I'll probably be accused of being a pixel peeper but...

[ShawWellPete]

I had noticed that my D800 wasn't a sharp as I had expected at 100%. I put this down to the higher resolution sensor, but today I was reminded about the AF adjust option. Something that I did with the D700 and all my lenses after some problems with the 135mm F2.

I have spent the last couple of hours testing my lenses and adjusting the AF adjust in camera and was surprised how much calibration they needed, particularly the fast primes.

Something worth remembering if you are a new D800 owner.

 

[PeterEmilio]

Any special technique you use to do this? I am looking at adjusting my lenses as when I pixel peep I have notice this I have put this down to high res and either mirror slap or not enough shutter speed. Just haven't experimented enough yet. Been a little bit lazy not getting out the tripod for more shots.

Peter

 

[ShawWellPete]

Hi Peter, Rob (RIP) explained it well in the post I linked to above

Same thing with my 85mm f/1.4 when used wide open. The lens needs calibrating to the camera as the AF interface is off.
You should have a Fine-Tune AF facility on the camera which allows you to dial-in plus or minus until the focus is spot-on.
A mate of mine just had the very same issue with the new (£1600) Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 and he was in a bit of a panic til he sorted it out.

The lens is sharp, it's just that the lens and camera's software is telling the camera it's in-focus when it's actually very slightly out.

Get a cornflake packet and a 12" ruler.
Place the ruler at the side of the cereal box so that it's at 45 degrees to the vertical with the mid-point of the ruler halfway down the box.

Something like this:

From this you can see that the 150mm mark on the ruler is in-line with the box-side.

Focus on the box from 8-10 ft on a tripod and read off on the ruler how much the AF is off front-to-back. Adjust accordingly.