strange encounter with Nikon Europe
Posted: Mon 10 Sep 2012 16:58
Hi everyone
I have had my D7000 and 16-85 combo since release.. Nov 2010.
I put the camera through a few basic steps when I got it.. fine Tune AF as with all the previous cameras I have had with the facility.. I eventually set it to -5 for the 16-85.
I noticed this year when using the 16mm end that even with a small aperture and focusing at something perhaps ten feet away I would get distant portions of the scene appearing quite soft.
I notice too that even focusing way into the distance.. 'infinity'.. the lend would not move the focus barrel much past 5ft. If I zoomed into the scene it would jump to infinity. I would keep the exposure /AF and zoom out again and press the shutter.. voila much better.
Before running out of warranty I contacted Nikon and sent them some examples. They said it was not obvious to them what the issue was.. I sent other photos. Then they said they could not determine a fault with AF tuning applied....
Well, and here's the strangeness.. I turned off AF tuning and went out purposely to demonstrate the problem. I instantly noticed the lens ability to focus closer to the infinity marking on the barrel. result much better sharpness in distant scenes !
I now thought, this will mess up the tuning I set prior for the other areas of the zoom range.. Testing revealed very little problem.. very minor back focus at 85mm with Tuning off.. (where it had needed it when I first tested it.
I'm embarrassed to have brought it up with them at all!
Absolutely no idea what has happened... I did the last FW update but didn't think it was associated with the 'fix' in that.. I will never know now.
Puzzled
I have had my D7000 and 16-85 combo since release.. Nov 2010.
I put the camera through a few basic steps when I got it.. fine Tune AF as with all the previous cameras I have had with the facility.. I eventually set it to -5 for the 16-85.
I noticed this year when using the 16mm end that even with a small aperture and focusing at something perhaps ten feet away I would get distant portions of the scene appearing quite soft.
I notice too that even focusing way into the distance.. 'infinity'.. the lend would not move the focus barrel much past 5ft. If I zoomed into the scene it would jump to infinity. I would keep the exposure /AF and zoom out again and press the shutter.. voila much better.
Before running out of warranty I contacted Nikon and sent them some examples. They said it was not obvious to them what the issue was.. I sent other photos. Then they said they could not determine a fault with AF tuning applied....
Well, and here's the strangeness.. I turned off AF tuning and went out purposely to demonstrate the problem. I instantly noticed the lens ability to focus closer to the infinity marking on the barrel. result much better sharpness in distant scenes !
I now thought, this will mess up the tuning I set prior for the other areas of the zoom range.. Testing revealed very little problem.. very minor back focus at 85mm with Tuning off.. (where it had needed it when I first tested it.
I'm embarrassed to have brought it up with them at all!
Absolutely no idea what has happened... I did the last FW update but didn't think it was associated with the 'fix' in that.. I will never know now.
Puzzled