D300 Focus issue


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yeah.. tamron. could be the lens also.

the tamron is inherently slower than my d40x kit lens, which i still use on the D300.

must state that although the lens CAN be slow (sometimes it isn't), the focusing issues are not that major. however, maybe if i were doing a paid shoot i'd throw the camera on the floor though.. but so far haven't been pushed to that level of frustration, LOL.

Then it's highly likely to be the lens electronics.
 

that sucks :( .. will monitor over the next few shoots. have not been shooting "intensively" (i'll define that as over 200 pix per shoot, those who have diff opinions, i'm cool with that) for some time though. last BMX shoot turned out quite acceptable.. ah well.

later i might be trying again. will update accordingly. might pass the lens to my fren to test on his d40x too.

pay peanuts for lens, it will behave like monkey sometimes :P
 

that sucks :( .. will monitor over the next few shoots. have not been shooting "intensively" (i'll define that as over 200 pix per shoot, those who have diff opinions, i'm cool with that) for some time though. last BMX shoot turned out quite acceptable.. ah well.

later i might be trying again. will update accordingly. might pass the lens to my fren to test on his d40x too.

pay peanuts for lens, it will behave like monkey sometimes :P

In today's highly complex cameras which rely so much on electronics, it is important that the electronics are compatible. The problem with 3rd party lenses is that they do not have the actual specs of the camera-lens interface. They have to reverse engineer and 'guess' the messages passed from the camera to the lens and vice versa. So there is no guarantee that the electronic interface is 100% compatible.
 

Then it's highly likely to be the lens electronics.

hmmm that's why I try to go original as much as possible.... else if "technical" issue arises, you go Nikon, they tell you lens fault, you go 3rd party lens, they say cam fault..... kick yuo around like a ball......... :dunno:.... if use original, it must either be cam or lens fault..... of course they can also say user fault... :sweat:
 

i had the d300, d200 and now d90. For some reason i find that i can get a focus lock faster and more surly with d90 and d200. not really sure why.
 

hmmm that's why I try to go original as much as possible.... else if "technical" issue arises, you go Nikon, they tell you lens fault, you go 3rd party lens, they say cam fault..... kick yuo around like a ball......... :dunno:.... if use original, it must either be cam or lens fault..... of course they can also say user fault... :sweat:


true but the nikon 17-55 f2.8 price is real killer :confused:

anyway, update as promised, 70-80% of my shots AF-ed acceptably. some throwaways which is normal for AF-C and fast moving objects.

sometimes the bleddy thing just refuse to focus. not too often but i can see quite clearly now that the tamron/d300 combi will just refuse to focus.

can live with it for now. :cry:

between 17-50 tammy n nikon 50mm f1.8 prime, the tammy AF MUCH better. 50mm wun lock up but relatively slow and inaccurate focusing

between tammy n nikon 18-55 (d40x kit), no horse run, the el cheapo plastic lens will THRASH the tammy big time. which makes me think maybe i shd bring that out for my next shoot instead of the tammy :think:, at least in decent lighting conditions..
 

Had the same problem with my af lenses. My 50mm f1.8 fine tuned to +18 and my 35mmf2 have to be fine tuned to +14. However, my af-s lenses works perfectly with my d300.
 

Hi All,

I have done some test also by using the 18-200mmVR.
With this lens the results are not very clear, as compared with the 105mm mentioned in the thread. Overall the pics looks more soft and the fine tuning at +5 seems to be slightly better.
Here below the result @ 100%(setting 200mm, F/5,6, T 1/60, ISO200):

D300AFTune18-200VR100.jpg


and here at @195%(setting 200mm, F/5,6, T 1/60, ISO200):

D300AFtune18-200VR195.jpg


Any idea or suggestion?
 

Hi All,

I have done some test also by using the 18-200mmVR.
With this lens the results are not very clear, as compared with the 105mm mentioned in the thread. Overall the pics looks more soft and the fine tuning at +5 seems to be slightly better.
Here below the result @ 100%(setting 200mm, F/5,6, T 1/60, ISO200):

and here at @195%(setting 200mm, F/5,6, T 1/60, ISO200):

Any idea or suggestion?

The lens itself is a bit soft, so cannot expect to get tack sharp results. It's not a focusing issue, it's an issue with the resolution of the optical design.
 

Well the same lens 18-200mm on the D200 has a better result, so I think is due to the focus on the D300
 

Well the same lens 18-200mm on the D200 has a better result, so I think is due to the focus on the D300

If after finetuning, the result is still worse than that on D200, then it's either because the D200 has a slightly lower resolution (actually I think it's negligible) or the sharpen setting is different. The AA filter will play a part too but I think the D200 one is quite soft.
 

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Well the same lens 18-200mm on the D200 has a better result, so I think is due to the focus on the D300

crank up the sharpening to one or two notches below max and see whether still not sharp enuff or not ;)

my d40x kit (18-55) lens is very sharp on the d300. almost painfully sharp. i realised i gotta detune the sharpness setting for my other lenses (tamron 17-50, nikon 50mm F1.8)

some lenses are just naturally sharper than others.
 

Guys,

I just got my D300 and using with the 17-55 F2.8, think the approximate adjustment you need to make is around +6 to +7 for tack sharp focus right on the point. Do try it out and see. Would like to see the diverse setting values that we may all land up having!
 

I have to use +19 for my 17-55 f2.8 to get tack sharp pics :)
 

I am still very tempted to upgrade from D200 to D300/700.
Mainly becos of the AF Fine Tune function, which will save me plenty of misses due to front/back focus issues when buying lenses.
otherwise, the megapixel bump wasn't much of a temptation.
D700 otherwise raised my eyebrows when i realised that the output image is smaller when I slap on a DX lens, after all, my arsenal has been a 50/50 blend of DX/FX lenses. I have no reason to give up DX, considering they had been my much adored lenses.
but having read the opinions of the D300 focusing, might just be keeping my D200.
D200 has been a gem that has lost its shine as the value of it plumetted like the stock market. I am surprised that no one is snatching for it at B&S. Sub S$1K is really a steal!
but will probably reserve the funds for accessory upgrades.
:think:
 

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