How to make your own “GhettoCAL” lens calibration system
posted Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 5:22 PM EST
Most modern mid-to-high end DSLRs have the option to calibrate and microadjust your lenses, to make sure that they focus perfectly, and get you the best possible sharpness. However, to do so you need a calibration chart. Rather than go out and buy one, David Liang decided to build one himself, and has shared it on his blog.
The instructions are remarkably straightforward. It’s simply a matter of printing off the pattern, attaching it to a piece of foam core, and then cutting the whole thing to size. Then all it takes is some tape and a paper clip to assemble the GhettoCAL (as it’s been dubbed), and you’re ready to go.
The one thing I might be worried about with this is that if the paper isn’t stuck down completely flat, small ripples might slightly interfere with getting a really accurate result. For our testing, we rely on on the LensAlign system, which you can pick up yourself from Amazon. It’s certainly more expensive than doing it yourself, but if you don’t particularly fancy yourself as very crafty, it’s an option you know will be accurate and easy to assemble. And you’re not relying on a paper clip to keep things perfectly aligned.
(Via PetaPixel)