AF fine tune the Nikon D810: Greetings, Has anyone used the LensAlign on a Nikon D810? I am having trouble focusing on the LensAlign pattern and I thought that it may be due to the...

retlaw Loc: Northern New Jersey

Greetings,

Has anyone used the LensAlign on a Nikon D810? I am having trouble focusing on the LensAlign pattern and I thought that it may be due to the lack of any filters in the D810. I have used the LensAlign on a D300s and a D800 with decent success.

I have also posted this on their site but thought I'd try here too.

BTW, can anyone recommend a better way to fine tune AF on the D810?

Thanks in advance.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

retlaw wrote:

Greetings,

Has anyone used the LensAlign on a Nikon D810? I am having trouble focusing on the LensAlign pattern and I thought that it may be due to the lack of any filters in the D810. I have used the LensAlign on a D300s and a D800 with decent success.

I have also posted this on their site but thought I'd try here too.

BTW, can anyone recommend a better way to fine tune AF on the D810?

Thanks in advance.

Here are several links. There are detailed directions and focusing charts.

Checking Focus on a DSLR

Focusing Charts
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://photographylife.com/how-to-quickly-test-your-dslr-for-autofocus-issues
http://www.nphotomag.com/2013/03/05/how-to-recalibrate-your-nikon-dslrs-af-autofocus/
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/are_your_pictures_out_of_focus.shtml

winterrose Loc: Kyneton, Victoria, Australia

retlaw wrote:

Greetings,

Has anyone used the LensAlign on a Nikon D810? I am having trouble focusing on the LensAlign pattern and I thought that it may be due to the lack of any filters in the D810. I have used the LensAlign on a D300s and a D800 with decent success.

I have also posted this on their site but thought I'd try here too.

BTW, can anyone recommend a better way to fine tune AF on the D810?

Thanks in advance.

Have you ascertained that you actually need to tune the camera? If so, how?

Indrajeet Singh Loc: Goa, India

winterrose wrote:

Have you ascertained that you actually need to tune the camera? If so, how?

+1 with Winterrose.

Some lenses may require it, some will work fine as is. You should first check to see if it is needed.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

I took my camera and lenses to an authorized Nikon dealer and had them calibrate my lenses (4) to my camera. The cost was $28.50 per lens and I feel it was well worth it.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

DavidPine wrote:

I took my camera and lenses to an authorized Nikon dealer and had them calibrate my lenses (4) to my camera. The cost was $28.50 per lens and I feel it was well worth it.

Sounds very reasonable.

Did they use the camera's calibration routine or some other method.

Do the calibration offsets in the camera show the adjustment?

Jerry Green Loc: Huntsville, AL

I have had good results with Dot Tune with my Nikon D800E. Use the target recommended below the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zE50jCUPhM

retlaw Loc: Northern New Jersey

jerryc41 wrote:

Here are several links. There are detailed directions and focusing charts.

Thanks for the links, Jerry; as always, you do your research. I have actually seen a few of these sites but will do more reading. I was hoping to see something about my suspicion that the lack of filters on the D810 may cause a moire situation perhaps rendering the LensAlign approach inappropriate for that camera. I am probably wrong and just had a bad day when I was trying to check the AF tune.

retlaw Loc: Northern New Jersey

winterrose wrote:

Have you ascertained that you actually need to tune the camera? If so, how?

Good question. Answer: No.

I am actually pretty satisfied with the how the camera shoots now. I just wanted to check the AF -- I constantly strive for improvement and try to get the most out of my equipment.

retlaw Loc: Northern New Jersey

DavidPine wrote:

I took my camera and lenses to an authorized Nikon dealer and had them calibrate my lenses (4) to my camera. The cost was $28.50 per lens and I feel it was well worth it.

Thanks David.
I agree with joer, this approach sounds good. Also, I would be interested in the answers to questions raised by joer.

retlaw Loc: Northern New Jersey

Jerry Green wrote:

I have had good results with Dot Tune with my Nikon D800E. Use the target recommended below the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zE50jCUPhM

Thanks Jerry.

I tried this approach before I got the LensAlign. After a check, the LensAlign proved more accurate by a considerable margin based on my perception that more of my photos were sharp. I may have done something wrong during the Dot Tune, I will try it again.

ps: that exercise also demonstrated that I really cannot tell for certain if my system is properly tuned. Without using hard technology, its a judgement thing.

photoninja1 Loc: Tampa Florida

I had a similar problem with lens calibration and I found that: 1. some lenses need a bolder pattern to focus on so I just made a white board with a big, taped, black X and it worked well. There was no need for a fancy chart, and the X is free!
2. focusing using a center spot sometimes failed, but using a small pattern of focusing points worked very well.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Lens align is pretty good though I can see how the lack of an AA filter would cause some jaggies..lol.

I used "Fo-Cal" software to do my Canon cameras.

Really, once you get the gist of it...you can use just about anything to dial it in...i ended up using a ruler glued to an office paper file holder at a 45 deg angle.

I would focus in the front of the plastic file holder (target) and the angled ruler (the 6" mark being aligned with the front of the target) would tell me whether I'm back focused or front focused.

I put up a thread about it.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-36223-1.html

retlaw Loc: Northern New Jersey

photoninja1 wrote:

I had a similar problem with lens calibration and I found that: 1. some lenses need a bolder pattern to focus on so I just made a white board with a big, taped, black X and it worked well. There was no need for a fancy chart, and the X is free!
2. focusing using a center spot sometimes failed, but using a small pattern of focusing points worked very well.

Just got a response from LensAlign and they agree with you. They recommend that I purchase their new, "large focus target". This makes sense since (should have mentioned this earlier) I am trying to tune a 600mm lens and it requires some distance to the target.

Thanks for your input.

retlaw Loc: Northern New Jersey

rpavich wrote:

Lens align is pretty good though I can see how the... (show quote)

Wow, you've done some work here -- good stuff. I was considering this and will use your ideas for my setup. I am also considering Fo-cal but I will try printing the larger target and set it up as you describe and see how that works.

This is what Nikon says about AF fine tuning:
http://nps.nikonimaging.com/technical_solutions/d4s_tips/af_fine-tuning/