Lens or body?

jor23 · May 31, 2025

I think I am having issues with my newly acquired refurbished 600mm pf and Z50ii.

On tripod, MF consistently produces sharper images than AF.

Is this possible with mirrorless cameras? More likely to be lens or body? Very frustrating. I only have the 16-50mm kit lens in addition to the PF. The difference is not as big on it, but I don't know if it is there ...

cyuill2007 · May 31, 2025

Thom Hogan wrote that Z-system cameras have AF fine tuning because sometimes lenses need it, in spite of the inherent accuracy of on-sensor AF. Perhaps try AF fine tuning the lens. It might help if the setting is low, such as +2 or 3, or -2 or 3.

Good luck with resolving this.

shuncheung · May 31, 2025

Perhaps try to test with a target and a ruler that is set at an angle. That would help you determine whether the focus could be front, on target, or back: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/67012483

Wahrsager · May 31, 2025

jor23 said:
I think I am having issues with my newly acquired refurbished 600mm pf and Z50ii.

On tripod, MF consistently produces sharper images than AF.

Is this possible with mirrorless cameras? More likely to be lens or body? Very frustrating. I only have the 16-50mm kit lens in addition to the PF. The difference is not as big on it, but I don't know if it is there ...

How close are you to subject? (Could be teetering on the minimum focus distance- Sometimes if you're close to the minimum, you can manually focus on target, but not auto-focus on target). What focus area you're using and where exactly on image is it? (I don't know if images are cropped- focus could be out of from on something else not shown).

jor23 · May 31, 2025

these are cropped to the focus point - single point focus

Wahrsager · May 31, 2025

jor23 said:
these are cropped to the focus point - single point focus

How many feet were you away from subject?

jor23 · May 31, 2025

I am close. should I test it further away?

jor23 · May 31, 2025

AF photos just seem to be foggy

66de54eb57674c99be01716fd6b33ae8.jpg.png

Wahrsager · May 31, 2025

jor23 said:
I am close. should I test it further away?

:-|

madecov · May 31, 2025

Most lenses don't preform at they're best close in. A telephoto like that you should be testing at about 20-25 % beyond minimum focus distance, if not further

jor23 · May 31, 2025

26e18653b53f4c1aac892a8cbc436948.jpg.png

shots in the field didn't turn out great, even though there's plenty of light. many seem to have focused on somewhere else, rather than the indicated focus point

jor23 · May 31, 2025

Did another test outside. This is about double the MFD.

Same observations. MF gives better sharpness.

Question - I bought lens and camera separately. Should I send both back for Nikon to test?

6846a09286144a3c9272fd33bcfa02cb.jpg.png

Paul Pasco · May 31, 2025

jor23 said:
shots in the field didn't turn out great, even though there's plenty of light. many seem to have focused on somewhere else, rather than the indicated focus point

In this shot the point of sharpness is in front of your focus point, which you can see in the sharpness of the berries to the left.

--
Regards, Paul
Lili's Dad
WSSA Member #450

jor23 · May 31, 2025

Yes, you are right. I will ask for a replacement or refund. Not sure if its the camera or lens.

V_Cam · May 31, 2025

jor23 said:
AF photos just seem to be foggy

Perhaps do a AF fine tune before going through the trouble of returning the lens? It looked like the AF was front focus on the 12-1/4" mark instead of on the 12" mark, assuming the tape was on the floor and you were shooting down at around 45 degree. Also as other commented on your bird photo, the focus was on the berries in front of the bird instead of on the bird's eye. So, maybe your 600mm just needs a front focus AF fine tune?

My Z 70-200/2.8S also front focus and needed a +3 AF fine tune on my Z6ii. The strange thing is the same lens is good on the Z6 and no fine tune is needed! So I thought perhaps there was something wrong with my Z6ii. I checked my z 24-120 and the z 24-200, and both lenses needed zero adjustment on either cameras. Go figure.

Leonard Shepherd · Jun 1, 2025

jor23 said:
I think I am having issues with my newly acquired refurbished 600mm pf and Z50ii.

You seem to be posting numerous threads based on your one issue.

The consensus of replies on another thread is a higher skill level is needed to get good results with a 600mm than used in the posted images.

jor23 said:
On tripod, MF consistently produces sharper images than AF.

Is this possible with mirrorless cameras?

If your technique is not to a very high standard with a 600mm - short answer yes.

jor23 said:

Already covered in other threads - the type of images you are posting do not clarify if there is an equipment issue.

As you get decent results with a shorter focal length optically not so good widish angle zoom - your perceived problem may disappear if you can improve your shooting technique.

--
Leonard Shepherd
In lots of ways good photography is similar to learning to play a piano - it takes practice to develop skill in either activity.

jor23 · Jun 1, 2025

how to improve skills when camera is mounted on a tripod and shoot static objects? AF pictures are not in focus and MF gets decent results?

I understand if some pictures are not sharp - but not a single one is in focus ? I shot sony 200-600 and sigma 500 before - never had this kind of low hit rate

Leonard Shepherd said:
jor23 said:

I think I am having issues with my newly acquired refurbished 600mm pf and Z50ii.

Click to expand...

You seem to be posting numerous threads based on your one issue.

The consensus of replies on another thread is a higher skill level is needed to get good results with a 600mm than used in the posted images.

Leonard Shepherd said:

On tripod, MF consistently produces sharper images than AF.

Is this possible with mirrorless cameras?

Click to expand...

If your technique is not to a very high standard with a 600mm - short answer yes.

Leonard Shepherd said:

Click to expand...

Already covered in other threads - the type of images you are posting do not clarify if there is an equipment issue.

As you get decent results with a shorter focal length optically not so good widish angle zoom - your perceived problem may disappear if you can improve your shooting technique.

--
Leonard Shepherd
In lots of ways good photography is similar to learning to play a piano - it takes practice to develop skill in either activity.

Leonard Shepherd · Jun 1, 2025

jor23 said:
how to improve skills when camera is mounted on a tripod and shoot static objects? AF pictures are not in focus and MF gets decent results?

As already mentioned - whether AF can reasonably detect contrast in a subject affects the chances of AF working well.

So far you seem not to be posting images likely to result in AF focusing where you intended.

jor23 said:
I understand if some pictures are not sharp - but not a single one is in focus ?

This is not what you said earlier about your other lens.

jor23 said:
I shot sony 200-600 and sigma 500 before - never had this kind of low hit rate

Without knowing AF settings it is difficult to comment further - other than with some AF settings (both Nikon and Sony) the AF does not necessarily focus in the centre of the selected AF area.

Maybe you learned the nuances of Sony AF - and have yet to do this with Nikon AF.

jor23 said:
jor23 said:

Click to expand...

cyuill2007 · Jun 1, 2025

Years ago a common piece of advice given to DSLR users was not to bother with AF fine tuning — just work on focusing technique. I bought into that until it became painfully obvious that technique was not the sole cause of the issue for one of my most-used lenses. Careful AF fine tuning resulted in the sharpness of that lens improving substantially. It wasn’t just technique.

Perhaps the OP can do the following steps to get better sharpness out of the lens.

Use careful technique to rule out poor technique as the cause of the problem. This could include using single point AF along with back button AF when focusing on small subjects or specific areas of the frame. Or picking optimal AF area, recognition, and tracking settings.
If step 1 does not work, then AF fine tune the lens. Read the manual on how to do it. And do it at a suitable distance (perhaps 12 metres or more from the AF target). (Rule of thumb used to be 50x the focal length, IIRC.)
If steps 1 and 2 don’t work, then send the lens to Nikon OR return it.

These steps will all need to be done before the return date. I wish the OP success in resolving this issue.

BasilG · Jun 1, 2025

cyuill2007 said:
Years ago a common piece of advice given to DSLR users was not to bother with AF fine tuning — just work on focusing technique. I bought into that until it became painfully obvious that technique was not the sole cause of the issue for one of my most-used lenses. Careful AF fine tuning resulted in the sharpness of that lens improving substantially. It wasn’t just technique.

Agreed. When I first encountered a focus accuracy problem, probably approx. 20 years ago, I was advised (here, by a member that is still active) that this was just due to a bad focus target and that everything was fine. I quickly figured out that this was wrong, as I could improve the sharpness of all my photos by properly calibrating my camera. So, beware of those who dismiss all focus issues as user error.

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