D7000 AF Focus Issue? AF fine tune?

D7000 AF Focus Issue? AF fine tune? Fixed??

Ok I'm not here to complain or bring down the D7000 in any way shape or form. I'm saying this for anyone looking at this camera to possibly buy, this is an excellent DSLR as are all Nikon DSLRs. And you would be very happy with it.

Ok so now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I am just wondering if anyone else has had this issue. When I bought me D7k I had a lot of trouble with the AF not being sharp. I tried everything I knew to do to get sharp images short of sending the camera back to Nikon for repair. I did a bit of research and started playing with the AF fine tune. Now I know a lot of people say never play with that unless you know what your doing. In my mind, If Nikon put it there then I should be able to play with it. So I downloaded a focus test chart and went to it! And now my shots are a lot sharper than they used to be. It's not perfect but it is worlds ahead of what it was before. I had to do this to both of my lenses. As much as -17 on my 50mm. Everyone told me that It was user related issue and I was doing something wrong, and in most cases it is. But I think this is an exception.I found that using live veiw was tack sharp but using the veiw finder wasn't. But I think I have them pretty close now.

So my question is, Has anyone else had this issue? Have you been frustrated like me?

Here are a few shots I took to compare Live veiw and veiw finder before I adjusted AF fine tune.

I see some people are having trouble with focus on the new D5200. I'm not sure if it has the AF Fine Tune feature or not.

good job, I have not had to fine tune yet,, so question,, does the camera automatically detect the lens you assign, or do you have to switch to each Fine Tune lens as you switch out lens?

stmv said:

good job, I have not had to fine tune yet,, so question,, does the camera automatically detect the lens you assign, or do you have to switch to each Fine Tune lens as you switch out lens?

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Yes the camera will automatically remember your setting for that lens. Up to 12 lenses.

I can do a full thread on how to fix this issue and adjust AF Fine tune If people want it.

I would read it for sure.....

I have my lenses set at -3 or -4. I used the test chart and still I get some that are not tack sharp.

There are a bunch of YouTube videos that shows you how to fine the AF. I had a problem with the AF on mine. I thought it was me at first. After awhile, and a lot of reading, I discovered that most, if not all, of the first generation d7k's had an AF problem, right out of the box. I sent mine to Nikon for repair. Warranty was out, so it wasn't a free repair, even though it was their fault. They replaced the AF motor and a couple other small things for a total of around $256, and was without the camera for about three weeks. They were behind on repairs because of the hurricane that hit New York. They should be faster now.

Re: D7000 AF Focus Issue? AF fine tune? Fixed??

ryanwphotography how is the tune working with your 18-105? I would think that lens would be a little harder to tune than the 50. I tuned my 35 and 50 but left the zooms alone just because I had different results depending on focal length/aperture/part of the frame etc. Even after tuning there are times that I have to manually focus the 50 and haven't shot the 35 enough to know how it will fair.

Re: D7000 AF Focus Issue? AF fine tune? Fixed??

ideacipher said:

ryanwphotography how is the tune working with your 18-105? I would think that lens would be a little harder to tune than the 50. I tuned my 35 and 50 but left the zooms alone just because I had different results depending on focal length/aperture/part of the frame etc. Even after tuning there are times that I have to manually focus the 50 and haven't shot the 35 enough to know how it will fair.

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It's not bad, it's better than it was before. But your right, at different focal lengths it changes depending on how much you zoom, ect. I find mine is the sharpest from 24mm - 62mm at f5. At 63mm it changes to f5.3.

My 50mm. Isn't perfect either. I'm thinking since I'm still under warranty I might send it in for repair. Because why spend $1200 on a camera that isn't as sharp as my smartphone?

emoxley said:

There are a bunch of YouTube videos that shows you how to fine the AF. I had a problem with the AF on mine. I thought it was me at first. After awhile, and a lot of reading, I discovered that most, if not all, of the first generation d7k's had an AF problem, right out of the box. I sent mine to Nikon for repair. Warranty was out, so it wasn't a free repair, even though it was their fault. They replaced the AF motor and a couple other small things for a total of around $256, and was without the camera for about three weeks. They were behind on repairs because of the hurricane that hit New York. They should be faster now.

Click to expand...

Yes I noticed the YouTube videos. Maybe I will just put a link here instead of writing it all out.
I've never sent anything away for warranty before. How do I do it? I am registered for the warranty on Nikon.ca.

You can get info on how, from their site. They'll give you an address to send it to, and/or a phone number to call to set it up. They'll give you a basic repair cost for your problem, but it may change if they find more wrong, when they get in the camera. They'll let you know before they do it though. Of course, if it's warranty work, it won't cost you.

I've read from people online, that the Canadian repair centers do more for you than the American centers do. So, you should fare very well.
Even with a repair to the camera body, you still may have to fine tune the AF to one or more lenses, because of the lens itself. Good luck if you send it in. I'd definitely check with them, to see if it IS a warranty problem, while repairs are free.