D7000 focus issues

I have upgraded from a d90 last November and to be honest have never felt my images are anywhere near as sharp as with the d90. Have spent hours recently reading the issues others have had with back focusing so have gone through all the tests and adjusted my af fine tune.

I want to persevere with the camera as I really like it apart from the soft images it produces. I mainly use a 16 - 85 and have also checked my 50 prime where I had to set the fine tune to -20

Being honest though even after fine tuning the lenses when I go back over my pre upgrade pics even zooming in to 400% the image sharpness is much superior

Can anyone offer me some hope or some formula to get tack sharp images from this camera? I realise that every time someone mentions this they are quickly humbled by others saying it is user error! Here seems to be a lot of people that have been happy prior to upgrade so I would guess that technique isn't going to change that much when you upgrade.

I was even contemplating selling to go back to a d90 or maybe been a d300s....but would rather stick with this one if I can!

Other option would be to send back for checking






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Well you need to set the sharpness to at leat +7 ( I use +9) and I suggest contrast at -1 ....I assume you are using large files but normal fine or basic compression will make no difference .....the back focus is not a problem or affecting your photos unless of couse you did it wrong.....

If you've done the focus calibration and are still having issues with soft focus then I would contact Nikon and arrange to have it warranty serviced to have the focus checked and calibrated. It's a known but not widespread issue, so while it's under warranty send it back for checking. I've been able to calibrate mine fairly well, but am kicking myself for not sending it back for a check before I hit the 2 year mark 2 months ago.

Have you tried using the "Quiet" mode? I found that this mode gave me sharper pictures than the regular mode when shooting hand held. But the D90 is a great camera that is more forgiving than the D7000 for motion blur. So, if you were happier with the D90, why not go back to it or D300, or D300s? But sharpness isn't everything you know. The color depth I get with the D7000 is better than the one I got with the D90, and so is the high iso results... Choices are not always so easy to make.

Good luck and enjoy your Nikon.

back focus is not an issue its an adjustment provided to match the lens to the camera ..if its done right its fine ..

All the pro video cameras I used years ago had back focus adjustment built into the lens....now you can do it on a still camera ...whats the problem

pistnbroke said:

back focus is not an issue its an adjustment provided to match the lens to the camera ..if its done right its fine ..

Click to expand...

Agreed, but I have seen reported examples where the adjustment was so severe that it warranted a trip back to Nikon.

Hi all. Many thanks for your feedback. Happy to say that I cranked up the in camera sharpening all the way up as suggested and what a difference. Just flicked through some pics from today and looking better. I shoot raw and small jpg fine. This is so that I can quickly get my family photos from the camera with my wifi card quick crop etc on the ipad and straight to Flickr. I was finding that I never have time to sit and post process at the PC but at least I have the raw files for when I do get a chance!

One question, does the in camera sharpening affect the raw files?

Thanks for your feedback this far

David


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Hi Davidm, I also just upgraded from D90 to D7000 and had read about soft images and back focusing so I was ready to address it as soon as my camera was in my hands. Mine is fine (I have not yet touched the sharpening and contrast adjustment settings) but I struggled the first day I had it. Turned out to be a user error in my case - I had it on the wrong AF mode. Flicked a button and it was all sorted. Not suggesting that is the problem (or was) in your case, but I have discovered that even though it feels familiar after the D90, I seem to be so focused on setting the different things correctly that I am forgetting to check settings that I used to do on the D90 without even thinking about them. It's a great camera. To say I'm pleased is an understatement!


​I've had it a little over 3 weeks now and haven't looked back!