D800 focus fixed w/out saying a word

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Grantland
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p.1 #1 · D800 focus fixed w/out saying a word

Hi,

My story. My D800 struggled to maintain consistent focus in CF mode. I kept seeing Trenchmonkey's CF shots of those funny looking Canadian geese with his D800 and knew something was wrong with mine. And no other Nikon body I own/owned behaved like this one. URGGGH. It was accurate in SF mode so I just used it for landscape or portrait photography. And being a procrastinator I figured I would send it in to be fixed later.

Anyhow, my D800 died a few weeks ago so I had to send it in to Nikon to be repaired under warranty. And, being a bit brain dead, I forgot to tell them about the AF issue. Last week I received my D800 back from Nikon and everything is perfect. They fixed the AF without me identifying a problem and they didn't mention they did anything to the AF on the repair order. I am sure they ran the body through some routine tests and found the AF was off but they didn't say anything about it.

Would that be standard procedure for Nikon? To fix an element on a body without mentioning it?

My guess is they know something was wrong with early production D800's so they run them through some tests and have found a fix for them. Kinda reminds me of Canon and the 1d3 bodies. (I had 3 of them)

The good new is it looks like Nikon knows something is wrong with the D800 AF and they have found a fix.

Grant

Feb 26, 2013 at 02:18 PM

slay12345
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p.1 #2 · D800 focus fixed w/out saying a word

Maybe they updated the drives in the camera and that automatically fixed the issue.

Feb 26, 2013 at 02:40 PM

Guari
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p.1 #3 · D800 focus fixed w/out saying a word

Yes, it does seem so.

Your post has made me reconsider sending my D800 in. I preordered the moment it was announced and it has a very low serial number (the supposedly faulty batch). For the life of me I can't find any left side AF problems, but it may be there, and I just can't see it.

Anyhow, my warranty has just one more month and Nikon UK pays for the shipping. So I have nothing to loose from it.

Good to hear your issues were resolved..

Feb 26, 2013 at 03:02 PM

binary visions
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p.1 #4 · D800 focus fixed w/out saying a word

They're going to run any camera they fix through some basic tests, I'm guessing it just turned up in their test harness.

What was the problem with it? If the problem was just about anything mechanical, it would be difficult for them to differentiate between a focus problem that existed before they got it, and one that they introduced during disassembly/reassembly, which they will then recalibrate for.

Feb 26, 2013 at 03:18 PM

ACNYPhoto
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p.1 #5 · D800 focus fixed w/out saying a word

I brought mine in FOR focusing issues, on my repair order it stated that they adjusted the mirror and the AF system. I was actually seeing everything OOF except for when I used the center point, even my right side was OOF...

Feb 26, 2013 at 04:06 PM

wellsjt
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p.1 #6 · D800 focus fixed w/out saying a word

I sent mine in last year because the flash eject button fell off. At the time, the AF on the camera wasn't terrible (although not perfect either) but I didn't mention it when I sent it in. When it came back, the $0 invoice said they fixed the flash button, cleaned the sensor, and adjusted and recalibrated the autofocus. It didn't take long for me to realize how much better the AF was after this repair.

Perhaps it's just standard practice for them to check a D800 AF when they have one in the shop and fix if necessary (given all the early noise about it).

Feb 26, 2013 at 04:56 PM

Grantland
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p.1 #7 · D800 focus fixed w/out saying a word

Guari wrote:
Yes, it does seem so.
For the life of me I can't find any left side AF problems, but it may be there, and I just can't see it.

i didn't find left side AF problems either.

Feb 26, 2013 at 07:48 PM

mshi
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p.1 #8 · D800 focus fixed w/out saying a word

The quickest way to figure out whether or not they've fixed the issue for you is to mount 14-24.

Feb 26, 2013 at 08:20 PM

bobbydigital
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p.1 #9 · D800 focus fixed w/out saying a word

funny thing is, i performed the left AF focus check with a 28mm 1.8g lens (i didn't have the 14-24) and my left AF was way out of line. so concluded that i would send the camera in. then i figured, i'd go and rent the 14-24 and test it on that just to be sure, because i've read some stories that the 28mm 1.8g could be the culprit of the problem and not the camera. sure enough. the 14-24 didn't throw any issues, apart from both leftmost and rightmost AF points being slightly oof together, but from my understanding thats just normal with those type of lenses.

would you guys suggest that i send in the 28mm lens alongside the D800 to nikon so they can check both or just the lens.... or just the camera?

Feb 27, 2013 at 09:12 PM

Baywing
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p.1 #10 · D800 focus fixed w/out saying a word

Whatever gear you send to Nikon to repair, they always check everything. I had my D4 in recently as the viewfinder shutter was sticking in the closed postion. When it came back, they had adjusted the AF (my micro adjust AF settings were no longer accurate). They also update firmware and I know that there are more tweaks in the firmware revisions than they admit to. There are cases were the firmware number stays the same, but the "shop" version has fixes the public version doesn't.
As a routine, they check all functions and adjust as needed and do a very nice job cleaning the exterior. They will often clean the sensor, but my experience has been hit or miss with that. I can do that myself, so it's no deal breaker either way.

Feb 28, 2013 at 03:00 PM

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