whitehall Loc: Canada

As always your opinions based on your experience will be much welcome:

Do lenses (300 PF) need to be adjusted for back or front focus?

IGW

bleirer

I don't shoot Nikon, but this was interesting reading for a Sunday morning. https://blog.reikanfocal.com/2018/10/the-new-nikon-z7-investigating-with-reikan-focal/

I guess the bottom line of the article is for a native lens probably not. For a lens with an adapter or a 3rd party lens, maybe. Be interesting to hear from Nikon mirrorless users. My Canon mirrorless doesn't have any fine tune options.

Jerry Green Loc: Huntsville, AL

I have the Z50, Z6 and Z7 cameras and I check the fine tune with each lens. I have had to make adjustments on one Nikon F mount lens and a Canon 180mm macro used with an adapter. My Nikon 500mm PF did not need adjustments.

whitehall Loc: Canada

Thank you

tomcat

I NEVER make those fine-tune adjustments because it's too much trouble to get it 100%. Then you gotta remember it for each lens, etc. If the lens is truly giving you oof images, see if it is the lens or the camera body. I will send either the lens or the camera body back to Nikon while still under warranty. I always have and will continue to do so. It's a quick turn-around of only a couple weeks to get it back, plus they will clean the lens or camera body. When I send the camera body in, they do a lot of additional stuff and it comes back like brand new.

Jerry Green Loc: Huntsville, AL

AF Fine Tune in the cameras saves the settings for each lens. I so a separate fine tune for a lens if I use a teleconverter with it. I find the process easy.

FTn

One of the keys to great photographs is testing, testing, testing. Sure testing your lenses and camera bodies for focus issues takes a little time but after you go thru the process it's done for as long as you own them. Once completed it removes the camera body and lens from the list of possibile causes of images that are out of focus and places them squarely on the shoulders of the photographer.

The good thing the camera body only recommends a correction number. You can repeat the test of each lens several times, average them, and use that number for your correction factor. You can also turn off the correction off at any time if you think that it is hurting your images.

I don't understand why people here seem to be so against focus fine tuning. You can print a focus chart that you find for free on the net and tack it up on any flat surface. The process only costs you some time. Nikon has automated the feature on most of its new cameras so I'm sure that the other major players have done the same. Go ahead and give it a try. It will probably help you as a photographer.

- FTn

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I thought the advantage of mirrorless is the lens focuses directly on the sensor totally eliminating any adjustments.
Are there mirrorless cameras where the sensor performing the AF has different layers in depth and the image and focus layers are at different depths/locations on the sensor?

repleo Loc: Boston

I thought the same until I read this article
https://cameracal.co.uk/blogs/calibration/mirrorless-cameras-and-lens-calibration

User ID

But you still have settings to remember for each lens: the test distance and, for zooms, which FL.

bleirer

I don't know Nikon, but in Canon only the 1D and i would guess the R5 has the ability to use depth information stored in the dual pixel focus system to fine tune focus a file after shooting. For others check out the articles that were posted about why sometimes fine tuning a lens can be a mirrorless thing, depending on which focus method the camera used.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Interesting article.
It appears the Z7 is faulty and needs calibration while other mirrorless brands do not.
Thank you for this article.

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

...the article is dated late 2018...there have been a couple of firmware updates since. I think we must consider these factors before freaking out.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Has the firmware updates addressed this flaw in the Z7?
Sounds like no if it is still an issue in this discussion here on UHH.
It is still a fatal flaw unless someone says that they had this flaw corrected with firmware.

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

I'll let you know in practical application, when I get mine. So far I'm not encountering anything of this sort with my Z6. <shrug> Still like it alot, have pretty much left the FTZ on the shelf and use native glass.