Nikon NY Repair Center
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Andy W
Senior Member
These folks repaired my D810 after I dropped it and did a good job.
Best Camera repair and service in Atlanta! CCD Sensor Cleaning
Best Camera repair and service in Atlanta! CCD Sensor Cleaning
Thanks, Andy. I will keep this in mind. There is some type of camera repair in Willow Grove, PA that Allen's Camera mentioned using in the past. Hopefully today the weather will cooperate allowing me to take distance photos and successive VR photos. If they still show an issue, at least I will have the problems documented visually which I didn't do the first time.
I've been testing this lens since getting it back from Nikon. When photographing a robin in the distance (with only the 300mm lens attached), every image was out of focus - possibly because of lack of contrast. All those images appeared to back focus. With the 1.4x TC, still not great results. Missed quite a few.
Here are two with the 1.7x refurbished TC attached. Many of these wound up being soft, but these two had potential when using Photoshop's Shake Reduction. Both images are cropped. I will still do more testing but definitely not thrilled with Nikon's service center.
Here are two with the 1.7x refurbished TC attached. Many of these wound up being soft, but these two had potential when using Photoshop's Shake Reduction. Both images are cropped. I will still do more testing but definitely not thrilled with Nikon's service center.
I had a chance to test out this lens a little more today - coupled with the 1.7x TC. I followed some advice by @BackdoorArts on when to switch between Single Point and Dynamic 153. There are still some slightly soft images so I will continue to put this lens through its paces. But overall some images are usable. Photoshop's Shake Reduction does help in some instances. This was one (since I cannot use Topaz on this laptop due to only 6GB RAM).
This was definitely a worthy test. I switched from Single Point to Dynamic 153 after the hawk took off from a tree covered with branches. Fortunately the lens was able to lock on to the bird despite there not being a great deal of contrast present. Then when the hawk took off from this location, I was already in Dynamic 153 which seemed to work rather well.
There was only a slight crop to this image from the original RAW file.
This was definitely a worthy test. I switched from Single Point to Dynamic 153 after the hawk took off from a tree covered with branches. Fortunately the lens was able to lock on to the bird despite there not being a great deal of contrast present. Then when the hawk took off from this location, I was already in Dynamic 153 which seemed to work rather well.
There was only a slight crop to this image from the original RAW file.
Here are a couple more from today. This first one is partially user error. No cropping was done so I filled the frame. In hindsight, being that close, I should have upped my shutter speed to freeze the action a little better. I'm pretty sure I was using Dynamic 153 so had to rely on the D500 to choose the focus points.
Nothing to see below except the butt end of a red-tailed hawk. This hawk today was probably a juvenile since there didn't appear to be any red on its tail anywhere. Cropped in from the left side a little to center the hawk better. This was simply to test the lens and see how it performed. All the images from today are at least slightly soft - and definitely not too happy with that. But first I need to perform a new AF fine tune with this lens/TC combo and retest.
Nothing to see below except the butt end of a red-tailed hawk.
This hawk today was probably a juvenile since there didn't appear to be any red on its tail anywhere. Cropped in from the left side a little to center the hawk better. This was simply to test the lens and see how it performed. All the images from today are at least slightly soft - and definitely not too happy with that. But first I need to perform a new AF fine tune with this lens/TC combo and retest.
First I performed a new AF fine tune with the 300mm f/4 PF coupled with the 1.7x refurbished TC. Came up with a value of +4 vs the previous value of +7. Armed with that, I went in search of some subjects.
Here is one - although this duck was very close, and close subjects haven't been an issue. A slight 5x7 crop with a little Shake Reduction applied since the sharpening in Camera RAW just isn't quite enough. Not bad although for this image although I hoped more images would be comparable. That said...I did manage [unfortunately] to capture a guy with his pants partway down his arse while fishing. :beguiled: At least he was wearing underwear.
Here is one - although this duck was very close, and close subjects haven't been an issue. A slight 5x7 crop with a little Shake Reduction applied since the sharpening in Camera RAW just isn't quite enough. Not bad although for this image although I hoped more images would be comparable. That said...I did manage [unfortunately] to capture a guy with his pants partway down his arse while fishing. :beguiled: At least he was wearing underwear.
This guy was a little further in the distance - and that's where the sharpness seems to take a hit. The uncropped original was a little soft though. However, this is cropped about 50% from the original and the highest amount of shake reduction I've ever used was applied (somewhere around 81 is what Photoshop came up with automatically).
I am still testing out this lens after getting it back from Nikon repair. No matter whether I use single point or dynamic 153, focusing just doesn't quite cut it in this type of situation - lots of background branches with a bird or raptor. There simply isn't a whole lot of contrast, and with the lens at f/6.7 wide open (when coupled with the 1.7x TC), it has trouble creating a sharp image. And even though my lens was stopped down to f/8 for this, the AF just doesn't quite cut it in this situation.
On a side-note, every image of this Great Blue Heron makes me think it must be blind in this eye.
Earlier this afternoon I photographed a couple of geese. Normally I keep my shutter speed at 1/2000". Unfortunately I forgot to switch it back after setting it at 1/1250" for the grazing geese. Fortunately sooc the sharpness was better than I expected. Some PCC Shake Reduction also helped. :encouragement:
Dynamic 153 also works MUCH better with flying subjects than single point with this combo.
On a side-note, every image of this Great Blue Heron makes me think it must be blind in this eye.
Earlier this afternoon I photographed a couple of geese. Normally I keep my shutter speed at 1/2000". Unfortunately I forgot to switch it back after setting it at 1/1250" for the grazing geese.
Fortunately sooc the sharpness was better than I expected. Some PCC Shake Reduction also helped. :encouragement:Dynamic 153 also works MUCH better with flying subjects than single point with this combo.
Woody, I used both dynamic 153 as well as single point. For some reason, single point just doesn't seem to cut it with birds. I don't know if it's because wide open, it's only f/6.7 (even though I stopped down). Not sure there is enough info getting to the sensor in these types of situations. I know people have mentioned focusing on something with more contrast, but sometimes there really aren't a whole lot of options. All of the photos of the heron were a little soft no matter whether dynamic 153 or single point. :indecisiveness:
But there is a definite improvement overall with better AF ability (meaning sharpness) even with the heron's situation than what I was getting before sending in the lens for service.
Obviously Nikon did something beneficial when this lens was in for repair. This was a horizontal image - only cropped to a vertical without cropping anything from the top or bottom. Considering this was shot at f/6.7, it's pretty darned good. I did take photos at f/8 and f/9, but I was testing the lens for sharpness. A little Shake Reduction was added in Photoshop.
I was able to move around behind the hawk to change what was in the background. This perspective was pretty nice compared with other images that had lots of branches.
I was able to move around behind the hawk to change what was in the background. This perspective was pretty nice compared with other images that had lots of branches.
One more of the hawk from a different vantage point. No Shake Reduction done this time though. I tried 2 or 3 times, but it made squiggly lines all around the edges as well as other distortion. But it didn't seem as though it was quite as necessary as some of the other images.
This afternoon I was really stoked to see quite a few vultures flying overhead. Then there was one that flew out of the brush just a few feet away - scared the heck out of me. :beguiled:
But situations such as this where there isn't much of any contrast simply don't cut it. I shot 100+ images. Every single one is quite soft. I even used PCC's Shake Reduction, but even that couldn't bring this up to any satisfactory level of sharpening. And I really didn't crop much of anything away either.
Since the 300mm f/4 PF coupled with the 1.7x TC has an effective aperture of f/6.7, the auto focus just can't quite handle these low contrast circumstances. Out of all the images I took, most were softer than this one. So nothing to really salvage at all. :chargrined:
But situations such as this where there isn't much of any contrast simply don't cut it. I shot 100+ images. Every single one is quite soft. I even used PCC's Shake Reduction, but even that couldn't bring this up to any satisfactory level of sharpening. And I really didn't crop much of anything away either.
Since the 300mm f/4 PF coupled with the 1.7x TC has an effective aperture of f/6.7, the auto focus just can't quite handle these low contrast circumstances. Out of all the images I took, most were softer than this one. So nothing to really salvage at all. :chargrined:
I had hoped the vulture images were soft due to the lack of contrast, but after a prime photo opp of a Red-Tailed Hawk with a Blue Jay, absolutely everything turned out soft. So I'm going to have to contact Nikon again to see if they will take another look at this lens. I wound up over-processing just to sharpen the images, but I'm definitely not happy with any of the results. :sorrow:
I shoot RAW+jpeg Fine. Here is the sooc jpeg only resized for the forum.
Here is the edit:
And here are a few others that I simply cannot do anything adequate for sharpening without introducing artifacting:
I shoot RAW+jpeg Fine. Here is the sooc jpeg only resized for the forum.
Here is the edit
:And here are a few others that I simply cannot do anything adequate for sharpening without introducing artifacting:
I went back out to test the sharpness of the AF - unfortunately these were all in very shaded areas so I hit my capped ISO limit and wound up having to increase my exposure during post. But the bird photo (which was by far the most underexposed image) still shows detail. So it seems the AF is affected only at long distances which is the same issue I had when I sent this lens in for repair the first time.
Lousy color with this first one, but it's only a test. I did adjust the noise, but the file was incredibly underexposed. What's important for me is there is visible feather detail. It was so dark in the woods that I had to focus manually before the AF would kick in. Without focusing manually, the AF just hunted.
The thing is all of these subjects were close. None were anywhere near as far as the vulture or hawk. Also tested with VR on with lower shutter speeds and VR off with higher shutter speeds. No difference there though.
Lousy color with this first one, but it's only a test. I did adjust the noise, but the file was incredibly underexposed. What's important for me is there is visible feather detail. It was so dark in the woods that I had to focus manually before the AF would kick in. Without focusing manually, the AF just hunted.
The thing is all of these subjects were close. None were anywhere near as far as the vulture or hawk. Also tested with VR on with lower shutter speeds and VR off with higher shutter speeds. No difference there though.
I used the online site to request another repair. Despite this being within the 90-day covered repair from when I first sent it in, I will have to pay shipping to send it to them a second time. Back when I had the D600 oil spot issues that required the body be shipped 3x times, I only had to pay once for the shipping. But I will call before sending it in to find out why I have to pay shipping again. If the 90 days had expired, I could understand having to pay again.
Yesterday (Monday) I called Nikon and spoke with a rep. He assured me he will handle this issue himself rather than it getting bounced around to whoever happens to be available. So today I uploaded several images - all were sooc jpegs showing the softness of the focus, plus I included a few showing how the subject jumps around within the frame when using Normal VR.
He will be in touch after having the images assessed to let me know how to proceed. I don't know if they will want me to send in the 1.7x TC, but I offered in case it helps to identify the issue.
He will be in touch after having the images assessed to let me know how to proceed. I don't know if they will want me to send in the 1.7x TC, but I offered in case it helps to identify the issue.
After I finished taking test shots, I reset my camera settings back to where I usually keep them (f/7.1 and shutter speed of 1/2000") and placed the camera on the seat next to me. I barely made it out of the park when I saw a bird going after a Red-Tailed Hawk.
So I quickly pulled over, grabbed my camera, and walked to the back of the car. Of course I forgot to stop down to f/8 or more...oops. There were two birds right there so I simply fired off a shot. This was the first image and the only one with two birds going after the hawk - and surprisingly two different species.
I just kept shooting and wound up with at least 100 images all of which are somewhat soft. And of course they all show signs of being over sharpened after editing. :sorrow: By this time, I had remembered to stop down to f/9.
Stopped down even more to f/10.
Usually I enable all my focus points by using Dynamic 153, but close to the end of shooting I chose to switch to Dynamic 25 just to eliminate the possibility of focusing on the lamppost. However, it really didn't make a difference sooc. I no sooner got back in the car when I saw a huge shadow move across the hood. Looking up there was the hawk being dive bombed by both birds. I wish I could have gotten a photo. Of course I had just put the camera down - and was looking at the back of the hawk so wouldn't have been much of a view anyway.
So I quickly pulled over, grabbed my camera, and walked to the back of the car. Of course I forgot to stop down to f/8 or more...oops. There were two birds right there so I simply fired off a shot. This was the first image and the only one with two birds going after the hawk - and surprisingly two different species.
I just kept shooting and wound up with at least 100 images all of which are somewhat soft.
And of course they all show signs of being over sharpened after editing. :sorrow: By this time, I had remembered to stop down to f/9.Stopped down even more to f/10.
Usually I enable all my focus points by using Dynamic 153, but close to the end of shooting I chose to switch to Dynamic 25 just to eliminate the possibility of focusing on the lamppost. However, it really didn't make a difference sooc. I no sooner got back in the car when I saw a huge shadow move across the hood. Looking up there was the hawk being dive bombed by both birds. I wish I could have gotten a photo. Of course I had just put the camera down - and was looking at the back of the hawk so wouldn't have been much of a view anyway.
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TwistedThrottle
Senior Member
They can sure make a mess when eating spaghetti!