Reikan FoCal - File Mode

File Mode

File Mode allows you to run the Fully Automatic Calibration, Autofocus Consistency, Aperture Sharpness and Dust Analysis tests from a set of files you have captured yourself. FoCal has no connection to the camera for File Mode operation, and can be used to analyse images from cameras and lenses which are not supported in tethered mode from FoCal.

Licensing

File Mode is not tied to specific camera serial numbers like tethered mode, but the valid System ID of the computer you are currently using must be specified in your license. If this is not the case, you will see a message asking if you wish to enable File Mode for this computer – simply accept this message if you wish to enable File Mode on this computer.

Operation

To use File Mode, you go directly to the appropriate test that you want to run without connecting to a camera.

For example, to analyse a set of files for an Aperture Sharpness test, just start up FoCal, go directly to the Analysis tab and click the Aperture Sharpness button. The test window will open, and the Settings tab will show tools for selecting the files to analyse:

Choosing Files

To select files, click the Add Files button in the Settings tab on the right side of the window.

The file selection dialog will be shown - you can choose multiple files in the usual way, then click Open and after a short time the file list in the Test window will be populated with information:

You can add further files with the Add Files button if you wish.

You can remove specific files from the list by ticking the individual files and clicking Remove Selected.

Clicking Select All will tick all of the files in the list.

The analysis will be performed on the files which are ticked, and the information at the bottom of the window will indicate whether the test is ready to run. In the example above, you must select a minimum of 5 files.

Hitting Select All will select all the files and the information will show “Ready to start test”:

At this point, just click the Analyse Files button to begin the test.

The test will now run, analysing the files and displaying the results. You can interact with the test in the same way as when FoCal is connected to a camera, and the results will be saved to your local History database for you to review later.

Capturing Images for File Mode analysis

When running in tethered mode, FoCal takes full control of the camera and configures it for the best analysis results during the test. When you manually capture files for File Mode, you will need to replicate these settings in order to get the best from the tests.

The points below form a guide of how to manually capture images for tests:

For All Tests

  • As with tethered mode, ensure the camera is mounted on a sturdy tripod. Remove any battery grip if one is present.
  • If you have a remote release cable for the camera it is best to use this as you will then reduce the chance of moving the camera between shots. You could also use a companion smartphone application if this is supported by the camera.
  • If the camera supports Mirror Lockup, enable this feature.
  • Under normal conditions, you should dial in +1 EV exposure compensation if your camera supports this.
  • If analysing JPEG images, be sure to select a neutral picture style (e.g. Faithful, Neutral or Standard).
  • It is a good idea to capture both Raw and JPEG images at the same time if your camera has this option, as this will give you the ability to analyse both sets of images in FoCal to get an understanding of how much processing the camera does for the JPEG files.

For Autofocus Tests (Fully Auto Calibration, AF Consistency)

  • Select a single, centre focus point in single focus mode (e.g. One Shot or AF-S)
  • Between each shot, it’s best to carefully defocus the lens towards infinity. This will force the full autofocus algorithm to run within the camera.