D7000 Focus issues

Hello all,
Is anyone else with a D7000 having AF problems? I had to contact Nikon customer service yesterday as my D7000 has been having focus problems. I must say the Nikon service people on the phone were somewhat insulting asking me step by step if I have either the camera or the lens in manual mode. Rude to top it all off hope they were just having a bad day.
Has anyone else out there been having focus problems with their camera? I can switch the AF/M selector on the camera body and it would seem to clear up as long as I keep shooting but if I leave it on for a couple of mins (while adjusting scene or looks for new shot) come back to it and it has same focus problems again. The main problem is that it keeps trying to focus but will never lock. Not such a big problem doing stills but, the racing season is coming up and have a lot of track photography lined up and this will be a huge problem in action shots (could result in my throwing the camera
I was told to send the camera in to service yesterday which I did. I was informed it will take 14 days to get it back. I hope they actually fix something and not just return.
I welcome any input anyone actually has on this as I really do enjoy that camera. Would hate to have to go to another manufacture but, I am not please with Nikon on this issue thus far.
I of course will keep you all posted.

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Sounds like the camera is looking for a focus point. The auto Focus system on a Nikon has to have contrast that the camera focusing system can see. If you point the camera at a blank wall the lens can't focus, not enough contrast. I often run into this problem when shooting early morning or evening shots. Low light and not enough contrast for the focusing system to lock on to. Sounds like you are shooting portraits? Check the focus point, if it is off the subject and trying to focus on the background scene there may not be enough visible contrast for the camera to lock on to, or the lighting and/or subject you are using is just not providing enough contrast.

Joseph,
All very nice points. I don't really shoot portraits. I am also aware on how the Nikon AF works and issues in low light (always manual in low light). I don't think it is operator head-space on my part. I have had this problem for some time in various scenarios, just haven't brought it forward as I wanted to make sure I explored all other options before blaming the equipment.

Originally Posted by roguebear

...service people on the phone were somewhat insulting asking me step by step if I have either the camera or the lens in manual mode. Rude to top it all off...

There's seldom an excuse for being rude. Putting that aside, I'll date myself by telling this story...

Do you, or anybody, remember the Kodak Instamatic cameras?

If so, do you remember the Flash Cube that they used.

If so, do you ever remember seeing an owner of one of those cameras sporting a burn mark in the middle of their forehead because they were stupid enough to not only hold the camera backwards against their eye, but also to go ahead and take a shot that way - thereby scorching a nice round spot in said forehead?

One has to remember that, in all likelihood, the majority of calls fielded by Customer Support are made by those that pulled a not-so-simple device out of a box, never read the first word in the manual and, if they had lived in the 60's, would have tried to tattoo their forehead with photons.

That's why I never want to be a phone rep...

Hi Rob,
I have a D7000 and haven't noticed this problem except once or twice. There are so many settings just for focusing with the camera. I finally set it to 1 point focus and it seems to be OK for now. I hope I never have to throw it away since it's heavy and it could seriously hurt someone :-)
Was your problem with one lens in particular or with different lenses? Did it happen most of the time or just a few?
Please, do keep us posted.
thanks

Marcel

@PhotoAV8R, Good point I was being very patient with them just because I am sure they get some stupid calls. Don't know how many times I was woke up in the middle of the night when I was in the military to fix a radio only to find out some 2LT didn't know the batteries were dead... Good input and funny story thanks for sharing.

Marcel,
First was trying to keep my sense of humor with the throwing the camera bit.. Thus the smiley, which is very uncharacteristic of me. So if I am to understand you correctly you are noticing focus problems? Yes, it is happening with different lens. I have been doing some research on the internet and finding that others are having same said issue. Might want to keep on eye on yours. Seems to me all functions should work correctly. I am really interest to know if other d7000's out there are having same issue or was it just the first ones distributed as I got mine in OCT.
Thanks for your interest Marcel.
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Rob

Rob, I'm curious if the same pictures were clear (or focus locked) using live view. Live view uses contrast detect AF while the viewfinder uses phase detect. I'm also curious if a flash with AF assist would produce different results. If it does it would a calibration issue with the phase detect AF.

Haven't happened to me once. Though, when using my D7000 indoors, I always have a flash on so maybe jdeg is right about the flash AF assist light.

Jdeg,
Focus locked. All said problems have been in daylight with plenty of lighting. I always keep the AF light in the on position. I am not the only person having this problem so, I think it is a "real" issue. My camera is already at Nikon so lets see what they have to say.

With all the problems people are having with the D7000, I'm surprised there hasen't been a recall on it yet. For a $1400 camera, all those problems are unacceptable to me. Hope you guys get them fixed.