My D7000 is off to Nikon.. This is why..

Since owning my D7000 I have been close to suicide working out why my images are unsharp, out of focus or back focused. Hours spent reading forums, bought new lenses and have taken 4000 shots in 2 months mostly test shots.
At a faster aperture I'm getting like 1 keeper out of 10 shots if that.

After reading a post on another forum http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=2834&page=4 and doing the same test I now know it's not speed or holding technique it's the focusing system of the D7000 at fault. I will explain.

The test is very simple.
Place camera on tripod.
Use a low aperture for me i'm using a 50 1.4 @ f1.4

NOT IN LIVE VIEW keep pressing the shutter release to focus and watch the distance on the lens ring change. Every time or very oftern the ring will move a faction to the right or left.

So in effect your getting a random focus as the camera tries to find the correct focus.

The focus point is on the S of the label. The images clearly show this bad focus effect.
Clearly a problem at faster apertures as the focus point is more critical .

Can somebody eles try this D7000 or other model to see if you have the same effect.

I have done the same test multiple times with the 50 @ 1.4 (AF-S version) and my findings are along the line with yours. I cannot use the 50 @ 1.4 in practise on the D7000, I have to stop down to 2.8 to get reasonably sharp results on the focus point selected. I get the best setting with -20 correction, but that still does not do the trick (think I would need -30!).

Obviously DOF is limited at 1.4, but my combination (my 50 @ 1.4 + my D7000) back focuses clearly visible, even with correction at -20.

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BLOG: http://www.johannesdejong.com
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i find this surprising as using my 50mm 1.8 the camera gets the focus bang on wide open.
--
Tony

Forgot to say that the camera was in signal point focus mode.

Also this is happening more with Af type lenses like the 85mm 1.8 D and the 50m 1.4 D

Have you tried AF-A mode

nobblynoel said:

Forgot to say that the camera was in signal point focus mode.

Also this is happening more with Af type lenses like the 85mm 1.8 D and the 50m 1.4 D

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Your so close to the subject it's hard for me to evaluate. Color/WB/lighting seems to be changing in all the pics also. Could you post an original pic with the intact EXIF data so that we may better help. Looks like a lens quirk or maybe..... the central cross type sensor is a pretty big one....the contrast of your target here is very wide in the horizontal plane so I would expect some hunting with AF-Area mode single point and not be really surprised by your results. Have you tried 9 pt? With that type of target I would expect 9pt to give more consistent results. I assume your in AF-S and not AF-C. Does focus still hunt using the AF-ON function?

OK I have spoke to NIkon France and they say this>

"With this type of lens you need to be in AF-S and not in single point focus. You also need a larger focus area than 1 point."

I will try this later and also try a newer AF-S type lens.

Mako2011 said:

Your so close to the subject it's hard for me to evaluate.

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That a 100% crop

Mako2011 said:

I would expect some hunting with AF-Area mode single point and not be really surprised by your results.

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That's what NIkon say too

Mako2011 said:

Have you tried 9 pt? With that type of target I would expect 9pt to give more consistent results.

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Well NIkon suggest using AF-S and in AF-S you can only use 1 point or 39 point auto so 39 point auto it is.

Mako2011 said:

I assume your in AF-S and not AF-C.

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No I was using C..

nobblynoel said:

Well NIkon suggest using AF-S and in AF-S you can only use 1 point or 39 point auto so 39 point auto it is.

nobblynoel said:

I assume your in AF-S and not AF-C.

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No I was using C..

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Stay in AF-C but switch to 9pt and see what happens. Be sure your a3 menu is set to off also. You can also get AF-S like operation by combining AF-C with the AF-ON function tied to the AE-L/AF-L button. Good Luck

I think there's just too much problems with Nikon. Here's the problem for my D7000 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Qj-p0YU8Y Watch it and let me know how you can help. Thanks!

nobblynoel said:

Since owning my D7000 I have been close to suicide working out why my images are unsharp

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Oh, my. With so great a multitude of legitimate reasons for this level of deep despair, why anyone should feel this from a collection of plastic, Silicon and metal is a disturbing state of affairs. OTOH, it should be very easy for the host of counselors here to talk you down from the brink, as it were. (Sorry: watching the royal wedding now, so I can't help but sound British and a bit snobbish.)

nobblynoel said:

Use a low aperture for me i'm using a 50 1.4 @ f1.4

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Reason #1 not to step off the cliff: Did you try another fast lens? Is this the Nikkor 1.4G? If so, and since it's a notoriously slow focuser, did you allow it enough time each time to focus? If the Sigma 50 f1.4 HSM, did you remember all the reviews that say it's not a so reliable focuser?

nobblynoel said:

NOT IN LIVE VIEW keep pressing the shutter release to focus and watch the distance on the lens ring change. Every time or very oftern the ring will move a faction to the right or left.

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Reason #2: how much light did you have for this? Did you try the test in better light, with adequate contrast?

nobblynoel said:

So in effect your getting a random focus as the camera tries to find the correct focus.

The focus point is on the S of the label. The images clearly show this bad focus effect.
Clearly a problem at faster apertures as the focus point is more critical .

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Reason #3: Yes, that and not self-driven expiration ought to be the take away. Large apertures are very difficult to manage with regards to focus.

nobblynoel said:

Can somebody eles try this D7000 or other model to see if you have the same effect.

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At f1.4 and f2.0, my technique has to be very good to avoid mis-focusing. This with various cameras (D300 and D700 of late) and lenses (50 f1.4, 85 f1.4, 105 f2.0 DC, 135 f2.0 DC). For this reason, for critical shots where I must AF, I stay well away from large apertures, choosing not to shoot wider than f2.8 unless I have to. And for shots requiring the narrowest of DOFs, I either stand at least 10 ft from the subject, and for up-close subjects, it's MF all the way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seeking the heart and spirit in each image



Gallery and blog: http://imagesbyeduardo.com
Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22061657@N03

tc333 said:

i find this surprising as using my 50mm 1.8 the camera gets the focus bang on wide open.

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Even more surprising when so many claim the f1.8 is a severe front/back (I forget which) focuser.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seeking the heart and spirit in each image



Gallery and blog: http://imagesbyeduardo.com
Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22061657@N03

my D300s does the same with 10-24, 35, 50.

Although in real life use I never had any problems with it, I noticed this issue the first day I bought my camera.
But again, never caused any problem (at least not that I noticed).

nobblynoel said:

4000 shots in 2 months mostly test shots

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I'd say you got your problem right there. Your setup is so far removed from real world usage that you end up in circumstances nobody expected this system to be used in. As a result, it underperforms.

The object you are testing on appears to be about ten inches away. At 50mm and f/1.4, your DOF is 0.6 mm or 0.02 inches. Phase-detect autofocus that precise simply doesn't exist. That's why the focus is all over the place.

The solution to this is to take your gear, and get out and photograph stuff you should be photographing - i.e. not test shots . Hold off on sending it to Nikon. You can always do that later. Do 500 shots of street photography, then come back. Who knows, you might end up with some real keepers as a bonus!

Try photographing at reasonable distances for a 50mm lens at f/1.4: About 15ft. At that point your DOF is almost 1.6', and you should not be dependent on sub-millimeter autofocus.

PS: For focusing on stuff really close to the lens, use Live View. The contrast detect is slow, but superior as it actually measures image sharpness at the sensor. (I write at length about this here: http://monochrome.sutic.nu/2011/02/28/nikon-d7000-focus-issues.html ) To get your expectations right, please read "How to test a lens" at Lensrentals.com: http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2010/11/how-to-test-a-lens

Batteries, we need batteries!

You should NOT have to be in 9-point mode to achieve correct focus lock. I had to do this with my D7k w/ 17-55mm f/2.8 lens to get moderately focused results, but probably about 2/3rds of my photos came out bad during Cherry Blossom season.

I sent both the body and lens to Nikon's Service Center and they adjusted both so t's accurate with center focus point.

well maybe i got lucky. this is my 4th dslr in 7 years and the only one that has very good focus on a lens with a very large aperture. i am basically over the moon

eNo said:

tc333 said:

i find this surprising as using my 50mm 1.8 the camera gets the focus bang on wide open.

Click to expand...

Even more surprising when so many claim the f1.8 is a severe front/back (I forget which) focuser.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seeking the heart and spirit in each image



Gallery and blog: http://imagesbyeduardo.com
Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22061657@N03

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--
Tony

"The focus point is on the S of the label"

Why not put the camera into laser beam focus mode and try and focus on the trademark symbol next to the S?

Show us some other pics besides test shots. How about a cat or dog in nice light, a city landscape, flowers, significant other, etc.??

Been testing with my D700 + 50mm 1:1.4D. Aperture priority, wide open, AF-S with selected focus point in center. I have fine tuned this lens to -10 on the camera. It nails and holds focus every time. I agree. Your camera (or lens) is not functioning properly. It should indeed be sent in for testing, adjustment.

I meant D7000 (oops)

PhillyFotog said:

Been testing with my D700 + 50mm 1:1.4D. Aperture priority, wide open, AF-S with selected focus point in center. I have fine tuned this lens to -10 on the camera. It nails and holds focus every time. I agree. Your camera (or lens) is not functioning properly. It should indeed be sent in for testing, adjustment.

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