imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

#2. You MUST use the AF function ! - because that is what you are testing for ....Long fast lenses will benefit the most from tuning.

The "best" way is to send the camera and lens to the manufacturer for the adjustment (tuning). Otherwise, you can do it yourself with proper instructions.
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CO

I re-read the OP's question. I see now that he's asking about auto AF fine tuning. My D500 has that feature. It works great. Fine tuning can be done in the field without targets. The D5 and D850 have it also. With the D750, he will have to enter AF fine tuning values.

davesit Loc: Media, PA

If you think you don't need to AF Fine-Tune your lenses, you are not optimizing the capability of your lenses.

I just spent days going through my 15 Nikon F-mount lenses with FoCal, a semi-automatic program to calibrate the AF Fine-Tune of lenses with my 3 FF Nikon bodies - D5, D850 and Z7.

Even though the Z7 does have an AF Fine-Tune feature available, I found none of the F-mount lenses required any adjustments, as they all fall within +- 2.

On the D5 and D850 however, the adjustments ranged from -17 to +5. FoCal gives up a before and after picture comparison and I could clearly see a difference when the adjustment is 3 or higher.

And the issue is more complicated than that. The Fine-Tune adjustment is just one number which applies to all distances and focal lengths (if it's a zoom lens). With Sigma and Tamron lenses that are attached to a dock, there are multiple AF adjustments to the lens. On my Tamron 35-150, there are 18 adjustment points - 6 on focal lengths (35, 50, 85, 105, 135 and 150) and 3 distances (3', 6' and infinity). Those 18 adjustments were not consistent. They ranged from -4 to +2. But on my Nikkor 24-70 F/2.8G, they ranged from -3 and -14 at 6' at focal lengths of 28, 35, 50 and 70mm.

So with just 1 setting (or 2 with the new D780), it is just a setting premised on 1 focal length and 1 shooting distance. It's no wonder why many F-mount lenses become sharper when used with a Z camera.

Many people are perfectly happy without performing any AF Fine-Tune, but they are not getting the best images that the lenses could provide.

The day will come when the Z cameras could auto focus as well as the D850 or D5/6. That's when I will be thinking about selling my D5 and D850.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

It is not AUTO like on the D850. You can MANUALLY do it on the D750, but I DO NOT recommend any form of fine tuning a lens unless you have noticed that there is something wrong with your current images.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

The only one I had to calibrate was my 105mm2.8d. It front focused noticeably. Other than that no others.

uhaas2009

Nikon lenses supposed be adjusted right out the factory. I believe I saw it on Nikon homepage. Don’t hold me accountable for this info.
Focus issue I had when the focus engine in body or lens Starts to break. Or when my shutter speed was fast enough. Good luck

tca2267 Loc: Florida

WOW....Thanks for all information.........

Siemienczuk

"I've never needed it in XX years:" You don't know until you check. It may look good but you won't be sure until you see comparisons. Just like you can't be sure that a glass of wine couldn't taste better until you taste a better one, side by side. The calibration target that CO shared is one of the best ways to do this. As was said, autofocus on the target and the diagonal ruler will show you where the sharpest focus has landed.

"They should come calibrated from the factory:" Neither the body nor the lens is perfect; they have tolerance ranges. Both can be within the acceptable range, but the small errors are sometimes additive and together, with a particular combination, they benefit from adjustment.

My D7200 was spot-on with the kit 18-140, but a 200-500/5.6 was front-focusing; correction is +10. It's true that it not necessarily consistent throughout the zoom range but I was lucky. And it's much more of an issue at longer focal lengths, and many people tend to use longer zooms at the longer end (perhaps should have just gone prime...), so emphasize the longer focal length.

Steve Perry does these excellent eBooks. They are inexpensive, readable and accurate. This topic is handled quite well in his Secrets of Nikon Autofocus book. Finally, I almost got FoCal last time; I may still go for it.

Avgjoe

With my D600 and 50mm at 1.8 and six feet the DOF is +/- 3 inches, which I view as demanding conditions. From a practical perspective do the adjustments matter in say a 10 x 24 print? I fully agree it makes sense to optimize camera & lens performance but not sure I would see a difference. I value your feedback.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Keep in mind DOF is a perception - there is really only one unique plane in maximum focus and this is the plane you are looking for when you test - NOT "DOF" - so, YES, IMO, you should be able to perceive this with 50mm @ 6 feet - but it will be subtle.
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ronpier Loc: Poland Ohio

I have 10 Nikon lenses and have never seen or had the need to fine tune any of them. Guess I’m lucky but if the lens needed adjustment I would either return, sell or dispose of it. Not being a wise guy just not willing to play around with something that should work properly from day one.

tca2267 Loc: Florida

Thanks.....what lenses do you have ....do you have any shots you can share?

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

The D750 has non-auto fine tuning. The D850 has auto fine tuning.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I commonly print 30X40 and get excellent sharpness on my prints and I have never FINE TUNED a Nikon lens yet. I have owned over 60 Nikon lenses that have never needed FINE TUNED.
Maybe I am the only one or else I am just lucky when it comes to lenses.