Help ! autofocus problem (not backfocus) ?

Well it's strange because i noticed the same thing but i thought it was normal : when i took my computer's keyboard, I set the focus on the H letter : sometimes Y was sharp and H blurry, but sometimes H was sharp but the letters on the left (G,F,D,S,A) was unsharp (g a little and A a lot), and the letters on the right were sharp....Same thing as you got...

mocca said:

In couple of my pictures on my D70 (returned due to backfocus
problem which is not what cause this problem), I had similar
problem. I'm not sure if it is the same problem as your or not but
in my case, the left side of the picture is blur (very obvious)
while the right side is very sharp )both sides are on the same
plane and I was taking pictures of buldings). I and my friends who
did the shooting with me that day ruled out the DOF or focus
problem. It looks like the lens was the culprit. Anyway, it might
worth your time to try another lens on your D70 and see if that
solve your problem or not.

Mocca

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Mike

Checked my 18 - 70 kit lens on a friends D1X today and the focus error is still present on that camera too, will be checking it out on a D100 tomorrow.

Spoke with Nikon today and they suggested sending it back as there are adjustments that can be made apparently!

If I can't get it resolved or find that all 18 - 70 are the same I will return it and get either a D Nikkor(which seem to focus manually a little easier than S lenses) or even look at the sigma 12 - 24? Really don't know what is best.

I would be happy to focus manually with the 18 - 70 but it is very difficult to see whats sharp at 18mm with such a small viewfinder, my eyes are not too good these days. I have established that the depth of field at f11 is pretty good at 18 mm but still needs care. I found images with the lens set at about the 12 feet mark(estimated) to infinity are in reasonable focus from about 6 ft to infinity.

I still don't think my lens is very sharp at 18mm anyway.
Andy

mike76 said:

Andy Warren said:

I just did the same test as you did with the key board.

And surprise surprise! It seems that its the 18 - 70 lens that is
the problem
as I did the same test with my other AF D nikkors
(24/50/28-105/70-300) and they all performed faultlessly, auto
focused on the mark and sharp.

The 18 - 70 was inconsistent and only sharp when I manually focused
slightly short of the auto point!

I will talk with Nikon tomorrow with a view of returning the lens
for testing and hopeful replacement or repair.

Andy

mike76 said:

Thanks Andy for your answer, well i called my shop dealer today and
guess what, the guy told me some camera came back for focus
issue....He's going to call nikon and keep me in touch.

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