Nikon D7000 Backfocusing

[PhotoWrangler]

Can anyone give me the readers digest version of the Nikon D7000 backfocusing issue? Derrel?

Long story short, my D7000 is two months old now I guess. I shot a wedding with it on 9/22 and about 50% of the photos are backfocused. I'm running the latest firmware version B1.03, so I dont know if its a hardward issue, or the fact that its just a new camera and I'm not familiar with its quirks yet.

Thankfully, I'm skilled enough to have pulled the wedding off, but this still sucks....

 

[Vtec44]

Mine did the same thing and Nikon fixed it under warranty. You can try micro focus adjustment or send it back to have Nikon fix it. Micro adjustment didn't work in my case.

 

[greybeard]

Is it doing it with all your lenses? My D7000 was back focusing with the 18-105 kit lens. I setup a ruler and shot it from a tripod at a 45 degree angle. There is a fine focus adjustment in the menu which will let you adjust the focus for each lens. My 18-105 works fine at -6. All my other lenses focus just fine at -0-

 

[TheFantasticG]

Mine back focused with a few primes but didn't have to do anything with my 24-120 F4. Send it in under warranty.

 

[JohnYoung]

This is a worry, I was planning on buying a D7000 to compliment my D90. So should I not bother and if not what else (Nikon) should I buy ??

 

[brian_f2.8]

If any Nikon camera has a problem F1, D80 or D4 a Nikon will fix it no questions asked.

 

[SCraig]

This is a worry, I was planning on buying a D7000 to compliment my D90. So should I not bother and if not what else (Nikon) should I buy ??

Why is it a worry? A few people have a problem, a hundred thousand don't. If you buy one and it does Nikon will fix it. It's why things have a warranty on them.

 

[gryffinwings]

Just so you know, Nikon has very good warranty service, I had to do this for my Nikon D5100 when I accidentally dropped it and it developed an issue, and they still fixed for me with the warranty. It may take a little time but the service is great, and they provide you updates on where your camera is in the process. So go ahead and get a Nikon D7000, I've tried it a little and it's a great camera, wouldn't mind having one myself, but I'll be working with my D200 for quite some time.

 

[JohnYoung]

This is a worry, I was planning on buying a D7000 to compliment my D90. So should I not bother and if not what else (Nikon) should I buy ??

Why is it a worry? A few people have a problem, a hundred thousand don't. If you buy one and it does Nikon will fix it. It's why things have a warranty on them.

Yes you are right, suppose its just you get nervous when you read anything bad about something you are about to spend a LOT of money on

 

[SCraig]

Yes you are right, suppose its just you get nervous when you read anything bad about something you are about to spend a LOT of money on

If you believe ONLY what you read on the internet you'll never buy anything again. Those voicing complaints are almost always the minority. For every one complaint there are normally thousands of people who never said anything because they have never had any problems. Seldom do we see a comment or forum post that starts out stating that a person has NEVER had a problem with a purchase, only by those that have had a problem.

One thing about forums though is that it they have started to keep manufacturers on their toes simply because of this type of post. They do NOT want to see their name associated with complaint topics. There is one company I know of that makes motorcycle accessories and they have staff members that haunt the motorcycle forums looking for complaints. When they find one they IMMEDIATELY make it right. Regardless of the cause, regardless of whether or not it is their fault, they do whatever it takes to make the customer happy. It means a lot and customers remember it. In my opinion, if Nikon and Canon would do that their reputation would tend to go up a few points.

 

[JohnYoung]

That is impressive that the motorbike accessory manufacturer goes to that trouble... that is 'proper' customer service

Yeah I have read mostly good things about the D7000 just now and again something catches my eye and makes me cautious

 

[PhotoWrangler]

After more testing, I haven't found it to be back-focusing. I'm assuming it was a combination of the environment, and lens.

I was using the Sigma 24-70 2.8 HSM and I was inside. It was darker inside than it was outside, and because there was a large window behind all of my subjects, I'm assuming that the camera focused on the landscape outside in the sun, than on the subjects as I intended.

I'm not particularly fond of this Sigma 24-70 I've found. Its rather "jumpy", and feels a bit more sensitive than the Nikon version.

Either way, I haven't really shot the D7000 enough to be in love with it. In fact, I've used it about 6 times since I bought it. I've been shooting about 90% film, and only 10% digital for the last few months. I wish I could sell all my digital gear completely...

 

[Derrel]

SIGMA lenses, many of them, display the same problem...why? Most people credit it to the fact that Nikon continually 'tweaks' its AF-S focusing protocols. Remember when the Nikon D200 came out??? Zillions of Sigma HSM lenses were unable to work right with the newly-revised AF-S protocol the D200 body used! Nikon's AF-S protocol is their OWN, proprietary, "secret", as in "secret" protocol; Sigma has to reverse-engineer its lenses to work with it. Hence the need for Sigma to offer "re-chipping" services on older lenses whenever newer, altered Nikon cameras come out. Its very common to see older Sigmas sold with the notice, "For FILM cameras only", and this applies both to F-mount Sigma lenses, and to Canon EF-mount Sigma lenses.

One of the areas that "I suspect" is in the AF-ON and AE-Lock/AF-Lock controls: those two buttons, controlling both focus and exposure, have MULTIPLE possible permutations, depending on the age of the camera body and the way the user configures the MULTIPLE permutations; I say this because of the way the D200 body controls were a departure from the earlier bodies, and that metering and focus control change marked the start of a literally HUGE incompatibility issue with the Sigma HSM lenses.

I own two Sigma lenses, both their HIGHEST-grade models, the 180mm f/3.5 EX-APO macro HSM, and their 100-300mm f/4 EX HSM zoom...and BOTH of them are very prone to erratic, "stoopid-bad" back-focusing and focus hunting on newer Nikon bodies...press the shutter release button, and these lenses will on many occasions, just go BACKWARD on the focus to a simply, utterly-ridiculous degree...what I call "stoopid-bad". Perhaps the Sigma lens you bought is an older one? Can it be re-chipped? Sigma had a MASSIVE re-chipping program a few years back.

 

[Derrel]

I JUST found this: Thank you Sigma for re chipping my favourite lens.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

Perhaps the Sigma lens you bought is an older one? Can it be re-chipped? Sigma had a MASSIVE re-chipping program a few years back.

Its the newest model, and I don't believe its that old. I'm the second owner though so I'm not sure. I traded a Nikon 24-70 for the Sigma 24-70 and a Nikon 80-200 AFS. I only had one lens and needed a long lens.