Microfocus adjustment: driving me crazy

I recently moved from a T1i to a 5D Mark II and right away started playing with the microfocus adjustment (MFA) settings. I never had any issues with any of my lenses on my T1i mind you, but I thought well maybe there is that tiny fraction of an inch my lenses might be back or front focusing and this will fix all that. So I get to reading the tutorials and different methods of checking lenses and now my problem is I am obsessing over the tiniest things. Seems like some lenses back/front focus ever so slightly wide open and the opposite stopped down, varies by distance from subject, lighting etc. Hundreds of shots later I see no discernable patterns where I can set my MFA to one setting and leave it there. Just when I think I have the right setting, I go outside and take real world shots and then find MFA = 0 is perfect.

Okay so I'm sick of looking at batteries and charts and moire patterns on my comp screen - MFA is driving me crazy and I'm pretty much at the point where I wish I never even heard of this feature Has anyone else given up on trying to use MFA? I know it's great in concept and have heard of those who swear by it, but then I know others including my friend who is a wedding photographer and he says he has never bothered using it either and he does this for a living.

So what's your take on MFA: gotta have it, or meh, not so much?

j-mar wrote in post #14766341
I recently moved from a T1i to a 5D Mark II and right away started playing with the microfocus adjustment (MFA) settings. I never had any issues with any of my lenses on my T1i mind you, but I thought well maybe there is that tiny fraction of an inch my lenses might be back or front focusing and this will fix all that. So I get to reading the tutorials and different methods of checking lenses and now my problem is I am obsessing over the tiniest things. Seems like some lenses back/front focus ever so slightly wide open and the opposite stopped down, varies by distance from subject, lighting etc. Hundreds of shots later I see no discernable patterns where I can set my MFA to one setting and leave it there. Just when I think I have the right setting, I go outside and take real world shots and then find MFA = 0 is perfect.

Okay so I'm sick of looking at batteries and charts and moire patterns on my comp screen - MFA is driving me crazy and I'm pretty much at the point where I wish I never even heard of this feature Has anyone else given up on trying to use MFA? I know it's great in concept and have heard of those who swear by it, but then I know others including my friend who is a wedding photographer and he says he has never bothered using it either and he does this for a living.

So what's your take on MFA: gotta have it, or meh, not so much?

My take: You will know that you need it when you need it.

There are tools out there like Reikan FoCal that could automated this process, which will give you a rough ballpark on what MFA to set. However you should always fine tune the MFA base on your own shooting style.

Otherwise, don't worry about it!

MFA is for when you need it, in which case it can be very good. If you don't need it (which sounds like the case with the OP) then it isn't going to do anything much.

Ever heard the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"? This is a perfect example. If your lenses are all giving good sharp results without any MFA, then why are you playing with it?

There was a similar discussion a couple of days ago with some helpful and interesting replies, it might be worth taking a look.

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1208192

MFA was a huge reason I DID NOT buy a 7D, I know how I am. I got the 60D instead. It doesn't have it because it doesn't need it. Been down this road before, folks. Don't bother.

sambarino wrote in post #14766667
...... I got the 60D instead. It doesn't have it because it doesn't need it..

I think the reason the 60D does not have MFA was an attempt to push buyers wanting the feature to upgrade to the 7D. Also the 60D was created with features that made it more of a consumer level camera vs earlier models in the xxD lineup. The 40D, 30D, 20D, & 10D did not have MFA and nothing magical happened with the release of the 60D to make front focusing/back focusing a non existent issue. The 60D certainly does not have anything inside it that makes up for a lens that may have an issue.

Every now and then you are going to find a lens and camera combination that are on the outer edges of the tolerance levels and are just not a great match together. This is where MFA can make a difference.....

My 85mm front focuses enough to make nose sharp and eyes soft when i'm at F2 and about 10 feet away. Big reason of my switching to 7D from my 60D.

If I don't need it then good but if I do then its worth having. I had to spend 2 weeks without my brand new tamron because it front focuses bad like 6 inches worth at 10 feet. sent it off and was good to go. But with MA it'd never left my hands.

Talley wrote in post #14766840
If I don't need it then good but if I do then its worth having. I had to spend 2 weeks without my brand new tamron because it front focuses bad like 6 inches worth at 10 feet. sent it off and was good to go. But with MA it'd never left my hands.

Isn't it always better to have a new lens calibrated since it's free anyway?
If you ever want to sell it, the potential customer base is bigger if you can sell a lens which doesn't need any MA.
I know in certain cases the body might be off even though the lens is calibrated but I'd definitely have a new lens calibrated if it's off.

My own 85mm 1.8 was also front focusing, came back perfect after a free trip for calibration. Sure it took a week and a half but was well worth it.

Talley wrote in post #14766840
My 85mm front focuses enough to make nose sharp and eyes soft when i'm at F2 and about 10 feet away. Big reason of my switching to 7D from my 60D.

that's exactly the issue i had with my sigma 50 1.4. the copy was sharp when it was on point but sometimes if i focused on an eye, the nose would be sharp and vice versa. frustrating to say the least.

of course on 1.4 with a ff the dof was very small and the slightest movement or sway killed it. closing down to 2.0 and 4.0 was a real big change and amazing difference.

Xcelx wrote in post #14767015
Isn't it always better to have a new lens calibrated since it's free anyway?
If you ever want to sell it, the potential customer base is bigger if you can sell a lens which doesn't need any MA.

calibration is to the specific body. so taking that lens and mounting it to another body will require another calibration to that new body.

Yes, I gave up before I started doing this. I don't have the patience to do this, I've been told it's easy but there is no way I'm touching it.

I never used MFA on any of my lens/body combos. Like you allude to, it can become an obsession. You start to see problems that aren't there because you convince yourself there is one

This is one of the reasons it exists in a 50d but not the 60d.

Dmab wrote in post #14767450
I never used MFA on any of my lens/body combos. Like you allude to, it can become an obsession. You start to see problems that aren't there because you convince yourself there is one

That's pretty much been my problem. Of course the more one looks for imperfections, the more likely they are to find them, and that's certainly been the case for me it seems. Now if I miss focus I find myself obsessing over whether my MFA settings are correct, whereas before I would just shrug my shoulders, take another shot and more than likely get it spot on. And no I'm not seeing anything on the order of it being off like some have reported. We're talking millimeters from a couple feet away.

So I guess as was said before, if it ain't broke don't fix it. I've decided for me personally I'm better off without it, but I'm sure if I had a lens that was REALLY off I would make use of it. My suggestion to anyone who hasn't used MFA before, don't resort to it just because your camera has it, but only if you see results in your real world photos that are obviously off. Every lens/body is going to have its tolerances and even within that there are variations from shot to shot in focus (I would reset the focus to infinity each shot and I was not getting the lens to focus on exactly the same point with a tripod). Of course this is all coming from an amateur, but hey figured I'd give my 2 cents.

Dmab wrote in post #14767450
I never used MFA on any of my lens/body combos. Like you allude to, it can become an obsession. You start to see problems that aren't there because you convince yourself there is one

rick_reno wrote in post #14767373
Yes, I gave up before I started doing this. I don't have the patience to do this, I've been told it's easy but there is no way I'm touching it.

Exactly why I went 60D instead of 7D! Well, that and about $600. I played with both and liked the feel of the 7D better. I know ME well enough to know that I would never been satisfied. Tinker, tinker, tinker. MFA SCARES ME!

I will need to get counseling when I order my 5D3 in March.