24-120 F4 focus breathing

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Geoffc

Senior Member
On my D800 this lens seems to suffer with some focus breathing. If I AF fine tune it for closer (2-3 m) indoor use it is wrong for longer distances. It's not always a problem but it's definitely there at wide apertures.

If I use it on the D300s which has more DOF it's less of an issue.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great lens, but it annoys me when I focus on a persons eyes and get pin sharp ears.

Has anybody else noticed this?
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
There are a lot of Nikon zoom lenses that suffers from focus breathing such as the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII. I don't have my 24-120mm f4 lens anymore so I can't say.
 
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nmccamy

Senior Member
Geoffc,

I'm not not new to photography, but am to the Nikon world.
Is the lens only Auto-focusing incorrectly? If you focus manually, is it still off?
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
Just for clarity, I'm not talking about the effect where the focal length changes based on camera to subject distance, I'm talking about the focus accuracy of a zoom changing based on focal length.

Let's say I fine tune the focus at 24mm. Now at 120mm the lens will slightly front or back focus. It also happens the other way round. Or I tune the focus at 1.5m and it is off at 5m.

This is most noticeable at wider apertures due to shallow depth of field. On my DX D300s it's fine, mainly because it has greater depth go field. The other day in my studio I ended up using the D300 as I was getting better focus accuracy on my grand kids. It's still I fantastic camera when you feed it with light.

Using live view I can alway get good focus so the lens is capable at all distances and focal lengths.

I am quite fussy about sharpness so some people may not notice.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I believe it's the nature of the beast with zooms. That's one of the reasons I'm impressed with Sigma's new lenses that allow you to fine tune at 4 spots along the zoom length using their USB dock. It's one of the reasons I'm leaning hard at the 24-105mm instead of the Nikon.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
nmccamy said:
Jake,

Have you thought of renting a lens or two and evaluating them?
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Thought about it? Yes. Is it possible and/or practical for me? Not necessarily. I'm about an hour away from any decent camera shop that rents anything, and the cost of renting online only makes it somewhat impractical when you factor in shipping given that most places are across the country. I have a good relationship with a dealer about 50 miles from me that will let me test drive something for a day or two, so it's a great option if I'm willing to take the drive.

Right now I'm doing a lot of internal debating since I do like my 24-85mm f3.5-4.5, and neither lens buys me a ton of extra light, and the Sigma buys me even less reach, so it's one of those things where I can take my time and make a decision. In truth I'm on the lookout for a decent deal on a used 24-120mm since it makes more practical sense for me as an "upgrade" and I can wait it out. I can get a refurb for about $100-150 more than the Sigma new with a one year warranty, so it prices out about the same. No hurries.

My brother shoots pro and has a couple of the new Sigma lenses that allow the 4-point fine tuning and is a huge fan of it. He has the Canon 24-105mm from work but says he will be getting the Sigma should the work situation ever fall through.
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
I can vouch for the Nikon 24-120 f4. I've gotten spectacular results with this lens. Here's one example:

DSC_6988.jpg
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
nmccamy said:
Geoff,

How do you fine tune your lens focus? Is there a menu option to do this?
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AF fine tuning is an option on most of the better DSLRs in one of the menus. I now use Reikan Focal software to test this in an objective way.

After my original post I ran it though the software again and went from a setting of +6 to +5 which shouldn't have much effect, however as I've got someone coming round to my studio tomorrow I tested it on my wife tonight and it was super sharp. Frankly these anomalies drive me nuts because for me an image is either sharp or junk.

As Marcel states, this lens is capable of fantastic results and in most situations it doesn't cause me a problem.

To put it into perspective, I keep dismissing getting the 24-70 because the 24-120 delivers so well for the most part and does things the 24-70 can't like VR in low light and the obvious 70-120mm.
 
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nmccamy

Senior Member
I checked out the Reikan FoCal software and it looks awesome! Even though I almost always manual focus, I may get this software anyway when I finally get my camera. Plus my wife always uses auto-focus.

I plan on getting my wife the D5300 and pair it with the 24 -120 (and maybe she'll let me borrow the lens sometimes). :)
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
nmccamy said:
I checked out the Reikan FoCal software and it looks awesome! Even though I almost always manual focus, I may get this software anyway when I finally get my camera. Plus my wife always uses auto-focus.

I plan on getting my wife the D5300 and pair it with the 24 -120 (and maybe she'll let me borrow the lens sometimes). :)
Click to expand...

I thought you wanted a D800 or have I got confused.
 
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nmccamy

Senior Member
My posts may refer to the D800 when speaking in general terms, but I'm interested in the D800E. I have not rented the D610 and may evaluate it first. The noise values are better than the D800\D800E. If the D610 had the modified OLPF, then I'd probably purchase it. I have a feeling that Nikon may be developing a D610E or equivalent. I'm on the fence and waiting to see what Nikon's next move is going to be.
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
nmccamy said:
My posts may refer to the D800 when speaking in general terms, but I'm interested in the D800E. I have not rented the D610 and may evaluate it first. The noise values are better than the D800\D800E. If the D610 had the modified OLPF, then I'd probably purchase it. I have a feeling that Nikon may be developing a D610E or equivalent. I'm on the fence and waiting to see what Nikon's next move is going to be.
Click to expand...

Do you think there is a danger that you may overthink this and miss out taking any pictures. The 800/e or 600/610 both have fantastic sensors an it's mainly a case of choosing the body/features you prefer. For example the 800/e may be a preferred body even if you don't need the pixels. If I'd waited before getting the 800 I would still be using my 300s whilst awaiting the D400. If I'd done that I couldn't have taken the pictures at my sons engagement party last night, at least without some more noise.

Note, the 300s is still good, just not for certain applications.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Well, my Adorama VIP membership is due to die in a little over a month, and I've had nothing to show for it. So on a whim I checked and they had a refurb 24-120mm for $100 more than the Sigma, so I get an extra year warranty from Adorama and another from my credit card, so I pulled the trigger. On their website it was listed as "In Transit from the Factory", so I chose the 7-10 free super saver shipping since I'm not in a hurry, and Adorama is here in NJ, so once it did ship I'd get it next day anyway. Wouldn't you know, it shipped last night and I'll have it today. Why is it when you really need something it never ships out on time, but when you don't care it gets there immediately?!

I'll check on the breathing as soon as I get my Focus Calibration rig back from my brother on Thanksgiving.
 
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Alphonse

New member
I too find that my 24-120, which I love, is back focusing on my brand new D610. I don't quite understand the AF Fine Tune. To correct back focus do I go negative or plus values in the correction.
Thanks
Alphonse
[email protected]
 
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