Display Canon AF points in LR

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ThomasB

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Hello,

I would love to have one feature integrated in LR - the display of the used AF points. For Canon cameras, as far as I know, the only application which can do this is Canon's own and free Zoom Browser EX.
The information of the AF points is stored in the RAW/jpeg-files, so it's generally accessable.
I'm a programmer so building up a LR plugin might be possible. But where? Unfortunately the plugin extensions for LR are very limited. It's not possible to extend the library and the develop model, right? So the only solution would be an export plugin, but that's not very comfortable. In an ideal world, I look at the picture in the library module, click on a button and the AF points for the used camara model show up in the picture, with the used AF point(s) highlighted.

Do you have any ideas?

Thanks,
Thomas
 
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The actual info is proprietary Canon info and only really accessible if you use the Canon SDK. Adobe don't because it would hobble the rest of ACR/LR.
 
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Thanks for the info Richard!

I found a solution which is suitable for my needs:
The new Canon Digital Professional 3.5.1 can display the AF points as well. In LR I created an export setting "DPP" which exports the selected picture as original data into a temp directory and opens "DPPViewer.exe". Then the picture is automatically displayed in full screen mode in DPP. There I only have to press ALT+L to see the AF points.

The whole process needs only a few seconds.

Maybe this is helpful to other LR users with Canon cameras.
 
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Richard,
How does just "reading" information within a RAW file (via the use of Canon's SDK) hobble the rest of ACR/LR? LR by definition is non-distructive. Spending a bit of time reviewing the SDK to understand where the focus point info is located etc... doesn't seem that daunting.

Personally agree with Thomas, being able to see where you actually focused your Camera is EXCELLENT feedback on how you use your equipment or where you might need to concentrate on improving technique. Would highly recommend Adobe consider such a valuable piece of functionality. Its there for the taking.

Others: BTW- Breezbrowser has had this funtionality for literally, years. They just read the RAW also. ( and the SDK :) )

Regards,
Matt
 
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schlotz said:
Richard,
How does just "reading" information within a RAW file (via the use of Canon's SDK) hobble the rest of ACR/LR? LR by definition is non-distructive. Spending a bit of time reviewing the SDK to understand where the focus point info is located etc... doesn't seem that daunting.

Personally agree with Thomas, being able to see where you actually focused your Camera is EXCELLENT feedback on how you use your equipment or where you might need to concentrate on improving technique. Would highly recommend Adobe consider such a valuable piece of functionality. Its there for the taking.

Others: BTW- Breezbrowser has had this funtionality for literally, years. They just read the RAW also. ( and the SDK :) )

Regards,
Matt
Click to expand...

Matt, you might want to place a feature request, the form is linked at the top of this page.
 
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ThomasB said:
Thanks for the info Richard!

I found a solution which is suitable for my needs:
The new Canon Digital Professional 3.5.1 can display the AF points as well. In LR I created an export setting "DPP" which exports the selected picture as original data into a temp directory and opens "DPPViewer.exe". Then the picture is automatically displayed in full screen mode in DPP. There I only have to press ALT+L to see the AF points.

The whole process needs only a few seconds.

Maybe this is helpful to other LR users with Canon cameras.
Click to expand...

Thomas, would you mind telling me how you display the AF points in DPP? Thanks.
 
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schlotz said:
How does just "reading" information within a RAW file (via the use of Canon's SDK) hobble the rest of ACR/LR? LR by definition is non-distructive.
Click to expand...

As I understood it, if Adobe decided to use the Canon SDK for that data, they'd have to use it for everything, which would limit the facilities that could be offered, such as the new local adjustments. BreezeBrowser, on the other hand, uses the SDK fully. That said, I could have understood that incorrectly, as I wasn't listening too carefully at the time! :lol:

Also, if LR was able to use Canon's SDK to pull that info for Canon cameras, they'd also need to be able to do so for every other camera they support.... maybe one day! If you feel strongly about it, do put in a feature request though!
 
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Joemontana;29''4 said:
The latest I can find on Canon's page is 3.4.1
Click to expand...
I definately found it on the Canon pages, following the "Drivers & Downloads" link for the 4'D. The DPP 3.5.1 updater is available for Win and Mac.
 
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Roy Mathers said:
Thomas, would you mind telling me how you display the AF points in DPP? Thanks.
Click to expand...

You need the 3.5.1 version of DPP. When you double click on a picture in the grid view, the edit window opens. There you can select "View > AF point" or you press ALT+L.
Maybe my translation is not exact because I have the german version of DPP, but I hope you get the idea.
 
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Roy Mathers;29'32 said:
Thanks Thomas. I now have version 3.5.1 but have hit a snag - the AF view doesn't appear to work with jpegs or dngs.
Click to expand...

You need the original files out of canon cameras - jpg or RAW. DNG does not work. Therefore my DPP export setting in LR exports the original RAW file.
 
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Thank you. I looked again and found it. It's odd, the updater for 3.4.1 was posted on a date *after* 3.5.1:?:
I just saw 3.4.1 and stopped looking since 3.5.1 is halfway down the page.:roll:

ThomasB;29'28 said:
I definately found it on the Canon pages, following the "Drivers & Downloads" link for the 4'D. The DPP 3.5.1 updater is available for Win and Mac.
Click to expand...
 
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Thanks! This info is very useful for me. Not necessarily the integration with Lightroom, but just the ability to see the AF points.
In my dog agility photography, it really helps to see where I was focusing relative to the dog. Sometimes I have to focus on a jump bar or tunnel exit, the dogs are moving so fast I can't focus on the dog itself.

In any case, it's really helpful for me to know what I focused on.

ThomasB said:
Maybe this is helpful to other LR users with Canon cameras.
Click to expand...
 
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It's good to hear that my tip is useful to others.

@admins: Maybe it would be nice to copy it to the "tips and tricks" area. Or can I do it myself?

Thomas
 
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That sounds like an excellent idea Thomas.
 
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Last edited:
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ThomasB said:
Thanks for the info Richard!

I found a solution which is suitable for my needs:
The new Canon Digital Professional 3.5.1 can display the AF points as well. In LR I created an export setting "DPP" which exports the selected picture as original data into a temp directory and opens "DPPViewer.exe". Then the picture is automatically displayed in full screen mode in DPP. There I only have to press ALT+L to see the AF points.

The whole process needs only a few seconds.

Maybe this is helpful to other LR users with Canon cameras.
Click to expand...

Would you be so kind as to explain how to do this - in simple terms please?

Thanks.
 
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Joemontana said:
Sometimes I have to focus on a jump bar or tunnel exit, the dogs are moving so fast I can't focus on the dog itself.
Click to expand...

Off topic suggestion:

Joe, I have the analogous situation with horses, I expect any action activity is the same.

I see you use Canon, I was always having trouble deciding whether to use AI Servo focus, to track motion towards/away, or One-shot, to establish a pre-focus with reframe at the expected point of the shot. But there's no way to switch those modes reliably and quickly.

I've since applied User CF4 (at least it's #4 on my 3'D) to move the autofocus trigger to the (*) button on the camera back, and decouple it from the shutter button. This allows me to pre-focus or follow-focus at will, while leaving the shutter button free for the shot. (I'm usually in full manual exposure.) I find this 'hack' invaluable for action shooting.

So, on a partly sunny day, alternating from bright sun to cloud shadow, I'm usual conducting a symphony, tweaking Aperture and focus with my right thumb, and shutter speed, ISO and shutter trip with my right index finger; zoom/framing with my left hand, and overriding auto-focus (if it chooses to hunt in the wrong direction) with my left thumb. It's a wonder anything ever turns out. :)
 
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Roy Mathers;2916' said:
Would you be so kind as to explain how to do this - in simple terms please?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Sure, no problem.
  1. Install Canon Digital Professional 3.5.1 (update from the Canon website).
  2. Open LR
  3. Select File > Export
  4. In the Export Dialog, choose the options showed in my screenshot. Important is, that you export the original RAW files. If you convert the Canon RAWs to DNG at import, this will not work.
  5. Add the settings as a user preset by clicking on the "Add" button and give it a nice name like "DPP-Export".
  6. From now on, you can right-click on any picture and select Export > DPP-Export. This opens the exported RAW in DPP.
  7. In DPP select View > AF points or press ALT+L.
  8. Don't forget to erase the exported fotos in the temp folder from time to time, this won't happen automatically.
Hope this helps,
Thomas
 
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Wow, thank you very much Brad! I'll have to cogitate on your post some, I"m sure the 4'D is probably the same.


Brad Snyder said:
Off topic suggestion:

Joe, I have the analogous situation with horses, I expect any action activity is the same.
Click to expand...
 
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ThomasB said:
Sure, no problem.
  1. Install Canon Digital Professional 3.5.1 (update from the Canon website).
  2. Open LR
  3. Select File > Export
  4. In the Export Dialog, choose the options showed in my screenshot. Important is, that you export the original RAW files. If you convert the Canon RAWs to DNG at import, this will not work.
  5. Add the settings as a user preset by clicking on the "Add" button and give it a nice name like "DPP-Export".
  6. From now on, you can right-click on any picture and select Export > DPP-Export. This opens the exported RAW in DPP.
  7. In DPP select View > AF points or press ALT+L.
  8. Don't forget to erase the exported fotos in the temp folder from time to time, this won't happen automatically.
Hope this helps,
Thomas
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot Thomas - that's very useful.
 
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