FoCal 2.5 – Adds Auto Focus Calibration Support for Canon EOS 6D Mark II and Nikon D7500

Posted on by Dave

We’re excited to announce FoCal 2.5 for Windows and Mac is ready for release! Canon’s newest dSLR camera the EOS 6D Mark II is now fully supported within FoCal along with the Nikon D7500 (Nikon D850 news below). In addition we’ve made some good improvements within FoCal, including a new Target Distance Tool, no need to visit the website to determine required target distances. As well as news about upcoming D850 support we’ll also provide details on where we are with High Sierra support below.

 

Reikan FoCal 2.5 - Canon 6D Mark II and Nikon D7500 support

FoCal 2.5 Key Features

New Features

  • Full Canon EOS 6D Mark II support added – calibrate this camera automatically (hands free mode) with FoCal
  • Full Nikon D7500 support added – calibrate this camera automatically (user assisted mode) with FoCal
  • New integrated Target Distance Tool – determine required target distance without leaving FoCal

Improvements:

The following enhancements and fixes are included with FoCal 2.5

  • Improvement to Canon support to make taking shots more reliable
  • Improvement to Canon and Nikon camera connection on Mac
  • Update to metadata analyser for better camera/lens recognition
  • Lots of internal improvements to support future updates

Canon EOS 6D Mark 2 Fully Supported (hands free mode)

This release brings full support for the Canon 6D Mark II.

The 6D Mark II runs in Hands Free Mode, calibration is completely automated with no input from the user during the calibration process (see video showing the 5D Mark II running “hands free mode” to get an idea of what’s involved).

Nikon D7500 Fully Supported (user assisted mode)

This release brings full support for the Nikon D7500.

The Nikon D7500 runs in User Assisted Mode, most all the process is automated, users will be prompted a few times to change the AF Fine Tune during a calibration (see video showing the Nikon D800 running “user assisted mode” to get an idea of what’s involved).

New: Target Distance Tool

The new Target Distance Tool within FoCal means no need to visit the FoCal website to look up a suitable target distance (before 2.5 that meant loading up the online Target Distance Tool)

The Target Distance Tool can be found under the “Tools” tab within FoCal 2.5:
FoCal 2.5 Tools Tab New Target Distance Tool

Users can select a focal length by selecting “Specify focal length” and moving the slider:
FoCal 2.5 Target Distance Tool 85mm Lens

When a camera is connected to FoCal the top option is selected by default and FoCal reads the lens information automatically. With zoom lenses both ‘ends’ of the zoom will provide a distance (see also calibrating zoom lenses):
FoCal 2.5 Target Distance Tool 24-70mm Zoom Lens

Choose between Feet and Inches or metric via Preferences > Tests:
FoCal Preferences Window Tests Feet and Inches

Nikon D850 Support Status

At the moment the Nikon D850 is not supported by FoCal in the 2.5 or earlier releases, but support is coming soon!

Nikon has not yet provided an update to their comms library module for the Nikon D850, this is needed by FoCal before we can provide support. The Nikon library is normally made available around a month or so of the camera being released.

Once we have the updated software from Nikon it usually takes 2-3 weeks for an updated version of FoCal to provide support for the camera.

macOS High Sierra Support Status

As it stands, FoCal 2.5 (and earlier releases) will not control any cameras when running on High Sierra based systems.

macOS High Sierra (10.13) is now officially released. We have already been working with beta releases of macOS High Sierra and hope to add support for this new operating system in the next FoCal release.

There will be a fully working version of FoCal for High Sierra, exact timescale is harder 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
macOS 10.12 (Sierra) Canon & Nikon Fully functional
macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) Canon & Nikon No Support in 2.5 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 2.5?

Download FoCal 2.5 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 2.5 is available for Windows (Windows 7 and newer) and Mac (OS X 10.9 – 10.12) operating systems, for users who are still within their Included Updates Period today (5th October 2017). 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).

Find Us on Facebook and Twitter

We regularly post news and updates on social media. You can keep updated, connect and follow us via Reikan FoCal on Facebook and FoCal Twitter Page.

 

47 comments on “FoCal 2.5 – Adds Auto Focus Calibration Support for Canon EOS 6D Mark II and Nikon D7500”

    • Dave says:

      Hi Fernando,

      Entirely depends on when you bought FoCal and/or included updates on your account, if you login to the LMS http://lms.fo-cal.co.uk it will say at the top the FoCal releases to which you have access. See also the blog entry above towards the bottom, section titled “How do I get FoCal 2.5?” as that gives further details 🙂

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply
    • Dave says:

      Hi Terry,

      The way the licensing works allows users to choose whether and when to upgrade. If you’re happy with the features and functionality then stick with what you have.

      I will say there have been some handy improvements over time, previously FoCal 2.4 totally changed the way Target Setup works, much easier to use and more things are checked during the setup. With this FoCal 2.5 release we’ve added in the new Target Distance Tool and that will save hassle needing to find the online version. Depends on which release you currently have access as well, click Releases to see what you might be ‘missing out on’ 😉

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply
  • Kip says:

    To be clear, when you say no support for FoCal 2.5 (or earlier) in High Sierra, you’re referring specifically to camera control, yes? You can still run it in User Assist mode, right?

    Reply
    • Dave says:

      Hi Kip,

      It’s the connection / USB tethering side of things Apple has changed. We believe (at least in our testing so far) FoCal will start on High Sierra but very likely will not be able to connect to a camera. File Mode (where FoCal can analyse pre-captured files) should be ok.

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply
      • kabayanmark says:

        Interesting dismissal of High Sierra.
        I have FOCAL PRO 2.4 and use HIGH SIERRA 10.13.1

        Being a doubting Thomas, I did a quick setup with my D800e and a new Sigma Sports 150-600mm with tC1401 and behold all tests work perfectly.

        I can only suggest that FOCAL makes allowances for this and lets users try the update software with HS, if not perhaps you can put the individual licenses on hold so as to keep the 1 year upgrade free period in tact.

        Reply
        • Dave says:

          Hi Kabayanmark,

          Thank you for your feedback and glad High Sierra is working for you with FoCal 2.4 🙂

          It can be a tricky one with things like this, we believe in some cases High Sierra will work for users with FoCal 2.4 and FoCal 2.5. We also know some users will see problems (particularly with Canon cameras at the point of USB connection).

          We do not prevent users from trying out any version of FoCal on High Sierra (all users are able to try this if they wish). We are using somewhat the precautionary principle, it’s “safer” to say “not supported” (because we know there are issues for some). That lets users know if they choose to upgrade to High Sierra we can’t guarantee it will work for them. Next release is very close now and we have made progress on High Sierra support (new blog entry very soon!)

          Best Regards,
          Dave

          Reply
          • Gareth Redfern-Shaw says:

            I have FoCal 2.6 and OSX High Sierra 10.13.2 (17C88), tethering works with Lightroom and Canon Connect but not with your software.

            I bought two new cameras more than a month ago and cannot calibrate them. I agree with the chap above. My licence will expire in April and I have now lost nearly 2 months from this licence. The reason I bought the sofware was the auto-calibration, as far as is allowed with the 5D3. Will you be extending the licences for people who cannot use your software the way it is intended? Or can I download version 2.5 or even 2.4 and try those? I have 4 cameras I wanted to calibrate today but haven’t been able to.

            Thanks
            Gareth

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  • Tim says:

    Could you offer some guidance on the time range for MacOS 10.13 (High Sierra) support? It’s very different if it’s perhaps a month or two vs 6 months or more.

    I certainly understand that you can’t make a commitment, particularly if you don’t quite know the issue. But if it’s on the shorter end we can wait. If the longer, I’m going to have to go through the issues of licensing on a windows computer instead

    Reply
    • Dave says:

      Hi Tim,

      It’s a good question, trying to figure out an accurate timescale for High Sierra support is a little tricky(!)

      Our current plan is to have support within the same timescale as adding the Nikon D850 (November is current thinking) if there are more problems than expected with High Sierra this could move backwards.

      Sorry it’s a bit more vague than I might like but there’s a few rocks to upturn to support High Sierra and hard to know exactly what we might find(!)

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply
    • Dave says:

      Hi Bo,

      Thank you for your interest in FoCal.

      At the moment the 5D S/R remains “user assisted” (a lot of automation but user input needed to change the AFMA value as directed by FoCal). Whether this might change is really up to Canon since we’re reliant on the Canon provided comms module in order to interact with the camera.

      We haven’t lost all hope, the fact that 6D2 and 80D both allow “hands free” is a step in the right direction. When/if this might change for existing cameras like the EOS 5D S/R would be a guess, we do have some ideas on how we might go about lobbying Canon so…. 🙂

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply
  • Zenon Char says:

    Just curious about Canon’s Dual Pixel on my 5D4. Does this automatically apply or do you have to activate it. How do I know if it is using it or not when I’m calibrating? I will read about it but a base answer would be helpful.

    Reply
  • Andrew Wee says:

    Is it essential to uninstall my current version of FoCal 2.4.6.M before installing 2.5 for both Windows and Mac?

    Reply
    • Dave says:

      Hi Andrew,

      On Mac all you need to do is double click the ‘.dmg’ file and the instructions will guide on what to do next. As part of the install you will be prompted as to whether you wish to keep the previous version or replace it. Unless there’s special reason most users should choose ‘replace’ 🙂

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply
  • Flemming Nielson says:

    Canon 6Dii now runs in hands free mode – any chance you might get 5Diii and 7Dii to work in hands free mode as well?

    Reply
    • Dave says:

      Hi Flemming,

      Thank you for your interest in FoCal.

      It’s a good question, at the moment the 5D Mark III and 7D Mark II remain “user assisted” (a lot of automation but user input needed to change the AFMA value as directed by FoCal). Whether this might change is really up to Canon since we’re reliant on the Canon provided comms module in order to interact with the camera.

      We haven’t lost all hope, the fact that Canon 80D and now 6D Mark II both allow “hands free” is a step in the right direction. When/if this might change for existing cameras would be a guess, we do have some ideas on how we might go about lobbying Canon so…

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply
  • Mike Mirsky says:

    Hi, I currently am running V2.0.8M and my 12 month upgrade period expired in July. If I upgrade to the Pro version, will that get v 2.5? Thanks, Mike

    Reply
  • Oscar says:

    Just upgraded to High Sierra, didn’t realise FoCal is not working *yet*

    If you guys are looking for beta testers on the High Sierra issues, let me know!

    Reply
    • Dave says:

      Thanks Oscar, we have enough development boxes loaded with High Sierra so we should be in a good place on that front, thank you for your kind offer 🙂

      Reply
  • Hans-Gerd says:

    I am running High Sierra, and the MacBook Pro can‘t connect to my new Canon 6D II. Is that because of the High Sierra issue? My 5D IV connects without problems…

    Reply
    • Dave says:

      Hi Hans-Gerd,

      Likely it is related to High Sierra, can I ask you to (via link) raise a support request and include “FAO Dave” in the subject or message body as we’d like to investigate a little further if you might be able to help.

      Many Thanks,
      Dave

      Reply
    • Dave says:

      Hi Gary,

      Thank you for your interest in FoCal.

      We had been waiting for the update from Nikon for the comms library.

      Just last week (late Tuesday) Nikon went ahead and provided the update so work can progress!

      Always tricky to have a exact timescale (development is not always a straight line!) but we’re aiming for 2-3 weeks or so 🙂

      Best Regards,
      Dave

      Reply
  • Rudi says:

    Sorry to say that but I’m a bit pis…. Again I have to buy an update to use Focal 2.5 and most of the time I can’t use Focal properly because there are either bugs in the software or the Camera I use (now D850) is not supported. Capture One for instance (in opposite to LR) has had the tethering mode and RAW Support for D850 two weeks after I got my D850… I can’t imagine Nikon has a complete different interface for each new camera they release!? Or is Focal bad coded (reusable)?

    Reply

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