Thom Hogan changes D800 "Recommended" opinion to "Not Recommended"

Although I love my D800, Thom makes a very salient point about how Nikon has thus far handled this situation and I can't disagree with his conclusions.

From Thom's blog - Thom Hogan's Nikon Camera, DSLR, Lens, Flash, and Book site

Unintended Consequences
July 23 (commentary)--

One More Thing
July 23 (commentary)--



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This is more about his beef with Nikon's QC and the fact that they were more or less brushing the issue under the rug.

I must be in a lucky bucket, after more than 4K images, I really have not seen any focusing issues, or maybe I am just not fussy enough. The 7 pictures I have posted have all been with the D800.

Great to read an honest review, instead of it's great click on this link to buy so I get a kickback.

Originally Posted by D5100Shooter

This is more about his beef with Nikon's QC and the fact that they were more or less brushing the issue under the rug.

Yeah, but it sure sounds like he has a legitimate beef. I certainly wouldn't buy one without knowing with absolute certainty that the problem was fixed. Would you?

Originally Posted by fotojack

Yeah, but it sure sounds like he has a legitimate beef. I certainly wouldn't buy one without knowing with absolute certainty that the problem was fixed. Would you?

No, i would not. I would want to see a full press release explaining the problem, how they fixed it and an apology. And..... okay, i am getting carried away. I don't have thousands of dollars to blow on a camera. But no, i would not buy something knowing that some units have a defect. I guess i could cross my fingers, lol. It's a shame that such a great company acted like this. I am sure that quite a few people have "lost face".

Here is a good video demonstration of the issue:

Nikon D800 Left Focus Point Test on Vimeo


I use manual focus (due to my old macro lens) so,, don't think I will really be effected by the issue.

I hear ya, photowiz, but don't fret too much. This camera is sooooo amazing and Nikon has a fix for the problem regardless whether they announce it or not, so don't worry about your upcoming copy. Yes, it sucks that the far left focus point has an issue. Yes, it would be nice if all 51 focus points would work but on the bright side, 50 out of 51 ain't all that bad. I have the problem and I've even been granted the cost of postage to Nikon but I can't quite bring myself to send it in, I'm having way too much fun with it. It's really not hard to avoid that far left focus spot and those of us who send our cameras in will have the paperwork to prove the AF has been fixed so I'm not worried about resale values. And frankly, I don't think I'll be selling this camera. So it's pretty much a moot point.
So relax and know you're getting a kick-arse camera that may or may not focus well on the farthest left focus point. If it doesn't, no worries, just send it in. And if it's too much to handle you can always return the camera and wait to buy it in the future. But take it from me, once you get this honey in your hands you'll be reluctant to let it go regardless of the AF issue. Because all the other focus points are razor sharp.