Ive been putting my new to me D700 to work lately but ever since it arrived. I got it set up to my preferences and how my first D700 was, which I had purchased new. The issue here is that the viewfinder is still blurry even after adjusting the diopter to match my eyesight. The readout along the bottom of the VF is perfectly sharp, but the framing area is still slightly blurry. I'm wondering if this isn't because of the DK-17C eye piece? Perhaps the previous owner put one on the camera to suit their eyesight?
If this is the case, any tips on how I can figure out what thr correct one for my eyesight is?
davidnholtjr wrote:
You could take the eye piece off and see if there is a model # on it. Could be a different one from the original like you said.
I tried that, there's no model # or any sort of info on it.
Wherever I place my focus point, it doesn't look like it's in focus INSIDE the viewfinder, but is usually shows up as in focus when I playback the images.
No, I have not. But when I look through my wife's 60D, I can't replicate this issue. I understand it's a different camera, but thought a similar principle might apply.
maybe you need a different diopter that are available. I struggle to MF through the VF with my eyes, even with the dk-17m. With AF I just assume its sharp.
MikeW wrote:
maybe you need a different diopter that are available. I struggle to MF through the VF with my eyes, even with the dk-17m. With AF I just assume its sharp.
I may need a different DK-17 eye piece. There is a Nikon Repair center about 30 minutes from me. I'm thinking about calling them and seeing if they've encountered anything like this before.
Wherever my focus point is in the viewfinder looks blurry, even after focus confirmation. But, if I pan the camera up for down, the area above or below my focus point looks sharp, as I think it should.
Had the same issue with my D700 after conversion to IR. Not sure if it occurred at the conversion or in shipping but returned it to the IR conversion company Life Pixel and had it converted back. Came back with the same issue, called LP, they said they had visually tested it before the shipped it and it was fine.
Took it in to APS and they found that a small piece that adjusted the diopter internally had been broken, a $250 repair but it is back to original working order. They could not identify how it had been broken, might have been dropped, poor shipping handling, or any other abuse. I cannot say LP broke it, may have happened in shipping, don't know but it works fine now.
Taoguy wrote:
Had the same issue with my D700 after conversion to IR. Not sure if it occurred at the conversion or in shipping but returned it to the IR conversion company Life Pixel and had it converted back. Came back with the same issue, called LP, they said they had visually tested it before the shipped it and it was fine.
Took it in to APS and they found that a small piece that adjusted the diopter internally had been broken, a $250 repair but it is back to original working order. They could not identify how it had been broken, might have been dropped, poor shipping handling, or any other abuse. I cannot say LP broke it, may have happened in shipping, don't know but it works fine now. ...Show more →
I'm thinking about taking it to APS since they're so close to me and seeing what the estimate is.
It's likely due to not having the proper shims between the focus screen. I have the same problem with mine and unfortunately Nikon won't sell you the relatively inexpensive parts anymore and they want you to send it in. If you google D700 shims you should find there are others out there with the same problem.
If you did manage to find a fix, can you please share your experience? I'm still debating whether or not it's a big enough issue to send mine in.
jashik wrote:
It's likely due to not having the proper shims between the focus screen. I have the same problem with mine and unfortunately Nikon won't sell you the relatively inexpensive parts anymore and they want you to send it in. If you google D700 shims you should find there are others out there with the same problem.
If you did manage to find a fix, can you please share your experience? I'm still debating whether or not it's a big enough issue to send mine in.
I'll definitely post about it. I'm calling APS tomorrow. I'm getting a little bummed out about the whole thing. It may not be a big deal but its frustrating.
derek.fulmer I'll definitely post about it. I'm calling APS tomorrow. I'm getting a little bummed out about the whole thing. It may not be a big deal but its frustrating.
Although I have other bodies and my D700 had been relegated to back up I was bummed at the first response from Pixel Light as well. The D700 is a great camera, it convinced me to convert to Nikon several years back. I explained that it would not be in focus through the diopter regardless how much I turned the adjustment dial yet the photo appeared to be focused, they suggested I just use it in Live View as the D700 would not focus clearly through the diopter once converted to IR. That statement convinced me they never physically looked through the diopter after they worked on the camera. I had a camera converted before with PL and had never heard of this before.
APS is top notch, I can't complain about the cost even though I wished it was less, they found the issue and had back within a week. Good luck.
Taoguy wrote: derek.fulmer I'll definitely post about it. I'm calling APS tomorrow. I'm getting a little bummed out about the whole thing. It may not be a big deal but its frustrating.
Although I have other bodies and my D700 had been relegated to back up I was bummed at the first response from Pixel Light as well. The D700 is a great camera, it convinced me to convert to Nikon several years back. I explained that it would not be in focus through the diopter regardless how much I turned the adjustment dial yet the photo appeared to be focused, they suggested I just use it in Live View as the D700 would not focus clearly through the diopter once converted to IR. That statement convinced me they never physically looked through the diopter after they worked on the camera. I had a camera converted before with PL and had never heard of this before.
APS is top notch, I can't complain about the cost even though I wished it was less, they found the issue and had back within a week. Good luck....Show more →
Thanks for the info. I keep swapping my 50mm and 28mm lenses out to test it out and it's getting really frustrating. A part of me wonders if the body isn't back focusing, if that's possible.
If your D700---a camera I have only peered through a couple of times---is like my D800E, the focusing surface of the focusing screen and the AF point /grid line overlay exist in two different planes of focus.
If this is the case with the D700, you need to adjust the diopter setting while looking at at a known sharply focused image on the general screen area(preferably in the center), not the grid lines and AF points. If you adjust it to where the grid lines and AF points are sharp, the actual image on the screen will never appear to be in good sharp focus to your eye.
I shoot a lot with manual focus lenses and have always followed the factory recommended procedure of adjusting to the viewfinder LED displays. I have done this with Nikon and Canon cameras. I haven't seen a discrepancy between the LED and projected images. I think for some reason your mat screen is not in the correct position. Are you sure it is seated properly?
I am using the DK-17c on a D700 without a problem and theoretically it shouldn't make any difference.
sandycrane wrote:
I shoot a lot with manual focus lenses and have always followed the factory recommended procedure of adjusting to the viewfinder LED displays. I have done this with Nikon and Canon cameras. I haven't seen a discrepancy between the LED and projected images. I think for some reason your mat screen is not in the correct position. Are you sure it is seated properly?
I am using the DK-17c on a D700 without a problem and theoretically it shouldn't make any difference.
I'm going to try and reseat the focus screen tonight. Called APS and asked if I should describe the potential issues before bringing it in and they said it wasn't necessary so I'm just going to take it in tomorrow morning most likely.
Keith B. wrote:
If your D700---a camera I have only peered through a couple of times---is like my D800E, the focusing surface of the focusing screen and the AF point /grid line overlay exist in two different planes of focus.
If this is the case with the D700, you need to adjust the diopter setting while looking at at a known sharply focused image on the general screen area(preferably in the center), not the grid lines and AF points. If you adjust it to where the grid lines and AF points are sharp, the actual image on the screen will never appear to be in good sharp focus to your eye. ...Show more →
I've only adjusted the diopter to make the LED read out sharp so I'll try this tonight.
