af 2.8/180mm Nikor

[Rob C]

I´ve just tried out a focus check of this lens using a rule. At a distance of approx. ten feet from the target area of the rule I find the real focus to be about 15mm towards the camera. Not so brilliant since in the viewfinder it comes in and out of focus very nicely and room for error appears very slight indeed. The test is all at f2.8.

This has been done manual focus because using af would present a confusing image to the system: within the af central zone there are quite a few of the mm rules lines visible and how could the system know which one is the target? Granted that it might be a bit more accurate than manual focus even though confused by the spread of mm lines in the af zone, the real question is this: Canon offers a solution for its lenses - does Nikon offer anything for the D200? My instruction manual is a Spanish translation from Japanese, so draw your own conclusions!

Rob C

EDIT: Nikor? Nikkor. Pity I can´t edit the titles too!

[BernardLanguillier]

the real question is this: Canon offers a solution for its lenses - does Nikon offer anything for the D200? My instruction manual is a Spanish translation from Japanese, so draw your own conclusions!

Rob,

I believe that nobody was offering focus micro adjust when the D200 was released.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Rob C]

Rob,

I believe that nobody was offering focus micro adjust when the D200 was released.

Cheers,
Bernard

Cheers, CHEERS? You love irony? Or is it sarcasm? ;-)

Maybe just another reason to think about a D700 then... well, the pound seems to be headed, generally, in the right direction; perhaps in a year I can both get a new set of wheels AND another camera.

Ciao - Rob C

[Chairman Bill]

... just another reason to think about a D700 then... well, the pound seems to be headed, generally, in the right direction ...

My hope too, but enquiries at the local London Camera Exchange suggested that they are expecting a serious price hike, back towards the initial launch price, and not just for the D700. How much of that was to encourage me to buy now rather than later & how much was an honest assessment of where the price is heading, I don't know. Can't afford it yet anyway  

[Rob C]

Well, it might be giving me focus problems, but the ego-shot I post here, shot with it yesterday afternoon at a time when only mad dogs sally forth, owes nothing to focus problems inherent in the lens. The boat has been drinking too much.

Rob C

[kitalight]

I´ve just tried out a focus check of this lens using a rule. At a distance of approx. ten feet from the target area of the rule I find the real focus to be about 15mm towards the camera. Not so brilliant since in the viewfinder it comes in and out of focus very nicely and room for error appears very slight indeed. The test is all at f2.8.
Rob C

EDIT: Nikor? Nikkor. Pity I can´t edit the titles too!

I wonder if Nikon has an "acceptable" range of focus error, and if so, what would it be @ 10'.....anyone know?
...and if so whether 15mm (about a 1/2 inch) would fall within that range...

[LKaven]

My 180/2.8 af-d positively required autofocus fine-tune on my D3 in order to nail the focus point.  The problems at the close end were very noticeable when I first got it.  A setting of +10 made it nail the eyelashes on a frame-busting portrait.