Hi,This is my first "real" post in on this forum other than my intro and thought I would make an attempt at a post and contribute to the forum.
Sometimes I tend to ramble a bit so please be kind....
As I have a K20D and it features adjust-ability for 20 lenses and 1 adjustment for the body I thought this could be a nice tool test my camera and help me with my mixed bag of lenses and offer repeatability if a retest is necessary.Like some others I have tried several charts taht are available on the web and personaly found them lacking.....
So I had been observing the progress and reviews on this product offered by Michael Tapes(inventer of WhiBal WB card and this product) at RawWorkFlow.com(I am no way affiliated with him or his company,I am just a customer) and after receiving and testing and adjusting my camera I had some observations to share as other K20D owners maybe interested.
For those not familiar with this product I have provided a link and reviews can be found here also...
Digital Photography - RawWorkflow.com - LensAlign?
As I stated above I want to offer my observations and thoughts so far in my usage of this product on my K20 and not a review as there are plenty by respected sites.
I purchased the "Lite"model and this device uses a mirror to to align the LA tool squarely to the image sensor ,you get the idea I hope...
I had been thinking how I wanted to approach calibrating my lenses and thought it thru and realized I have few manual focus lenses so a calibration on my macro lens would be important that the in camera focus confirmation would be the first step in my mind.After viewing and reading as much on this subject I found I was unable to find any info on calibrating manual focus lenses especially using this product,so what to do?Wanting to know if this would be the proper course to follow(as it made sense to me)I called Michael at RawWokrflow(did not think I would actually speak with him)to ask him the question concerning MF lenses.What followed was an interesting and some what lengthy conversation on the subject and overall usage of his product.
After a friendly greeting he agreed to take a few of my questions...
My first question was concerning Manual Focus lenses and his reply was "Lensalign can be used for Manual lenses also not just AF"
When I asked him"Should I start with calibration by calibrating my body first in respect to the focus confirmation light and adjusting the focus accordingly?"
I went on to ask"My logic would say that the body would need to be first as any adjustment later using the body would affect all other lenses,right?"
He said"Yes,that is the starting point,to adjust the body the focus confirmation light"
After small talk on some of the finer points pertaining to this issue I pointed out that what I have read at his site and the others that have reviewed his product there was no mention of this step(it seemed logical to me) and he assured me he would mention it in his site(we will see).
I also went on to explain a little further to mention I would be using his product on the K20D and mentioned I thought this first step would be important for the "Trap Focus"feature used in this camera.He said that he had used the K20D and he was unaware of this feature and thought it was something that should be on the other "pro"cameras and that by calibrating the body first would also aid in having better focus using the "Trap"feature..
I don't want to bore you with the rest of the conversation but I do want to say I found him to be very nice to speak with,explained without cutting me short and seemed genuinely concerned to my questions and issue.
Now for my calibration my K20d.Let me say I found every one of my lenses out focus and needed adjustment and the body too,at least that is what I found using this product.
Body first,I use my Vivitar Series1 105mm f2.5 a lot as I find it to be razor sharp when focused properly.I have noticed that the confirmation light could not be trusted for focus and like many always had to strain my eyes and hope I got focus,not anymore as once adjusted focus every time on the chart with the light but will do some test with real "macro"shots to see,looks good tho,here is a pic...(EXIF intact)
This lens on my K20D was severely front focused with the focus light and took every bit of adjustment(-10) to to get it to the point shown(Pentax,we should do better IMO)and after a series of test shots I am a lot happier.
So I went on to my Pentax FA50mm f1.4 AF lens, it was back focusing at this point and adjusted with a +3.
Next came Sigma 28 f1.8 ,back focused also,+5 took care of this one.
Tamron 18-250 was a trouble maker as thru the zoom-able focal range it was all over the place,made a little adjust and seemed OK but don't like how it did,maybe my technique but my cheap Quantaray 70-300 LDO macro(re-badged Tamron?)did well and has always given sharp pics and only need small adjust.
Kit lens 18-55 ll,front focus.-4 and checked my other MF lens,acceptable focus with light.
Overall conclusion,I am glad I got this tool and performed this test and adjusted.I was surprised that I found all need some.The body being so far out surprised me and my first impulse was disbelief and wanted to box it up and send it in to Pentax for service and may still if I am not happy but I am willing to do more "real world"shots first to see if my adjustments were worthwhile first.
All lenses seemed more snappy finding focus and did not seem to hunt as much for focus and seemed faster overall,I have no proof to offer but they seem to focus faster but could be wish full thinking.
Here is a photo I took of the Lensalign Lite product I purchased(I know it is not needed but I need some posting practice
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Hope some here may find this helpful or thought provoking.I would be interested in on any thoughts or suggestions related to my method of adjustment using this product and the K20D.
I guess it could be used also for a K10D body adjustment with the hacked? firmware I have read about.I have a K10D too and may just check it in the future but I don't know if I really want to know if and how bad it might be out!
Thankyou for your patience for my long post and look foward to your replies...if any.
Larry."the Pool Guy"