Bill_de Loc: US

I watched a video interview of a Nikon engineer who said he was frustrated every time he saw in writing or heard somebody say, "it's only for jpg". As he explained it, everything is designed for the NEF file. When you choose jpg, that file is extracted from the NEF file with the pertinent data baked into the jpg. To take full advantage of the NEF it is best to use Nikon software.

That's not to say that other software can't produce the same results using their own algorithms.

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bleirer

I think sharpening works by increasing local contrast at an edge. So it gives the illusion of improving sharpness but there is no free lunch because too much looks garish and you can lose detail, make noise look worse by sharpening the noise, and get halos/artifacts. Sharpening works better if you start off with an in focus picture, then you can do just enough but not too much sharpening instead of trying to hide out of focus with sharpening.

Here is some interesting reading I found useful. Can you share the Steve Perry link? I though I looked at all his free videos and articles and did not see it.

https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/image-sharpening.htm

bleirer

It's the same with Canon. If you use the Canon DPP software all the camera settings are applied if you want them but in raw the user can then dial in any other setting without consequence. In Lightroom most of the camera settings are lost except for white balance.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

The same applies to all third-party software and RAW files, something the experts all know and the recent responder clearly misunderstood at the level of the technical details of the discussion.

Larryshuman

I know that setting my cameras to #9 sharpening is working correctly. In 2015 I'm using my D600 and my Sigma 800mmF:5.6 AF and I shot a Cape May at minimum focus and I printed it at 24x48 and it lost no detail, did not go into pixels. In 2019 I"m shooting the eagle nest at Magee Marsh and I'm using D810 and my 600mm F:4G VR and I got the eagle coming off the nest and eye sharpness is incredible. A friend was shooting behind me with a D500 and 600mmF:4E VR. He looked at my shot and went out and got a D850. I've seen this work in too many cameras. In fact I began using it when I had my D1x. I shot some butterflys and when I downloaded the shots they were all soft. I took the camera back to my money back and a counter guy showed me the sharpening trick. I've since on all my cameras. I tryed fine tuning my 800mm. I had to be 132 ft away from the target. You cannot even see the 2 red ball to line up correctly at 132 feet. Also the OP might be S instead of C for focus. This will make a big difference in locking focus.

BobPeterson Loc: Massachusetts

I had that issue once and found that I had the lens set to manual focus if i recall correctly. I think the Focal message is being applied incorrectly to the situation. The message should be that there are settings preventing the program to fully control the camera.

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

I don't think the Steve Perry e-book is free, but it is well worth the cost!

mikeroetex Loc: Lafayette, LA

I think you meant this one, the D750 isn't mirrorless. I own both books, as I have had a D750, but now a Z6 and Z7. Both invaluable!

https://bcgwebstore.com/product/secrets-to-the-nikon-autofocus-system/

RolandHalpern

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I finally got it to work. The AF button on the front would keep resetting if I turned the camera off, so I left it on, picked AF-S S setting - with two S's (there was no single AF-S) and then the AF-S from the menu screen. A bit of a pain - was never that hard with my D7000, but all's well that ends well. Again, thanks for all the help.

FTn

Out of curiosity, what were the correction numbers that you came up with? Also have you shot with those numbers and do you see an improvement?

Thanks,

- FTn

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Yes, thank you.

RolandHalpern

On the 80-400, +11. On the 28-300, +4. I haven't shot them yet, but the target images were noticeably sharper.

sscnxy

Mirrorless shooters fortunately don't need AF fine tuning, but DSLR shooters who care about maximal sharpness out of their lenses should pay attention to AF fine tuning. I suspect that those who disparage its usefulness have either never done it or don't know how to do it. Rather than admitting that, they'll say instead that it's not of any use. If all lenses were indeed perfectly matched to every camera body so that tuning was not necessary, why then do the upper level prosumer and pro camera bodies all have this important feature on their menus. A lens that has been tuned to be tack sharp at a particular working focal length is always preferred over one that front or back focuses. Ask any portraitist who selects his light modifier because of its catchlight.

Yet, the procedure not difficult. It just takes precise technique, attention to detail, and a good focus chart, of which there are many. The one you used worked well for you, and seeing how much you had to correct the 80-400 lens (though I'm not certain which end of the zoom range you chose to concentrate on in the tuning) but achieve a noticeable improvement in the sharpness, I believe that you'll likely be fine tuning all your important DSLR lenses from now on. NICE JOB!

ny