FoCal 2.3 – Adds Full Canon 5D Mark IV Support and Further Internal Improvements

FoCal 2.3 is ready! Canon’s newest dSLR camera is now fully supported within FoCal. In addition we’ve improved some key areas within FoCal, liveview will start faster on Canon cameras, we’ve been able to reinstate shutter count information for some of the older Canon cameras and laid the framework for upcoming support of FoCal on Sierra, more details below.

FoCal Adds Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Support

FoCal 2.3 Key Features

New Features

  • Full Canon EOS 5D Mark IV support added – calibrate this camera automatically with FoCal (more details below)

Improvements:

The following enhancements and fixes are included with FoCal 2.3

  • Reinstate Raw support for Canon cameras.
  • Improvements to speed and reliability of image downloading on all Canon cameras.
  • Fix issue with selection of certain focus points on the D5 and D500 (affected MultiPoint Focus Test in some cases).
  • Shutter count functionality restored for all mid-age cameras except Canon 1DX Mark II, 5DS/R, 5D Mark IV and 80D.
  • Ensure FoCal Comparison Data is shown (where available) for Nikon cameras in File Mode.
  • Ensure mirror lockup is used correctly during Aperture Sharpness tests.
  • More informative message to indicate Distortion Correction should be disabled on Canon cameras where necessary.
  • Opening Canon Cameras is now up to 3 times faster.
  • Fully Automatic Calibration range, step size and shot count control hidden by default as they are more applicable for advanced users (enable from the Pro tab in Preferences)
  • Fixed issue where communications with Canon cameras could be unreliable on Mac when camera connection had been closed and re-opened.
  • Fix to ensure correct operation with certain Nikon zoom lenses when testing at the wide end of the focal length range.
  • Improvement in Camera Info tool to provide more information.
  • Fixed an issue for some users with the review of Dust Analysis setup on Windows.
  • Fixed an issue where liveview zoom state would sometimes not be restored after focusing in Target Setup.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause FoCal to hang on the splash screen.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Support Added

This release brings full support for this new Canon camera, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and FoCal automates as much as possible during calibration.

The 5D Mark IV runs in User Assisted mode, it’s automatic, and users will be prompted a few times to change the AF Microadjustment during a calibration.

5D Mark IV HotKey
The User Assisted Mode HotKey is the same as similar Canon cameras. Once the AF Microadjustment has been input on the camera screen, half press the shutter button then click the aperture dial once to change the aperture (in Av mode this is the top front dial near the shutter button). This will notify FoCal to continue with the calibration (no need to go back to the computer!).

We are continuing to investigate what might be possible to make use of the Dual Pixel Raw functionality within this camera, so far we think there’s scope to make use of this extra data, blog post at 5D Mark IV “Dual Pixel Raw” provides further details.

macOS Sierra Support Status

macOS Sierra (OS X 10.12) is now officially released.  We had already been working with beta releases of macOS Sierra and will finalise support for this new operating system in the next FoCal release. One of the factors is waiting for Canon to update their interface libraries, which at the moment will stop FoCal from initialising on Sierra (see also Canon’s OS compatibility page)

As it stands, FoCal 2.3 will not control any cameras when running on Sierra based systems.

There will be a fully working version of FoCal for Sierra, exact timescale is hard to predict but we expect this to happen soon.

Software Support Status

Mac

The following table shows the support for FoCal for Mac:

Operating System Camera Manufacturer Status
OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) Canon & Nikon Fully functional
OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) Canon & Nikon Fully functional
OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) Canon & Nikon Fully functional
OS X 10.12 (Sierra) Canon & Nikon No Support in 2.3 or earlier versions of FoCal

Windows

The following table shows the support for FoCal for Windows:

Operating System Camera Manufacturer Status
Windows 7 Canon & Nikon Fully functional
Windows 8/8.1 Canon & Nikon Fully functional
Windows 10 Canon & Nikon Fully functional

How do I get FoCal 2.3?

Download FoCal 2.3 by logging in to the LMS at lms.fo-cal.co.uk.  Once logged in, you will see a download link to the software.

FoCal 2.3 is available for Windows (Windows 7 and newer) and Mac (OS X 10.9 – 10.11) operating systems, for users who are still within their Included Updates Period today (22nd September 2016). If your Included Updates Period has expired, you can purchase another 12 months by logging in to the LMS at lms.fo-cal.co.uk.

If you don’t own FoCal, you can purchase the software as a download or boxed product, as well as Focal Hard Targets from the store.

The installation package contains the software, target images and a reference manual (also available on the Documents Download page).

14 comments on “FoCal 2.3 – Adds Full Canon 5D Mark IV Support and Further Internal Improvements

    • Hi Will,

      Thanks for your interest in FoCal.

      We’re based in the UK and pricing is listed in UK Pounds. We don’t list pricing in other currencies because of the way currency exchange rates change we would have to change the listed pricing each time there is a currency movement. At the moment the UK Pound is trading lower against the USD, it’s cheaper to buy FoCal now than it was 6 months ago if you’re US based 🙂

      The US dollar amount will be shown before accepting the payment if purchasing the download version of FoCal. To get an idea of the cost you can do a straight conversion to the dollar amount (depending on your payment provider it can vary from this a little). Easiest way to do that is via google, typing in a search term “convert X GBP to USD” so for FoCal Pro that would be

      https://www.google.com/#q=convert+69.95+GBP+to+USD

      It is possible to buy FoCal within the US, more details on the blog at Reikan FoCal Available in USA

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply
  • I am attempting to micro adjust my new Canon 5d Mk iv. Following your directions I tried to use the Hot Key: “Once the AF Microadjustment has been input on the camera screen, while half pressing the shutter button click the aperture dial once to change the aperture.” But I am unclear what you meant by the phrase APERATURE DIAL. Can you assist me?

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Hi Tomz,

      I updated the description in the blog text to make it clearer. Essentially, half press the shutter button, then move the dial near the shutter button (this changes the aperture in Av mode).

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply
  • This version reports the error “Failed to set Mirror Lockup on the camera” when used with a Canon 7D Mark II with latest firmware.
    The error appears when trying to start an automatic test: There is some action when a shot is taken to establish the “prior” state, then the error appears.
    The same camera has been used to calibrate successfully many times before, this however is the first time with its newest firmware and this FoCal release.

    Reply
    • Hi Alto,

      The camera is refusing to enter mirror lockup mode. We’re adding to the somewhat cryptic error message in the next release. It will indicate to check “Anti-Flicker” setting for Canon cameras as that’s generally the cause / reason the camera won’t allow mirror lockup.

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply
  • OS X Sierra is now out for 3 month. When can I use Focal pro again with my Mac? I mean I pay for an update but again can’t use it…

    Reply
  • Hi there.
    I have purchased your focal 2 years ago, but I’m seeing an issuing connecting the focal 2.3 to canon 5d mark iv. Do you have any ideas?

    Reply
  • Hi,

    What do you mean by “** 5DS / 5DS R / 1D X Mark II / 5D Mark IV / 7D Mark II / 80D: MultiPoint Focus Test will not work with these cameras. Fully supported and working for automatic focus calibration, focus consistency and other tests with center focus point.”

    Does this mean you software cannot check focus points other than the center point on the 5D IV?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi A,

      At the moment it’s not possible to use “MultiPoint Focus” test within FoCal with 5DS / 5DS R / 1D X Mark II / 5D Mark IV / 80D Canon cameras. This is a limitation imposed by Canon as they have removed external software access to check non-center focus points (this function is allowed on most earlier Canon cameras).

      While this sounds like a serious limitation there’s something worth explaining, it’s not possible on any Canon or Nikon camera to set a specific AFMA on focus points other than the center focus point (whether manually on the camera or by some other means).

      In practice you find calibrating the centre point brings all the other focus points in line at the same time (unless there’s a manufacturing defect as existed on some early Nikon D800s!).

      Whether this might change in the future is hard to know, at the moment it’s really up to Canon if they decide to allow the option to check non-center points (it’s possible but we aren’t hopeful at this point!).

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply

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