This news may be slightly out of topic today, but I would like to share with you the importance of Micro AF adjustment on your DSLR.

Here you are an example below that will demonstrate how important Micro AF adjustment is when you want to get the best out of your camera. My Canon 5D MK II mounted with a 50mm lens was everything but sharp and after checking numerous website I took the time to adjust my Camera AF manually.

Don’t be scare this is not really difficult and you can always go back to your camera default setting, but if your camera support Micro AF adjustment, give it a try I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

In my case and as you will see below, a Micro AF adjustment of -7 is just what my camera needed when mounted with its 50mm lens.

100% Crop

Here you are Canon’s official method (According to Northlight Images) to tweak your Camera’s Micro AF.

* Mount the camera on a good tripod.
* Set up a target for the camera to focus on. The reference target should have sufficient contrast for the AF system to detect. It should be flat and parallel to the camera’s focal plane, and centred.
* Lighting should be bright / even.
* Camera-to-subject distance should be no less than 50 times the focal length of the lens. For a 50mm lens, that would be at least 2.5 meters.
* Set the lens for AF and the camera for One-Shot AF, and manually select the centre focusing point.
* Shoot at the maximum aperture of the lens via manual mode or aperture-priority. Adjust exposure level to get an accurate exposure. Use low ISO setting.
* If the lens has an image stabilizer, turn it off.
* Use a remote switch or the camera’s self-timer to fire the shutter. Use mirror lock up as well.
* Take three sets of images at microadjustment settings of -5, 0 and +5, i.e, three consecutive images at -5, three consecutive images at 0, and three consecutive images at +5.
* Look at the images on your screen at 100% magnification.
* Take additional sets of test images at different microadjustment settings if necessary until the sharpest image is achieved.
* Register the corresponding microadjustment settings in the camera.