Nikon discussion thread

For all things Nikon...

 

A few months ago I got a D5500, which is a rehashed D5300. So far very pleased and a tonne lighter than the D90 it replaced! Brilliant form factor and great shots too, after a bit of tweaking of the auto focus anyway.

 

There's several ways to do it on Nikons. The newer ones have a digital function for adjusting the AF (ours don't) but for Sigma lenses they have a 'dock' which is about £40 and you can calibrate the lens itself to your Nikon body. If you don't use Sigma lenses then you can manually adjust using the allen screws underneath the camera. You have to remove the black plastic plate held in by 4 screws (of unequal depth so be sure to keep track) and there are two accessible holes for a 1.5mm allen key. Rotate anticlockwise to adjust for forward focus and clockwise for back focus. Adjust both by same amount and do it in small increments.
There is another adjustment screw but you have to drill a hole to get to it and frankly I'm not about to!
It's a fairly time intensive exercise as you have to take some shots, adjust, take shots, adjust...

 

Hi Loofah I shall make this a sticky thread my friend

 

Thanks @wiseowl

Just a follow-up to my last post, I also found that using the correct camera settings and modes to be just as important. The perception I had was that if it was all calibrated perfectly then I should be able to zoom in and it would still be crystal clear image wise. I found that's true if it's in macro but otherwise you start getting slight fuzziness that I had previously interpreted as being a focus issue. Hope that made sense.

Here's a link to the manual adjustment I mention above. Best to read through (only 3 pages) as there's gems of info intermixed with fluff. AF adjustment on d5500 – experience sharing: Nikon DX SLR (D40-D90, D3000-D7500) Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

It's also worth noting (not sure if it's in that thread or not) that the focus points on the camera are guides only and the actual point of focus not be precisely in the middle of the square indicator but 'in the region of', e.g. to the side, above below etc. True of all cameras apparently

 

Aaaand another thing - I've found that this chap, Steve Perry, has some great info regarding Nikons in general but he's done some very helpful videos on the AF in particular -

 

Some on eBay right now... Sigma DG 100-400mm nikon | eBay

I'll peruse those vids when I get a minute

 

Yep, one of the draws for me to Sigma kit is that dock! I keep bidding on ebay used ones (I'm tight!) but have a mental block about shelling out £40 for some reason. I mean in comparison to a lens, £40 is nothing!

 

All my telescopic lenses make some sort of noise, Martin So long as it's not a grinding or scratching noise you should be okay. If it's true in what he's says about using it for Wildlife pics then it may be no more than a bit of dirt between the barrels.