I googled this last night but didn't find much information. There was one link where a person had the same issue. I am wondering if this has to do with whatever changes Nikon made in this new multicam module. It's almost like it is doing predictive focusing, and shutter release mechanism get the go before AF completes focus locking.
I have 4 D7k's NOT ONE works properly without AF fine tune. Perhaps yours is the special one.
I find that the most erratic lenses are the 70-200/2.8 and the 35/1.4, with the 50/1.4 close behind.
My 17-55 is near perfect on all 4. My 85 work pretty well with only minor +/- adjustment on all bodies. My Tokina (portrait lens of choice) 50-135 is -10 on two bodies 0 on the body I use it on, and +20 (and still no good) on the forth body. THAT IS NOT USER ERROR.
trenchmonkey wrote: Operator error Everyone I know is knocking on 100% in focus shots.
I have 16 lenses and NONE need AF fine tune on the D7K, none. Threads like
this get real old real fast. Learn your camera, it's not good to go right out of the box.
This is my first body that allows AF fine tune.
A dangerous feature in the wrong hands. Seriously.
It's a given, the D7K's sensor likes good glass AND technique.
That's not to say consumer glass can't give excellent results in
the proper hands. I'd be more inclined to send your lenses in...
both fast zooms and both misalignment prone with any rough handling....Show more →
I've only had 3 D7K's ...NO fine tune necessary on any of 'em....70-200 VR II/200 f2/135 f2 DC/28-70/17-35/70-300...
Standin' by my comment, "dangerous feature in the wrong hands". Sorry yours don't "like" you.
You KNOW it's not good right out of the box, don't you?
Oh yeah, if it's SO freakin' bad...why SO many
Read the instructions. It really is a sign that your unit is out of spec.
I have a calibration card but after doing the research, found that lens tuning while an option is second to making sure your unit is properly tuned for focusing to factory specs.
And I know exactly why the D7000 has so many returns. It is 16 MP....and as such shows the weakness in ANY part of the camera system that is not up to 100%.
That alone is the best reason to get it sent in and fine tuned properly.
I agree with Will that it is "A dangerous feature in the wrong hands" if proper calibration procedures are not followed.
A camera is an instrument that is made up of both the body and the lens. Therefore all body and lens combinations have to be tested separately. I tested both my D300 and D7K cameras with my existing lenses on an optical bench.
On the average, my D300 is consistently off by +14 units (will probably send it to APS sometime) while my D7K is right on! Once the fine tuning is done, then pictures are extremely sharp. However, the tuning must be carried out properly with a test chart and a sensor whose plane is parallel to the test chart.
Picked up a mint used 200 f2.0 last night and on my new-to-me used D7k it did seem to be missing focus consistently in the first two batches of test shots.
I think if any lens is going to show AF problems, this would be it, the DOF is just unbelievably thin wide open.
There is another thread where a member posted his AF test target, large piece of cardboard with bar code style black lines on it of varying width, folded in half and placed on the lawn - you focus on the target, then the grass blades really show you whether the focus nailed the plane of the target or not. I duplicated this this afternoon and was really happy with it - I've tried the battery tests etc before and nothing has been consistent enough to make me think I could tune my lenses better so I just shot with them and thought maybe one winter day when I was bored I'd rent one of the commercial targets and see what happened.
This homemade target seems to be VERY consistent, I just tested the 200 2.0, the Sigma 85 1.4, and the 105 2.8VR, all wide open. Finally I can see what is happening clearly - it's repeatable shot after shot, I dialed in an adjustment and made several shots, focusing on something else, then hitting the target and taking a shot, repeat, change adjustment, repeat, then view on computer at 100%
200 2.0 is best at -20 and wants a wee bit more, maybe up to -25. Darn. But methinks -20 is going to be very usable and a vast improvement from yesterday.
85 1.4 also wants -20, no more, no less.
105 VR wants nothing or maybe a couple clicks minus.
Color me a believer in the fine tune feature, it's nice if you don't need it but when you can consistently see that you do, better to tweak yourself then send to Nikon and be without your camera for a while and....how much do they charge for bodies / lenses that are out of warranty?
I had a problem with un-sharp images when I got my D7000 too,
I started to believe all the people who were telling me it was my technique etc.
Even when I was using a tripod, with mirror up, delayed release and using good glass, Nikon 80-200 f2.8 , I was still unhappy with the results.
Eventually i took it in to Fixation repairs in London, for a check under warranty.
Got it back 48 hours later.
What a difference. The camera is now giving consistently sharp images, even with my lesser lenses.
Now don't tell me my technique was bad on Monday, but had improved by Wednesday morning when I picked it up after repair.
I'll do that out of curiosity at least, thanks - I think I saw a quote of $300-500 somewhere else which, if I can get satisfactory results out of -20 I'll just hold off - I only paid about $500 for the D7k body in the first place...
I recently had my D7000 in for the "oil on sensor splatter" fix. They replaced the mirror box and focus screen and calibrated. I have 4 lenses and only ONE requires adjustment for maximum sharpness. The kit 18-105vr is the one I give -12 to and it's super crispy there so I'm fine with that. The others are fine and dead on with NO tweaking necessary. Overall I think Nikon must have the adjustment benchmarks available to them as techs so they can make it right if needed. I'm with Trench on much of this. User error is most all of it for the most part. Even I've noticed if I'm not steady or make sure of what I'm aiming at the result isn't good. If I watch what I"m doing it's always stellar.
Just returned my d7000 that I was lucky to get 25 days ago from Best Buy. They were able to order the camera and I was super excited when it actually showed up 4 days later. 2 days after that I realized all my pictures "sucked".
I read about the focus issues and had to adjust every lens -20 to -15. Every lens except my sigma 105 2.8. Crazy.
I called Nikon and they advised that I either send it in or return it and that wasn't normal. I returned it today and bought a used D700.
It was a sad day but I'm sure I'll be happy with the D700.
On my first D7000 and 32,000 clicks later, no focus issues at all that weren't my fault. And that's over a variety of lenses:
- tamron 17-50 f2.8
- sigma 50-150 f2.8
- nikon 18-200
- nikon 16-85
- sigma 120-400
- nikon 50 f1.8
- nikon 85 f1.8
- tokina 12-24
- tokina 11-16
- nikon 55-300
- nikon 70-300
- tamron 180 macro
- tamron 90 macro
I don't have all these lenses now - but they've all been on the D7000 with no issues related to front/back focus, i.e., have never had to do AF fine tuning.
I guess like anything else, there can be sample variation.
Operator error 
Everyone I know is knocking on 100% in focus shots.
...NO fine tune necessary on any of 'em....70-200 VR II/200 f2/135 f2 DC/28-70/17-35/70-300...
