D7000 focusing ...practice or problem ???

K

Kate O'Neill

New member
I have just upgeaded to the D7000 from the D90, and have a 2nd D7000 coming tomorrow to upgrade the other D80. I took it out yesterday and did notice when I got back and the images up on the computer that a higher than normal percentage were not pin sharp in the focus, which is unusual for me. I have a lifestyle shoot to do today, will obviousley have my D90 as a back up. So not sure if its an issue or just getting used to the new camera ?
 
E

eurotrash

Senior Member
Gee, I just got one myself yesterday and have an event at a hotel to shoot! Sucks for me, since I traded in my old camera to get a little tad off the initial price. I haven't reviewed the silly images that I've shot so far and hope that I don't have this issue as I've an event today :)

If you google "d7000 focus issues", you'll likely bring up pages upon pages of crazy problems people had with that. I'm sorry I can't be of more assistance, I really never thought about it until yesterday :confused:
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Just make sure you don't confuse camera movement with out of focus as they can give almost the same look. The D7000 is a little more sensitive to movement than the D90 because of the pixel density. Try it with the Quiet mode "Q". The only way to check it is to put the camera on a tripod and then take a pic with the auto focus, then open live view, manually focus and take the pic. Then when you compare the two if you see a difference you might have to adjust with the fine focus adjustment.

Beware that if you look at the file at 100% on the monitor, you might think it's not sharp, but it could very well be. I find the files need a little more sharpening than the D90 or D700.
 
D

Dave_W

The Dude
The D7000 requires a slightly different skill set than does cameras of lower resolution. There have been cases where the camera is to blame but more often than not it turns out to be a user based error. The AF requires a good contrast in order to achieve proper focusing so if you're aiming at a solid single color the chances are you'll have a soft image. Try to aim the AF square at something with good contrast and you'll get a much better focused image.

In addition, the added resolution can also expose minor flaws in your lenses that you would not have picked up with a lower resolution camera. Adjusting your AF fine tuning is essential if you're looking to get razor sharp images. Take the time to use the focus charts to insure you're lens and camera are both on the same page.

This is my favorite focus chart because it come with a feature that insures you are at a 45 degree angle rather than just guessing at the angle.

http://focustestchart.com/focus10.pdf
 
Top