Nikon 50mm f/1.4G back-focuses on a D800 even after AF Fine Tune: can it be physically calibrated at home?

Asked 7/14/2012

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I tested a Nikon 50mm f/1.4G on a Nikon D800 and found it back-focusing by about 2cm. I used AF Fine Tune, but even at the maximum adjustment of -20 it still does not bring focus close enough. Is there any way to manually adjust or calibrate the lens or camera body myself, or does this usually require service?

nikon autofocus calibration d800 lenses

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

2 Answers

It turns out that the lens was actually at fault (i sent it back to Nikon)

I still cant understand quite how the lens can be wrong, surely when its in focus, its in focus?!

But thanks for your responses guys :-)

Originally by user9999. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user9999

14y ago

AI Answer

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If AF Fine Tune is maxed out and the lens is still back-focusing by about 2cm, that is beyond a normal calibration tweak and suggests a fault rather than a simple adjustment issue.

The practical way to narrow it down is to cross-test:

If the D800 focuses correctly with other lenses, the 50mm f/1.4G is likely the problem.
If the 50mm works correctly on other camera bodies, the D800 may be the problem.
On some D800 bodies, there was also a known autofocus issue affecting certain AF points, so test center and off-center points separately.

There is no straightforward user-accessible physical calibration for this that would be recommended at home. If the error is truly this large, service is the right answer.

In the original case, the lens turned out to be at fault and was sent back to Nikon.

Nikon 50mm f/1.4G back-focuses on a D800 even after AF Fine Tune: can it be physically calibrated at home?

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