AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

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NathanHamler
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p.1 #1 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

So i'm wondering, i dont recall photogs shooting AF film bodies in the 90's / early 2k's complaining about AF accuracy, and how their lenses weren't spot on....are we just more picky now, or have quality control standards really fallen that far??

Feb 13, 2013 at 04:13 PM

michaelwatkins
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p.1 #2 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

The D800 is my second AF DLSR and the first I've bought in a decade but until 2010 I was primarily shooting shooting manual focus 35mm and more recently 6x6 film cameras. For the past two years I shot rangefinder glass on digital cameras. This AF thing is fairly new to me. Sort of.

My outer AF points don't work with my Sigma 35 unless I fine tune for them but then the centre is out. Apparently Sigma has a calibration update coming for that but in the meantime I'm not finding it gets in my way much. My 85/1.8G seems ok but I've really not taken the time to check for outer AF point accuracy.

Maybe I'm not as picky as some or my usage doesn't depend on outer AF working 100% or at all. That said, I'd be delighted if it did across each lens I use and maybe one day it will.

Feb 13, 2013 at 05:39 PM

derry1
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p.1 #3 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

the gear is better now and offerings are greater,, if they had the fine tune back in the F body days we would have been using it but technology did not offer,,

being a past astronomer I have always seeked out the best of my glass and equipment weather film or digital,,

we just have more to play with today and I love it,,

Derry

Feb 13, 2013 at 05:44 PM

BenV
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p.1 #4 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

It's fair to say we are more picky now. We have many more options to choose from and much easier ways of testing equipment, so its only natural to want the best from our dollar.

Feb 13, 2013 at 05:51 PM

Mark_L
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p.1 #5 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

The ability to instantly see 100% images has probably contributed, fuji slide film had a 'pepper grain' issue that only came to light once people started scanning it at high resolution. It is also much much easier to test equipment.

Feb 13, 2013 at 06:12 PM

m1mgd00
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p.1 #6 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

There's a lag in film development that no longer exists with digital. You develop days or weeks later, it's hard to remember exactly where the intended focus point was. Plus, film has depth which a digital sensor does not have, so the tolerances were a lot greater.

Last but not least, there were not so many people going on the Internet to complain about their equipment!

Feb 13, 2013 at 07:28 PM

hjanssen
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p.1 #7 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

You didn't have the immidiate feedback and the focal spot in your pic.. Actually you had the focal spot in your pic, because it was a;ways in the middel....

Feb 13, 2013 at 07:31 PM

M Lucca
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p.1 #8 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

Mark_L wrote:
The ability to instantly see 100% images has probably contributed, fuji slide film had a 'pepper grain' issue that only came to light once people started scanning it at high resolution. It is also much much easier to test equipment.

+1. Dslr these days have higher resolution than the typical 35mm film. Common sense should prevail otherwise one would go insane MFA-ing everything and missed what photography is all about.

What I do find funny is people spend a gazillion hours MFA-ing their lenses and DR to the max however at post, they would apply these Instagram filters and film grain on the final image.

Feb 13, 2013 at 07:44 PM

DontShoot
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p.1 #9 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

Back in the day, we get 4x6 prints and everyone was happy. These days, people have hi-res screens and software to scrutinize images at 100%. So yes, we've gotten way picky these days.

Feb 13, 2013 at 07:56 PM

davidnholtjr
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p.1 #10 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

NathanHamler wrote:
So i'm wondering, i dont recall photogs shooting AF film bodies in the 90's / early 2k's complaining about AF accuracy, and how their lenses weren't spot on....are we just more picky now, or have quality control standards really fallen that far??

I think it's quality control of Nikon is shit now.

I've had lots of bodies and they where always sharp and never had to use AF fine tune on any body till I got a D7000.

It seems to me that after the floods wiping out Nikon's factory's they just said fuck it and let the buyer worry about fine tuning the body them self.

This is one reason why I'm just going to stick with my trusty D3, D700 and D300s.

I for one don't have time to mess with fine tuning. When you spend $3000-6000 for a body I expect it to be fine tuned from the factory.

Feb 13, 2013 at 08:21 PM

James R
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p.1 #11 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

As technology evolves, so do our expectations. QC is a different issue. Regardless of which manufacturer has the best QC, photographers still are pixel peeping, examining image corners, pushing for new camera features, etc. Good QC only reduces the non-technology complaining.

Davidnholtjr, did you fine tune your camera to correct the camera or the lens? I've used two 35 1/4 G lenses on a D800e and both lenses required different adjustments.

Feb 13, 2013 at 08:55 PM

davidnholtjr
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p.1 #12 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

James R wrote:
As technology evolves, so do our expectations. QC is a different issue. Regardless of which manufacturer has the best QC, photographers still are pixel peeping, examining image corners, pushing for new camera features, etc. Good QC only reduces the non-technology complaining.

Davidnholtjr, did you fine tune your camera to correct the camera or the lens? I've used two 35 1/4 G lenses on a D800e and both lenses required different adjustments.

Yes, fine tuned my 300/4 and it -5 and was better, but I ended up selling the camera anyway and picked up a D300s.

Feb 13, 2013 at 09:03 PM

M Lucca
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p.1 #13 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

davidnholtjr wrote:

I think it's quality control of Nikon is shit now. ...

Yes Nikon's QC is in a vortex of crap right now. Oil leaks, AF issues, green tint etc and the level of service or lack there of from a service standpoint. But it is not because of MFA. This feature is available with other non-Nikon branded cameras as well.

12mp d300, d700 and d3s allows you to get away with focus errors. The 36mp D800 will chew you out and spit you like a used gum in Singapore.

Feb 13, 2013 at 09:34 PM

jhinkey
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p.1 #14 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

Well, if you are going to offer 36MP of resolution and charge a premium for it then the body and lenses better well be capable of accurate AF. In my slide film days even my 4,000 ppi scanner was too much resolution for almost all my lenses and any high ISOs so a little AF error was fine and not noticeable.

Phase detection technology and lens/body QC have not kept up with the MP race . . .

Even for landscape shots I find myself using live view to manually focus or contrast detect focus because many times the phase detect AF is just not critically sharp, even on a steady tripod with a still high contrast AF target.

Feb 14, 2013 at 02:24 AM

Jay968
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p.1 #15 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

I don't exactly agree that we are just too picky today nor that we view 100% and that is why we see what we do and adjust for it.
I have owned about 15 or so DSLRs in the past decade. I have NEVER had the problems that I now have in getting lenses to focus accurately since I purchased a D800 and D800e. I have had to fine tune every single lens that I own. The ONLY other time I saw a lens that was off was when I owned a Canon 10D several years ago and the 70-200 F4 that I purchased back focused. I promptly exchanged the lens for another and the problem was gone.
I think that now that cameras have the ability for the consumer to fine tune the focusing, the manufacturers have found another way to cut costs...by providing this capability and letting those customers do it.

Feb 14, 2013 at 03:33 AM

Gregstx
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p.1 #16 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

We are too picky, for sure. Today, it is much easier to examine our pics at the microscopic level than ever before. Sort of like walking up to within 6" of your 52" flat screen TV and picking out the imperfections.

Feb 15, 2013 at 03:09 AM

VinnieJ
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p.1 #17 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

In the early days it used to be buy a camera, go out, shoot and if you found a problem you examined what you could have done better to get the shot.

Today it's buy a camera, bust out a focus chart, shoot and it becomes the first recorded image on the new camera. Then you pixel peep the crap out of the image, go on the internet to find other people experiencing your "issue" and complain about brand QC problems. Then return it, buy another body...rinse and repeat.

Feb 15, 2013 at 02:19 PM

Steve Torelli
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p.1 #18 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

+1 to VinnieJ
I'm not sure about people being more particular but they sure are more paranoid.

Feb 15, 2013 at 02:29 PM

Steve Torelli
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p.1 #19 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

People today have unrealistic expectations. Gregstx's analogy of the big screen TV is a good one.The better the technology becomes the more we demand from it.
It's been mentioned in other threads like this one, but pro photogs don't agonize over their gear the way amateurs do and they seem to do OK. You can't buy or tune your way to good photography.
I firmly believe that Canon and Nikon include the AF tune feature these days in an effort to get people to stop returning perfectly good lenses because of internet forum inspired front/back focus issues.

Feb 15, 2013 at 02:39 PM

DigMeTX
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p.1 #20 · AF fine tuning....are we more picky now??

Yes we are because we can be.

brad

Feb 15, 2013 at 02:46 PM

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