D7000 and AF revisited

DW_

Senior Member
Hello all. My name is Dave and I've recently (5 days ago)
purchased a new D7000 and like many others on various internet sites, I'm having
trouble with soft images. I realize this subject is a dead horse for many here
and I apologize for revisiting this subject. But I have read and read hundreds
of earlier posts on this forum and others.
Before I describe it, let me give
you some background.
I am a coin dealer who also enjoys photography. I have
been using my D70s along with my ~12 yr old Nikkor 105 mm macro lens in
preparing coin images for the internet. One thing I absolutely need is crisp,
sharp images. Although my D70s has been performing flawlessly, I've been envious
of the D7000 and from all the reviews published, it sounded like an amazing
camera. So I purchased it and am now finding my images are all slightly out of
focus. Something I did not know was such a popular subject until I googled it.


Now before you jump to the conclusion it's mirror slap or that I'm using
Live View, let me describe my set up and what I've discovered so
far...

My camera is on a tripod tethered to a computer and I use Nikon
Camera Control pro 2. The lens is a 105 mm f2.8 macro lens and is one of the old
Japanese made lenses (I purchased it back in the N90 days). The D7000 has the
latest firmware update (first thing I tried) and I am utilize the exposure delay
mode and I fire the camera using Camera Control pro. I have tried each and every
AF setting and have also tried wide area AF, normal AF. I have also read Darrel
Young's book inside out. And sure enough I have fuzzy photos. But add to this
some interesting findings...

When I position the coin such that the coin
nearly fills the space I have these symptoms that seem independent of AF
settings-

a) ISO 100, f4 = out of focus
b) ISO 400, f9 = focus
(nearly perfect)
c) ISO 800, f9 = perfect focus
d) ISO 100, f22 = better
focus than f4, but not as good as (b)
e) ISO 1000, f4 = almost in
focus

Now here's the rub, if I reposition the coin about 8 inches further
away from the lens and thus not fully utilizing the full exposure area then at
ISO 100, f4 I have a very good focus and at ISO 200, f4 it looks almost perfect.
How is it that high ISO and small aperture settings give me sharp images but if
I reposition the coin further away I can use the low ISO and open lens?
Shouldn't it be the other way around? And then what does it mean that when I
move the coin further away from the lens the focus is also tight?

So I
understand that I can use the fine focus adjustment to get the image to sharpen
but here's the rub. I've a buddy with a D7000 and when I put my lens on his box
and do all the above the photos are beautiful and crisp at out-of-the-box
settings. If I had not tired my friends D7000, I would think fine tuning is the
issue, however, I know the D7000 can produce sharp, crisp photos w/o resorting
to fine tuning, does that mean my D7000 is out of alignment in some way? Is this
simply a product of moving from up from a D70s? If so, how did the other D7000
achieve focused images? I'm confused...

I have 4 more days left to return
the camera with a full refund. I also live in San Diego and about 3 mi from my
home is a certified Nikon repair shop. My question for those who can stomach yet
ANOTHER person having issues with their D7000 is this - should I return it and
wait for another box to arrive, should I try taking it to the Nikon repair
dealer or should I assume all can be fixed with fine focus tuning and go that
direction? Ideally, I hoping there's a member out there who has had this issue
and was able to resolve it. I love the way this camera feels, the sound it makes
and the potential it has. I would hate to have to return it but a camera unable
to take crisp photos is not what I wanted.

Thank you in
advance
Dave
 

evan

Banned
hi, i have had my d7000 for a few months and shoot mainly macros with it using three different lenses; 60mm af-d micro nikkor, tamron 90mm, and sigma 150mm macros. all hand held with or without flash and have had no issues. in fact it is as sharp as my d90. what mode do you use? i use af-s, single point. at various apertures and distances, from about thee inches upwards. the only problem i have had is the flash output seems a bit weaker than the d90. i have never used anything but single point (fixed] af with either camera. never liked any other af modes.
 

evan

Banned
also, in another group,i did read about the focus point of some lenses can vary when at very wide apertures. f4 is pretty wide and does give razor thin dof at close distance.
 

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
Dave, welcome to the site, first of all. I'm curious what your serial number starts with? I've seen varying reports of 'the first batch' of cameras having focus problems while others say it's a defect in the camera itself.
 

DW_

Senior Member
Dave, welcome to the site, first of all. I'm curious what your serial number starts with? I've seen varying reports of 'the first batch' of cameras having focus problems while others say it's a defect in the camera itself.

My camera's serial number "was" 32134xx and I say was because I returned it and now have a new body and I'm thankful I did. I put this new body thru the same series of tests as the earlier body and I can say with confidence that this new camera body is focusing nicely compared to the last camera. I'm not going to call this body a winner until I put it thru some tests today in the sunlight. I'm a little paranoid about this focusing issue and want to be 100% sure about it before I do the happy dance. The new camera's serial number are 32122xx, so it appears to be closely related in production terms. After I finish testing my new body with all my lenses I will report back but at this point I'm cautiously optimistic.
And I want to say a big "THANK YOU" to all those who responded to my post. I look forward to my time here on this forum!
Best regards, Dave
 

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
So it appears that both cameras in your case came from the same batch. If the second camera doesn't, in fact, have the same problem then I would think the issue has something to do with consistency with things being assembled or QA. hrmmm
 

evan

Banned
that does seem to be one of the problematic units, (32xxxx) it is a rather low number. mine was bought in the uk less than three months ago and is 62xxxxx. seeems like it may be old stock, possibly even an unregistered return. i would do a little research on google if i were you.....what was the serial number of your friends d7000 and when was that unit bought?
 

DW_

Senior Member
that does seem to be one of the problematic units, (32xxxx) it is a rather low number. mine was bought in the uk less than three months ago and is 62xxxxx. seeems like it may be old stock, possibly even an unregistered return. i would do a little research on google if i were you.....what was the serial number of your friends d7000 and when was that unit bought?

I no longer have access to that camera, he ended up taking it back to CostCo and getting the 5100. But I did a shutter actuations count and it came back with 32. If I had to guess, I would say the shop owner pulled the body out and ran a series of shots just in case I came back a second time with a complaint. I know I certainly would if I were in a similar position. So I'm thinking it's not likely a return model.
Also, I set up a focus chart and went thru all my lenses and everything now makes sense. My 105mm macro was spot on and needed no fine autofocus adjustments, which explains why it performed so well on my friends body just out of the box. My other lenses, however, all required either -5 or -6 adjustment. Their consistency in adjustment made me go back and re-look at the 105mm but sure enough, it's still a zero. I find it odd that without a single exception (6 lenses) all but the macro needed some fine tuning, but it is what it is.
Now I'm ready to do my happy dance!

calvin-hobbes-dancing.jpg
 

DW_

Senior Member
Here's a hand held photo from my new D7000. I'm rapidly falling in love with this little honey (but would be willing to dump her when the D800 is released, but don't tell her that!) The small image is a crop of the larger image (105mm f/2.8, ISO 100, F=6.3, 1/640).

bee-realcrop.jpg
 

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