Here’s a 12-minute video in which photographer Steve Perry shows how to use the relatively new “Auto AF Fine Tune” feature from Nikon.
If your camera is back or forward focusing, then it’s likely you need to fine tune the autofocus. Often this would involve buying a commercial kit, or doing a bit of guess work, and in more extreme cases even sending your DSLR back to Nikon itself.
If your camera is back or forward focusing, then it’s likely you need to fine tune the autofocus. Often this would involve buying a commercial kit, or doing a bit of guess work, and in more extreme cases even sending your DSLR back to Nikon itself.
May 27, 2016 I saw that but I only intend to use the D500 with a Nikon 80-400 and Sigma 150-600 S so I will almost never shoot at infinity. I was also thinking that since the D500 is a sports camera requiring continuous focusing, it's strange that you can't AF fine tune in AF-C. I would never have thought that AF-S was required to fine tune. Step 11 – To adjust the autofocus fine tune go to: MenuSetup menuAF fine-tuneAF fine-tune (On/Off) and turn it on. Go back and select Saved value. Go back and select Saved value. The menu location of autofocus fine tuning.
However, that is set to change with the Auto AF Fine Tune feature that is present on cameras like the Nikon D5, D500, D7500, and most likely any future mid-to-pro level cameras. (Here’s looking at you, D850.)
“The typical way Auto AF Fine Tune is performed by most users leaves a LOT of room for errors, inconsistency, and can even make things worse,” Perry tells PetaPixel. “In this video, I outline what AF Fine Tune is, proper setup, and a technique that gets me VERY similar results to what I see with commercial products.”
How To Auto Fine Tune A Nikon D850 Price
By using a target that is full of information for the autofocus system to lock onto, as well as ensuring it is properly lit, you can properly fine tune your camera’s focus for different lenses.
Unfortunately, you can only set a single fine tune preference for each lens. So for zoom lenses that have a varying AF compensation value across their range, you’ll need to compromise and go for a mid-point.
Check out the full video above to learn how you can utilize this feature and properly calibrate your camera and lenses.
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Fine-tune focus for up to 20 lens types. Use only as required; AF tuning is not recommended in most situations and may interfere with normal focus. Auto fine-tuning is available in live view (0Auto AF Fine-Tuning). We recommend that you perform fine-tuning at a focus distance you use frequently; if you perform focus-tuning at a short focus distance, for example, you may find it less effective at longer distances.
- On: Turn AF tuning on.
- Off: Turn AF tuning off.
Using The Nikon D850
Tune AF for the current lens (CPU lenses only). Press 1 to move focal point away from camera or 3 to move focal point toward camera; choose from values between +20 and –20. Values for up to 20 lens types can be stored. Only one value can be stored for each type of lens.
Fine Tune Uniform
List previously saved AF tuning values. To delete a lens from the list, highlight the desired lens and press O (Q). To change a lens identifier (for example, to choose an identifier that is the same as the last two digits of the lens serial number to distinguish it from other lenses of the same type in light of the fact that Saved value can be used with only one lens of each type), highlight the desired lens and press 2. A menu will be displayed; press 1 or 3 to choose an identifier and press J to save changes and exit.
Live View Photography
Tuning is not applied to autofocus during live view photography.
Saved Value
Only one value can be stored for each type of lens. If a teleconverter is used, separate values can be stored for each combination of lens and teleconverter.
Auto AF Fine-Tuning
Auto AF fine-tuning is performed as described below.
- Ready the camera.Mount the camera on a tripod and aim the camera at a flat, high-contrast subject parallel to the camera focal plane. Note that auto AF fine-tuning works best at maximum aperture and may not function in dark surroundings.
- Start live view.Rotate the live view selector to C and press the a button.
- Adjust focus settings.Rotate the focus-mode selector to AF and use the AF-mode button and command dials to select the following:
- Autofocus mode: AF-S
- AF-area mode: 5 (wide), 6 (normal), or 3 (pinpoint)
- Select the center focus point.Press the center of the multi selector to select the center focus point.
- Focus.Press the shutter-release button halfway to focus, then zoom in on the view through the lens to confirm that the subject is in focus. Focus can be adjusted manually if necessary.
- Perform auto AF fine-tuning.Press the AF-mode and movie-record buttons simultaneously and keep them pressed until the dialog shown in Step 7 is displayed (this should take slightly over two seconds).
- Save the new value.Highlight Yes and press J to add the AF fine-tuning value for the current lens to the saved values list (CPU lenses only). Note that only one value can be stored for each type of lens.
- Enable AF fine-tuning.In the camera setup menu, select AF fine-tune > AF fine-tune (On/Off), then highlight On and press J.
Nikon D850 Auto Fine Tune
B The Setup Menu: Camera Setup