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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
The Datacolor SpyderLENSCAL provides a fast, reliable method of measuring the focus performance of your camera and lens combinations. Use SpyderLENSCAL to obtain razor-sharp focusing or check to see if your camera's lenses are working at peak performance. This device is convenient, lightweight, and durable and includes an integrated level and tripod mount for easy setup.
SpyderLENSCAL lets you check and calibrate lenses at home. View larger.
Easily store lens corrections in your camera's custom settings. View larger.
Easy Solution for Achieving Sharp Focus
SpyderLENSCAL offers a fast, affordable solution to achieving sharp autofocusing using DSLR autofocus micro-adjustment technology. The device allows you to correct the autofocus on your camera and lens combinations and store them in your camera's custom settings.
Convenient, Lightweight, and Durable
Lightweight and durable, SpyderLENSCAL comes equipped with an integrated level and tripod mount, making this the most convenient way to adjust your own camera gear. With SpyderLENSCAL you save yourself the time and inconvenience of sending your equipment in for service by checking and calibrating your own lenses at home.
Refocus Lenses in a Few Easy Steps
Refocusing your lenses can be achieved in a few easy steps. Align SpyderLENSCAL with the camera using a tripod, desk, table, or shelf. Your camera and SpyderLENSCAL should be at
the same height and distance that you normally shoot images with each lens. Take a picture, autofocusing on the target. Zoom in on your image and check to see where the real focus is. The scale on SpyderLENSCAL will show you how much back and front focusing you have. Go into the camera's menu and adjust the focus accordingly. Repeat with all your lens combinations, storing each correction in your camera's custom settings.
System Requirements and Warranty Information
Successful use of SpyderLENSCAL requires a DSLR or other camera able to store lens autofocus corrections, as well as autofocus lenses capable of being driven by that camera. There are no OS requirements, as the tool works entirely within the camera's menu.
SpyderLENSCAL comes with a one-year warranty and free online support.
What's in the Box
Datacolor SpyderLENSCAL and quick-start guide.
Ensure your camera focuses accurately.
View larger.
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Product Description
SpyderLensCal provides a fast, reliable method of measuring the focus performance on your camera and lens combinations. It allows photographers to obtain razor-sharp focusing or check to see that their lenses are working at their peak performance. This device is compact, lightweight and durable, with integrated level and tri-pod mount. Photographers have enjoyed the benefit of autofocus for 25 years now, but many still struggle with its accuracy and repeatability. Auto-focus is a great convenience, especially in fast shooting situations. Many newer DSLR cameras now offer a method to correct this issue: they allow you to store auto-focus correction data for several of your most important lenses. This feature is likely to become more common, and appear in other camera types. SpyderLensCal was designed to aid in correcting the auto-focus on your camera and lens combinations and storing them in your camera’s custom settings. System Requirements: DSLR or other camera with capability to store lens auto-focus corrections: Auto-focus lenses capable of being driven by this camera: No OS requirements, as the tool works entirely within the camera’s menu.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
With more and more cameras now including "Micro Autofocus Adjust" features (like the Canon 50D and 7D), this was cool to see.
To sum up Micro AF, some cameras or lenses might be slightly 'off' when paired together.. commonly known as Backfocus or Frontfocus. Basically, what you focus on isn't really sharp in the camera, instead what's slightly in front (or behind) it is in focus. For most zoom lenses this can be accepted (as they use apertures like 3.5, 4.0 and 5.6 commonly). It's mostly the f1.2, 1.4, 1.8, 2.0 and 2.8 lenses that this applies to. Having a lens back- or front-focus on these lenses will throw the whole subject out of focus, and that's a problem!
What the SpyderLensCal is supposed to do is let you take a photo, and it will tell you where the focus is. Is it backfocusing? front focusing? perfect?
From there, you fine-tune it. Note that this only applies to cameras that have the Micro AF feature (ones like the Rebels and 10/20/30/40/60D do not have this function).
There is a low-tech way of doing this. Do a search for "lens focus chart" for free PDF versions you print out. These are kind of a "poor mans" focus calibration system as it's a piece of paper and you need to stand at a 45-degree angle, take a photo and then adjust from there. Low-tech, but it works just fine.
Wanting to get something more profession, I came across this. The fact that it's plastic (and folds flat) is a big benefit as it will be around for a long time and can be easily stored.
The problem is that since it can fold flat, it's got moving parts. It's got hinges, hooks, etc.. and they don't always line up right (or want to disconnect). It almost feels like you're going to tear it apart while trying to unfold it sometimes. Since it doesn't exactly lock into place (the ruler, for example, has a piece to keep it from sliding one way, but I've found it can slide the opposite direction (not likely under most circumstances, but it would have been nice to have another notch to lock both directions and keep everything in line. If it slides to where the 'wall' lines up around the 0 1/2 mark (instead of the "0") you could just be messing yourself up even more if you're calibrating it to focus that extra bit.
When assembled, it's 3 pieces:
Base (with tripod socket and bubble-level), Background (with square charts) and ruler.
The "0" on the ruler lines up with the background, so if you take a photo of the background it SHOULD read 0 on the ruler.
Problem is, it's not so simple. Doing this means you need to have the camera perfectly level with the background you're focusing on (a few degrees above will skew results). Then you need to make sure the bubble-level is flat (this is a bit tougher than it should be since the base isn't solid on the bottom.. it's hollow with a border around it. You need to make sure the ruler is connected properly and lines up. And lastly, you need to make sure your camera is dead-on in front of the background (if it's to the left or right, it will throw off the depth of field and skew results). This is all stuff I wasn't counting on. Try lining up the camera perfectly with this and you'll find it's a bit challenging (even using tripods).
The next problem is the ruler - at f/1.4 you can see what's in focus. At larger numbers it becomes less obvious. When you get in there with a 2.8, 4.0 or 5.6 lens, you might have 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 2, 3, 4 in focus. Even at f/1.4, if you can see the camera is at 1 (behind the 0), how do you fix it? with + or - on the camera? How far should I be from the chart? If I use a zoom, do I use it at the wide, middle or long end? None of these questions are clear.
[UPDATE - From what I can tell (on the CANON system at least - specifically the 7D) you use the - (negative) if it's backfocusing, + (plus) if it's front focusing. So for example, if you take a picture of the chart and it's at "2" (behind the "0"), you would set the camera to -1, -2, -3, -4, etc... taking test shots along the way. If it's far off, you'd probably take bigger jumps (go to -5 or -10 and then go back towards 0 as necessary)]
In the end, I found it easiest to just take the camera and aim at the ruler and see what it displays, and for that it does a good job surprisingly (if you've ever tried taking pictures of objects and trying to eyeball whether it's front or backfocusing, this is a better option). The problem is you just paid 60 bucks for a plastic ruler at a 45-degree angle that you'll (hopefully) only need to use once per lens/camera.. and even then, most lenses should be calibrated from the factory in a way that you won't need to do it yourself.
This is a great item for a camera repair shop or camera club where multiple people can use it once and be done with it. For a product to own (unless you get lenses often, need to calibrate them and don't want to use the paper method) it's very expensive and will probably sit in the closet most of the time.
There is an alternative - the LensAlign MkII Focus Calibration System - this one uses a multi-layer method that lets you "see" if your camera is lined up properly (apparently you look to see a red dot on the back layer through a hole in the front layer, and if you do, it's lined up. That's an improvement.. but that system appears to be made out of thick paper and involves "setting it up" (remember those punch-out stand-up's you used to get in kids books back in the day? Same idea). Looks like almost 10 pieces, plus the price is about 1/3rd more expensive than this product. Definitely not as easy to set up, or as "professional" but may be more accurate (unless of course the paper starts leaning/warping over time, in which case it'll just do more harm than good).
To sum up Micro AF, some cameras or lenses might be slightly 'off' when paired together.. commonly known as Backfocus or Frontfocus. Basically, what you focus on isn't really sharp in the camera, instead what's slightly in front (or behind) it is in focus. For most zoom lenses this can be accepted (as they use apertures like 3.5, 4.0 and 5.6 commonly). It's mostly the f1.2, 1.4, 1.8, 2.0 and 2.8 lenses that this applies to. Having a lens back- or front-focus on these lenses will throw the whole subject out of focus, and that's a problem!
What the SpyderLensCal is supposed to do is let you take a photo, and it will tell you where the focus is. Is it backfocusing? front focusing? perfect?
From there, you fine-tune it. Note that this only applies to cameras that have the Micro AF feature (ones like the Rebels and 10/20/30/40/60D do not have this function).
There is a low-tech way of doing this. Do a search for "lens focus chart" for free PDF versions you print out. These are kind of a "poor mans" focus calibration system as it's a piece of paper and you need to stand at a 45-degree angle, take a photo and then adjust from there. Low-tech, but it works just fine.
Wanting to get something more profession, I came across this. The fact that it's plastic (and folds flat) is a big benefit as it will be around for a long time and can be easily stored.
The problem is that since it can fold flat, it's got moving parts. It's got hinges, hooks, etc.. and they don't always line up right (or want to disconnect). It almost feels like you're going to tear it apart while trying to unfold it sometimes. Since it doesn't exactly lock into place (the ruler, for example, has a piece to keep it from sliding one way, but I've found it can slide the opposite direction (not likely under most circumstances, but it would have been nice to have another notch to lock both directions and keep everything in line. If it slides to where the 'wall' lines up around the 0 1/2 mark (instead of the "0") you could just be messing yourself up even more if you're calibrating it to focus that extra bit.
When assembled, it's 3 pieces:
Base (with tripod socket and bubble-level), Background (with square charts) and ruler.
The "0" on the ruler lines up with the background, so if you take a photo of the background it SHOULD read 0 on the ruler.
Problem is, it's not so simple. Doing this means you need to have the camera perfectly level with the background you're focusing on (a few degrees above will skew results). Then you need to make sure the bubble-level is flat (this is a bit tougher than it should be since the base isn't solid on the bottom.. it's hollow with a border around it. You need to make sure the ruler is connected properly and lines up. And lastly, you need to make sure your camera is dead-on in front of the background (if it's to the left or right, it will throw off the depth of field and skew results). This is all stuff I wasn't counting on. Try lining up the camera perfectly with this and you'll find it's a bit challenging (even using tripods).
The next problem is the ruler - at f/1.4 you can see what's in focus. At larger numbers it becomes less obvious. When you get in there with a 2.8, 4.0 or 5.6 lens, you might have 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 2, 3, 4 in focus. Even at f/1.4, if you can see the camera is at 1 (behind the 0), how do you fix it? with + or - on the camera? How far should I be from the chart? If I use a zoom, do I use it at the wide, middle or long end? None of these questions are clear.
[UPDATE - From what I can tell (on the CANON system at least - specifically the 7D) you use the - (negative) if it's backfocusing, + (plus) if it's front focusing. So for example, if you take a picture of the chart and it's at "2" (behind the "0"), you would set the camera to -1, -2, -3, -4, etc... taking test shots along the way. If it's far off, you'd probably take bigger jumps (go to -5 or -10 and then go back towards 0 as necessary)]
In the end, I found it easiest to just take the camera and aim at the ruler and see what it displays, and for that it does a good job surprisingly (if you've ever tried taking pictures of objects and trying to eyeball whether it's front or backfocusing, this is a better option). The problem is you just paid 60 bucks for a plastic ruler at a 45-degree angle that you'll (hopefully) only need to use once per lens/camera.. and even then, most lenses should be calibrated from the factory in a way that you won't need to do it yourself.
This is a great item for a camera repair shop or camera club where multiple people can use it once and be done with it. For a product to own (unless you get lenses often, need to calibrate them and don't want to use the paper method) it's very expensive and will probably sit in the closet most of the time.
There is an alternative - the LensAlign MkII Focus Calibration System - this one uses a multi-layer method that lets you "see" if your camera is lined up properly (apparently you look to see a red dot on the back layer through a hole in the front layer, and if you do, it's lined up. That's an improvement.. but that system appears to be made out of thick paper and involves "setting it up" (remember those punch-out stand-up's you used to get in kids books back in the day? Same idea). Looks like almost 10 pieces, plus the price is about 1/3rd more expensive than this product. Definitely not as easy to set up, or as "professional" but may be more accurate (unless of course the paper starts leaning/warping over time, in which case it'll just do more harm than good).
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
A year ago I upgraded my camera to a Canon 7d, which has the ability to let you do micro focus adjustments for each of your lenses. I decided to exploit this feature, since I was suspecting that my 50mm f/1.4 was not as sharp as I thought it should be. I knew about SpyderLensCal and other products, but after reading about MF adjustment on websites, I figured I could accomplish the same thing for free. I tried several methods to accomplish this: Moiré patterns, focus charts, even cutting out a pattern and creating a paper version of LensCal. Even though I could observe some auto-focus anomalies, I always had problems with reproducibility and interpreting the results on my monitor (iMac 27"). I even tried to demonstrate to my photo group how 'easy' it was to calibrate the focus on your lenses. (The demo did not accomplish my goals).
Not one to give in easily, I decided to purchase LensCal. I set up the unit (very easy), and positioned my camera and the target (not as easy). The bubble level on the LensCal was helpful. However, I found that putting it on a table was not the best place for it. Tip1: use a light stand or tripod to mount the target unit. Once it is level, all you need to do is raise or lower it to the proper position. You do have to be careful to make sure the front of the lens and the target are perfectly parallel. I used the grid in the viewfinder and my trusty eyeballs to achieve this. I don't know an easy way to do this, but I seemed to get good results with my method.
When the camera is mounted (on a tripod) and leveled (the 7d has a nifty horizontal/vertical level display on the LCD), you need to place the camera a specific distance from the chart. Tip2: I used Datacolor's suggestion to place the target 5x the focal length of the lens being tested. This distance is debatable, since Canon suggests a 50x distance. However, I used the effective focal length, allowing for the crop factor (1.6 for Canon). So I placed the camera 50mm x 1.6 x 5 / 25.4 = ~16 inches from the target. Tip3: before shooting, set the camera to Av mode at the largest (widest) aperture. You can shoot small fine jpeg, but setup a user-defined adjustment that gives the maximum sharpness to make interpretation easier. I also used a spot focus to pinpoint the autofocus on the target square. Tip3: lighting is a factor and an overhead light may not be sufficiently bright or uniform. I flooded the target with soft light from one of my studio lights. I then took 5 shots using my remote shutter release at 0 mf adjustment, to see if there was any problem. (manually set the focus to infinity between each shot).
Although you can review the results on your camera's LCD, I found it beneficial to upload the images into my computer. There, I used Aperture to review the images. Although this is sufficient, I found a better way to interpret the results. If you have Lightroom or Aperture I suggest doing the following: apply moderate edge sharpening to each image. Turn up the contrast as far as you can, then slowly increase the exposure adjustment. When you do this, the lines that are in focus on the chart image 'pop' out at you, showing the zone of focus. From there you can interpret whether you camera/lens is right on, or showing signs of back/front focusing. I found that setting the mf adjustment on my camera to negative numbers, increased the front focus. Positive numbers increased the back focus.
I calibrated 3 lenses using this method in a few hours. Having set up a workflow, I can now do this whole process more quickly.
Pros: easy to set up the target and level it
unit is well-built
results are reproducible (however, out of every 5 shots, usually 1 was 'off'. Canon recommends at least 3 shots for each setting, as the focus can fluctuate randomly).
target unit folds up and is easily stored
Cons: Datacolor manual is very general, and more detail would be appreciated. Web reviews help fill in some of the blanks.
Setting up the target and camera positions properly can tax your patience, but that's the price you pay to do the calibration yourself.
Oh yeah, I think a price of $30 would be even better for this type of tool.
I also think there should be some more explanation about what kind of focus results you should expect from your lens. Is a properly calibrated lens focusing at one plane with details equidistant from the center, or should it skew toward the back (or front?). There is some debate about this, but whatever you prefer, you can achieve it using this system. There are also those who believe the high contrast nature of the focus target can actually fool the autofocus on your camera. I haven't observed this with mine, but all you can do is try it yourself and see if the results are worth it. (BTW, my 50mm lens was front focusing, and was easily corrected with a +5 adjustment on my camera.....and I have observed the results in my images).
Not one to give in easily, I decided to purchase LensCal. I set up the unit (very easy), and positioned my camera and the target (not as easy). The bubble level on the LensCal was helpful. However, I found that putting it on a table was not the best place for it. Tip1: use a light stand or tripod to mount the target unit. Once it is level, all you need to do is raise or lower it to the proper position. You do have to be careful to make sure the front of the lens and the target are perfectly parallel. I used the grid in the viewfinder and my trusty eyeballs to achieve this. I don't know an easy way to do this, but I seemed to get good results with my method.
When the camera is mounted (on a tripod) and leveled (the 7d has a nifty horizontal/vertical level display on the LCD), you need to place the camera a specific distance from the chart. Tip2: I used Datacolor's suggestion to place the target 5x the focal length of the lens being tested. This distance is debatable, since Canon suggests a 50x distance. However, I used the effective focal length, allowing for the crop factor (1.6 for Canon). So I placed the camera 50mm x 1.6 x 5 / 25.4 = ~16 inches from the target. Tip3: before shooting, set the camera to Av mode at the largest (widest) aperture. You can shoot small fine jpeg, but setup a user-defined adjustment that gives the maximum sharpness to make interpretation easier. I also used a spot focus to pinpoint the autofocus on the target square. Tip3: lighting is a factor and an overhead light may not be sufficiently bright or uniform. I flooded the target with soft light from one of my studio lights. I then took 5 shots using my remote shutter release at 0 mf adjustment, to see if there was any problem. (manually set the focus to infinity between each shot).
Although you can review the results on your camera's LCD, I found it beneficial to upload the images into my computer. There, I used Aperture to review the images. Although this is sufficient, I found a better way to interpret the results. If you have Lightroom or Aperture I suggest doing the following: apply moderate edge sharpening to each image. Turn up the contrast as far as you can, then slowly increase the exposure adjustment. When you do this, the lines that are in focus on the chart image 'pop' out at you, showing the zone of focus. From there you can interpret whether you camera/lens is right on, or showing signs of back/front focusing. I found that setting the mf adjustment on my camera to negative numbers, increased the front focus. Positive numbers increased the back focus.
I calibrated 3 lenses using this method in a few hours. Having set up a workflow, I can now do this whole process more quickly.
Pros: easy to set up the target and level it
unit is well-built
results are reproducible (however, out of every 5 shots, usually 1 was 'off'. Canon recommends at least 3 shots for each setting, as the focus can fluctuate randomly).
target unit folds up and is easily stored
Cons: Datacolor manual is very general, and more detail would be appreciated. Web reviews help fill in some of the blanks.
Setting up the target and camera positions properly can tax your patience, but that's the price you pay to do the calibration yourself.
Oh yeah, I think a price of $30 would be even better for this type of tool.
I also think there should be some more explanation about what kind of focus results you should expect from your lens. Is a properly calibrated lens focusing at one plane with details equidistant from the center, or should it skew toward the back (or front?). There is some debate about this, but whatever you prefer, you can achieve it using this system. There are also those who believe the high contrast nature of the focus target can actually fool the autofocus on your camera. I haven't observed this with mine, but all you can do is try it yourself and see if the results are worth it. (BTW, my 50mm lens was front focusing, and was easily corrected with a +5 adjustment on my camera.....and I have observed the results in my images).
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By R. Tomlinson
The system is simply constructed and precisely assembled. It worked easily and intuitively - within 5 minutes I had calibrated all my lenses to my camera. I have a shelf full of Sigma EX lenses, many of which suffer from front-focusing problems (especially in low light conditions). They work perfectly now with my 5D II, without having to deal with the hassle of trying to get the factory to recalibrate them to my satisfaction.
They could likely charge less and still make a comfortable profit, but I would cheerfully have paid twice as much for the results I got and the ease with which they were achieved.
They could likely charge less and still make a comfortable profit, but I would cheerfully have paid twice as much for the results I got and the ease with which they were achieved.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
It does the job
It does all they claim it will - but is only helpful where the camera has Auto Focus fine tuning for lenses available to the user through the menu system of the camera. Read more
Published 1 month ago by E. Ford
5.0 out of 5 stars
Now I can focus with confidence at f/2.8!
SpyderLensCal is wonderful!! What a simple, elegant solution to testing focus. I can't tell you how often I shoot with my 70-200 f/2.8 lens wide open for tight portraits. Read more
Published 15 months ago by John Blaustein
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quick and Easy AF micro adjustment
I purchased a D7000 and wanted to adjust my AF lenses so I did some research and picked up this little gem. Read more
Published 16 months ago by S. Benning
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy to calibrate your camera focus
I was able to calibrate my two lenses for use with my Canon 50D in less than 30 minutes - the first lens took the most time - I guess a learning curve with the setup. Read more
Published on May 5, 2011 by Sais
5.0 out of 5 stars
Now all my lens are accurate...
Portable, easy to use, and a whole lot cheaper than sending your lens to the manufacturer for adjustments. Now everybody in my Photography group uses it.
Published on April 18, 2011 by My Name is Earl
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very precise and user friendly
I had taken hours to measure the focus of my nikon AF105 DC 2.0 and other lenses on my D200, Yes, hours. Read more
Published on April 15, 2011 by Hock
4.0 out of 5 stars
eye opener
I have been wondering how my camera/lens combination "saw" the image, and I was finally able to see that my system was focusing properly, but was very front loaded, with no rear... Read more
Published on February 15, 2011 by clyde
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must have for the serious photographer.
Great product,easy to use, and well made. I purchased it to use on my Nikon D700. I didn't really need to use the instrucitons as the product itself is pretty intuitive. Read more
Published on February 14, 2011 by Mark E. Mayo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great value and it works
Makes micro adjusting simple and easy. What I like most is the fact that it helps me identify when a lens needs to be adjusted so I can send it off the Canon for adjustment. Read more
Published on January 11, 2011 by KKrows
4.0 out of 5 stars
Handy, but limited functionality
Great for prime lenses, but pretty much useless on zooms. You can calibrate zooms at its most commonly used focal length only. Read more
Published on December 29, 2010 by Cole Mckinney
