Focus sharpness

I have now had the D800 for over 2 months, thousands of photos, and have not experienced a delta in focusing between my D700 versus the D800. You read so much about mirror slap, and such, but, I use this camera, hand held, tripod, etc, mirror up mode, burst mode, etc, and in every case, it is outdoing my D700.

So, I am curious, are other D800 users experiencing the same results? The thought I am having is that what people might be experiencing is variation in production quality. Perhaps the D800 is more sensitive to manufacturing quality control, so that some are worse than others in maintaining a good focus.

So,, how are the other D800 users finding their cameras? sharp, issues, needing to use special techniques?

I'm surprised how sharp my photos have been coming out, especially after all the worry about high resolution and softness that was published before the D800 was released. Granted, I had come from shooting a D7000 and it had its share of complaints about focus, too, and nearly all of them were technique related, so it's possible my technique has been updated by using a D7000? In fact, I would go as far as saying I have no issue with the additional resolution on the D800 vs. any other camera. However, I am careful with my shutter speed when hand holding the camera so perhaps that also has something to do with it. The only time I do the mirror up thing is on the tripod and then I use the exposure delay but when I'm handholding the camera I let that mirror slam away and it doesn't seem to have any effect on the sharpness.

Also, I would strongly urge you to do the experiment with the tripod set up and the focus charts using the widest angle lens you own. I didn't think I had the left AF issue as all my shots out of that side were spot on, so I was convinced my copy was good. But when I did do the experiment under the exact conditions described by Nasim, a wide angle lens with aperture wide open on a very steady tripod and all three focus charts exactly level to the camera, I found that indeed my left focus bank was weaker than middle or right side. On longer lenses the softness doesn't show up so it seems it's somehow connected to a wide angle image, also anything other than wide open will produce a sharp image so you have to open the aperture up to see the issue, too. It's really not a huge deal to me and I'm sure I could live with the issue indefinitely (I almost did) because I'm still stoked with how sweet the photos coming out of my D800 are. And quite honestly, I was a little afraid to run the test for fear it would kill my buzz. But seeing how minor it is in the whole scheme of things and knowing they have a fix figured out for it, I've not lost any of my buzz. But I do plan on getting it fixed before my 1 yr warranty runs out.

I have heard about that, and the theory that it is due to the lens? or is it some issue with the sensor? seems like it has to be lens related and the D800 is showing the effect?

I'm not sure whether you can say it's lens related or whether it's just that a wide angle lens tends to exacerbate the problem more so than a normal or telephoto lens would. It appears the issue is both a hardware alignment problem as well as a software issue. Reading on how the AF works on these dSLR's gives you some insight into how they're fixing them. I'm sure you've seen these links before but in case you haven't, here they are again.\
How phase detection auto focus works - How Phase Detection Autofocus Works
D800 Auto focus issues - Nikon D800 / D800E Asymmetric Focus Issue
How Nikon is fixing this issue - D800 autofocus repair overview « hifivoice

Although I will certainly send my body to Nikon at some point, I'm reluctant to send it right away. For one, I seldom use the extreme left focus point and with 50 other focus points to choose from, missing the 51st point doesn't seem too detrimental to me. Moreover, as Murphy's law dictates, as soon as the camera is shipped off an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime photo shoot will open up. I do have my trusty (and somewhat new-ish) D7000 handy, it just isn't the same. I would also like to know for certain that Nikon is fixing each and every body that is being sent to them. So far it's more anecdotal than fact so I'd like to at least hear back from Bob V on his camera body before I ship this pup out.

Rumors is confirming they have a fix

Nikon Rumors

cnyram said:

Rumors is confirming they have a fix

Nikon Rumors

Click to expand...

Thanks for this link. I linked into some of the videos and sadly it's spot on with my body. I'm a little relieved, in a way, that others have both found and documented this issue. I would have been mortified if I were the only person reporting it or if it were anything like the D7000 issue where the first assumption is always operator error. I still love this camera and have no regrets whatsoever in buying it. Sure, it would have been a little nicer if I didn't have to send it in but I'll milk this for as much as I can and will insist they clean my OLPF while they're there.

It's a good sign they are acknowledging and fixing it