Canon AF microadjustment help please

paulcamcas

paulcamcas

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I recently bought a Carl Zeiss 50mm Planar T* Contax-fit to use on my E-P1 and 5D2 with suitable adaptors. The EOS adaptor has an AF confirm chip which the camera recognises and beep/flashes to confirm focus. But...

It confirms focus a few cm ahead of the actual focus point. Manual focusing with live view allows correct focus but isn't practical.

So the question is, will microadjustment change the point at which the AF system confirms focus? I think it should. What do you think?

I could just have a bash and see if it works but I'm worried enough about breaking something to check here first.

Many thanks in advance for any advice offered.
 
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At last, I've finally managed to ask a question that is either too boring or too obscure. Arkady would have known :D

I took the plunge and tried microadjustment and it didn't work, so either the system doesn't do the business with manual lenses or it is out of range of adjustment. I think that +20 did improve things but by the end my brain was so addled, I wasn't sure of anything any more.

The good news is that I just took a chance on a Sigma 50mm f1.4 on ebay (fool, I know) and despite the seller not bothering to pack it properly, it survived Royal Mail intact and the focus is 100% bang on. :thumbs:

Running some quick comparisons between the Zeiss and Sigma 50s suggests that the Sigma is every bit as good. Or even better.
 
LOL I think you have made the right decision!

Putting a manual Zeiss lens on an Olympus and a Canon and expecting everything to work great is asking a bit much really ;)

And TBH those fabled Zeiss lenses are really nothing special optically. Good, but no more. If they put Cosina on them, which is where most of the Zeiss lenses are made, nobody would even consider it.
 
Re your 1st post, yes you are correct but I'm not sure if it will correct 2cm
 
Funnily enough the more I've been trying both today, the more I like to Zeiss. Cosina or not, it's not a bad lens. Manual focus is easy on the E-P1 because I'm chimping anyway. On the 5D2 it is easy in live view but the AF confirm through the viewfinder is off. Annoyingly, on my 20D it is bang on.
 
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