use with camera bodies that include an autofocus microadjustment feature, such as can be found on prosumer and professional DSLRs from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, and Pentax, the SpyderLensCal is available for pre-order immediately, and will be officially launched at the Photokina tradeshow later this month.

The calibration process is relatively straightforward — the camera is focused on a target on the SpyderLensCal, and a pic captured. An adjacent angled ruler makes it simple to see where the actual focus point lies, and whether it correctly matches the focus target plane, or indicates front- or backfocusing. An adjustment can then be made using the camera body’s adjustment feature, and the process repeated to confirm an improvement in autofocus performance. The design of the DataColor SpyderLensCal is reminiscent of a competing product — Michael Tapes’ LensAlign series — but with some important differences.

One huge difference is in the tools provided to confirm correct alignment. When using an AF calibration tool, it’s important to get the sensor and focus target planes parallel, and the competing LensAlign products all include features to assist in this process. For the LensAlign LITE, there is a low-tech solution in the form of a mirror attached to the AF target, making it simple to see if alignment is correct. The LensAlign Pro offers both the mirror method, and a sighting panel, which shows red dots through holes drilled in the focus target when alignment is correct. DataColor’s SpyderLensCal lacks either option, even though users could likely attach a small mirror to the focus target themselves, to emulate the LensAlign Lite method.

The SpyderLensCal also offers an option absent from the LensAlign products — a built-in spirit level that helps users confirm whether the focus target itself is correctly, vertically positioned. Of course, this is not an issue when the devices are placed on a level surface, but both the SpyderLensCal and LensAlign products are tripod-mountable, useful when calibrating telephoto lenses that require a fair distance between camera and target.

Another difference of significance is ruler length — particularly important when calibrating telephoto and wide angle lenses (or any lens offering significant depth of field). The SpyderLensCal’s ruler is a tiny under eight inches in length, and quite steeply angled. By contrast, the standard ruler for the LensAlign Lite or Pro is 9.5 inches in length, and has a shallower angle that would further increase the depth of field that could be accommodated. In addition, a 47-inch long ruler kit is available for the LensAlign products (and included in the Pro Plus kit), whereas there is not currently any such option for the SpyderLensCal.

Another notable difference between the two products is that the SpyderLensCal is designed to fold flat for both retail and storage — useful, for a product that is likely to be used only very occasionally, when AF calibration appears to have strayed, or a new lens buy has been made. When folded, the SpyderLensCal has approximate dimensions of 8.5 inches by five inches (22 x 13 centimeters).

One last difference that may prove important for amateur photographers on a tight budget is pricing. Where the SpyderLensCal is inexpensively priced at around US$60 (list), the LensAlign series ranges anywhere from around $80 to $250, depending on the model, chosen. (The LensAlign Lite with 9.5 inch ruler and mirror alignment system is the base model, with the LensAlign Pro a significant step upwards at $180 with a 9.5-inch ruler and alignment sighting panel. The Pro Plus kit adds the 47-inch ruler to the standard Pro kit, and is priced at $250. Finally, the 47-inch ruler is available separately for around $100.)

More information on the Datacolor SpyderLensCal can be found on the Datacolor website.

SpyderLensCal helps fix finicky focus

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