ollie Loc: Ogdensburg, NY

I have two ongoing issues with my D800. 1. There seems to be a delay of as much as a second between my pressing the shutter release and the camera actually taking the picture 2. frequently the subject isn't in sharp focus while the background is razor sharp. This primarily occurs when doing casual portraits and shots of my grandchildren. Any ideas to resolve the issue. I shoot almost exclusively on manual focus now. Two lenses involved 24- 70 and 105 macro, both outstanding Nikkor lenses

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Ok, look onto the delayed shutter release. This is a feature. The delay can be set from 0 to three seconds.

If between the first shot and subsequent ones, first look if the memory card you use is fast enough (takes time to write even a 25mb JPG). If this is not the issue, send it back to Nikon.

amehta Loc: Boston

In the "CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU", it's item d4, "Exposure delay mode".

amehta Loc: Boston

Make sure the it is focusing on the faces. You can switch to AF-S/S mode to control the selected sensor. You should not have to resort to manual focus for portraits and kids shots, the equipment you're using is too good to fail at this, a setting is most likely off.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Many Nikons have a setting to take the picture only after the camera has decided that focus is perfect. I never set mine that way. When I push the button, I want a picture.

As for the focus, I'd set up on a tripod and do a test of its focusing capabilities. Get it dead set on an object and then see if the image has that in sharp focus. There are adjustments available to correct focusing issues.

Checking Focus on a DSLR
Focusing Charts
http://mansurovs.com/how-to-quickly-test-your-dslr-for-autofocus-issues
http://mansurovs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Siemens-Star-Focus-Chart.pdf
http://mansurovs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Focus-Test-Chart.pdf
http://regex.info/blog/photo-tech/focus-chart

How to Check Focus
http://mansurovs.com/how-to-quickly-test-your-dslr-for-autofocus-issues

The author says to use a camera with Live View, but that’s not necessary.

HarryBinNC Loc: Blue Ridge Mtns, No.Carolina, USA

I almost never use anything other than spot focus mode. When you use the other focus options, the camera is deciding what to focus on, which will often be something other than what you had in mind. When you use spot focus, the focus area is very small so you can point the small red rectangle at precisely what you want to be in focus. I also normally position the focus spot in the center of the frame - that works best for moving subjects like kids, dogs, race cars, etc. If the camera is on a tripod or when shooting a stationary subject, you can conveniently move the focus point around in the frame with the 4-way controller.

Spot focus (single focus point) is selected by pressing the button in the middle of the Auto/Manual focus switch (at the lower left side of the lens mount) while turning the FRONT control wheel until you see an "S" at the lower right in the viewfinder.

You might also want to try AFC (Continuous Auto Focus) if you are tracking moving subjects. That is set by pressing the same button in the middle of the Auto/Manual focus switch while turning the REAR control wheel back and forth to toggle between AFC (Continuous) and AFS (Single) focus.

If you want to do a quick check of the left and right focus function (bottom and top too if you want), just take a series of shots with the spot focus point at the various outer locations at different distances. Remember to use a wide aperture to limit depth of field when testing autofocus.

tomcat

This can also happen if you have red eye reduction set in the flash control mode