D7100

BrainBeat

Since they are work provided ones it will depend a bit. I think they felt the SanDisk one I changed to would be fine just not the Patriot one. Interesting the Patriot one is a class 10 and the SandDisk is only a class 6 (but 30MB/s). But as I said 99% of my work photography is non sports and will nearly always have more than a second between shots it probably does not matter too much which one I use unless this is a sign that the Patriot is unreliable with my camera. I will however use my SanDisk 16GB 45MB/s card whenever I am taking photos for myself. I will talk to my boss about it next time I see him (I am a freelance) and probably try and stick to supported cards.

Ironheart

Is the problem reproducible? Did you format the cards in the camera or use them straight out of the box as is? Just curious...

BrainBeat

Is the problem reproducible?

I have not tried so who knows. I have not taken any photos since then.

Did you format the cards in the camera or use them straight out of the box as is? Just curious...

Actually I think it may have been formatted by my D5000 which I guess could also be an issue as I know when I have used cards that have even been used let alone formatted in other cameras the D5000 had had random issues writing and reading.

BrainBeat

This thread seems to have gone a bit quiet of late.

After doing a job on Saturday night where I was taking some speakers on stage (mostly from the lift side of the stage) I must say that this far left side focus problem is a super pain and is actually very bad when taking at F2.8. It would seem (which I did find when I did testing when I fist got the camera) that the problem is not just confined to just the furthest right point too but most of the left 3rd portion. I am going to have to do some testing again and see exactly which point are not usable and try to remember to not use them at least with apertures probably lower than 5.6. I am thinking of trying to contact Nikon about it too but fear it will not be very productive. I do also hope there is a way to fix it in a firmware update.

One other thing that I noticed in a few photos when I was pushing it hard at iso level above 6400 was some absolute terrible coulour noise, horizontal lines and not very accurate colour reproduction. I know these settings are not intended for general use but more for extreme cases but I think I will want to stay away from them unless I can't help it.

Msmoto

@BrainBeat

Are you saying your D7100 has left focus problems? Are these like the D800, related to a couple of specific left focus spots?

At ISO 6400, are these well exposed? Sometimes if slightly underexposed the sensor has no margin of error and has no shadows.

BrainBeat

@BrainBeat

Are you saying your D7100 has left focus problems? Are these like the D800, related to a couple of specific left focus spots?

Yes I am ( . I did not get around to testing it again yet working out which ones are the bad ones and by how much but there is certainly at least 3+ that are terrible and probably unusable. I have not ever used an 800 before so I can't compare it but I know my 5000 never had this issue.

At ISO 6400, are these well exposed? Sometimes if slightly underexposed the sensor has no margin of error and has no shadows.

Yes the few photos I have actually taken at 6400 they have all be very good. I think my specific problem was caused mostly due to poor / uneven/ unnatural lighting. I will look at doing so testing of this too and see if I can replicate the issue.

JJ_SO

I am and was confirming the left side AF difference, too. And Nikon service is just adjusting it, I was told, this can be done without exchanging parts. My idea is, Nikon has specific problems in mounting these newer AF-sensors correctly and the high resolution is showing the focus problems clearly.

JJ_SO

Just got my D7100 back from repair. Left side AF appears to be okay now, this evening I gonna check the rest of the lenses, if there's a need of AF Fine Tune.

heartyfisher

I have a patriot card and on my D7000 it wouldnt work at all.. until a firm ware update, then it started working so I was happy .. for a while until I started loosing photos.. .. that patriot card is now just used for general storage (nothing to do with photos) I now use lexar and sandisk cards

blackfox

just heard from a friend that his d7100 is being returned due to a/f issues on birds in flight ,a experienced d7000 user his claim is the percentage of keeper shots is very low with the 7100 compared to the 7000 ,any one else experiencing a drop in sharp shots ,before i go ahead and buy one

BrainBeat

After doing some quick testing it looks like the worst focus point at least on the left side are the top and bottom most rows. The furthest left column points are not great but they are ok (at least in this test). It looks like the closest to the centre line and point the clearer it is.

MikeGunter

After doing some quick testing it looks like the worst focus point at least on the left side are the top and bottom most rows. The furthest left column points are not great but they are ok (at least in this test). It looks like the closest to the centre line and point the clearer it is.

Hi,

How do you test?

My best,

Mike

BrainBeat

How do you test?

I set up my camera on a tripod used single point and pointed the camera at something textured and flat at f2.8. I the just move the point around and take a photo while at each point. I later reviewed each photo on my computer and using my eyes i judged how soft they look comparing each to the next. The really bad focus point are very obvious and are extremely blurry compared to the rest. As this was a quick test my results may not be as perfect as they could but certainly give me an indication of which points to stay away from. I will probably try and do the test one or two more times at different targets in case there was some anomalies.

MikeGunter

Hi all,

@BrainBeat - Thanks!

I'll give that a go. I - assume, that's my bad if you did something else, that you de-focused manually between shots?

Also that you had a stable light source on the target? Was the light source constant and sort of at a 45° angle?

The texture was ample and sufficient for each of the AF sensors?

That sort of thing?

If you used a tripod, did you stack the layers in Photoshop and compare the layers?

Thanks,

My best,

Mike

spraynpray

Mike you ol' dawg - there are some neat tricks in there that I will use when I am checking my camera next. Thanks.

DaveyJ

I have tested my D7100 to the extent i am able to. I would rate this camera as the best digital I have used. My D300 I would rate as the next best. Still I have not had many issues related to the D7000. The D700 I had owned was also very, very good in all departments. It was pretty much the only DSLR I ever sold. One reason is that it was a camera a number of people wanted. There are I admit a lot of things with the D7100 and it makes "testing" it pretty complex. The single camera I miss most of all I previously owned is the Fuji GX 617 and all the lens panels.

tc88

I suspect BrainBeat's camera has the famous left back focus issue. In fact, I would guess that it has front focus on the right side. Except the front focus is typically less obvious because most of the DoF is behind and the target may still nominally appear to be in focus. The reason is that the AF sensor plane may be slightly tilted. So while the AF sensor is indeed in focus, the distance from the lens to the imaging plane is slightly different, thus what's in focus on the imaging plane is also at different distance.

BrainBeat

Hi all,

@BrainBeat - Thanks!

I'll give that a go. I - assume, that's my bad if you did something else, that you de-focused manually between shots?

Also that you had a stable light source on the target? Was the light source constant and sort of at a 45° angle?

The texture was ample and sufficient for each of the AF sensors?

That sort of thing?

If you used a tripod, did you stack the layers in Photoshop and compare the layers?
Mike

1. I did not think to defocus with this test but probably should have to make sure it was getting the focus correct on its own. It was however a quick test and unfortunately my Sigma lens does not have a M/AF option so it is not a easy to defocus as if I had the Nikor version.
2.I was just using the ambiant light in the room (light on) and as this was being taken at F2.8 there was plenty of light to have a reasonably fast shutter speed.
3. I assume it was but can't be certain. I used the side of my sofa which is highly pattered and coarse visible stitching with reasonable contrast. As I said before it was a quick test and I used what was handy. I am going to see what I can find as a better alternative to test it again but that could be a few days.
4.?
5. No I just viewed each full screen with ViewNX 2 as I wanted to know which point was meant to be in focus. I guess I could try using Photoshop if I think it is worth doing beyond what I have now.

BrainBeat

@tc88
You could well be right as when I first got the body I did note a minor out of focus for the right side too. That said at least based on my last test the worst positions were top and bottom on the left side not the very far left points. I would think if it is slightly off in one plane or maybe 2 in my case I would think it should be fixable still? I have a birthday party tomorrow so will see how things go there. It probably looks like I should try contacting Nikon about this issue?

tc88

BrainBeat, blurry pictures are a little bit subjective. I tested back/front focus in a very straight forward process using a 3 foot ruler. I place it at a distance about 5 feet away and use a wide prime such as 35 f/1.8. I aim at a number on the ruler and shoot. Then zoom out in camera to read the range of the numbers on the ruler that's in focus. I then shift to different AF points and repeat. If the ranges are consistent, but off a little. You can use AFMA to adjust. If they clearly change, you have a bigger problem that may be only fixable by Nikon. While I take dozens of shots to ascertain, I usually have a pretty good idea after first 5 shots, by just testing the left, middle, right points. Good luck.

DaveyJ

My D7100 does NOT shoot video in Manual mode. It also is slow to focus with the 70-300VR lens. Shooting with my D300 and the older 70-300 D Nikkor lens the focus speed is lightning fast. I am not sure what is going on, but it is not real impressive. The D7000 seems now to me to be a more problem free camera. Video on the D7100 with SOME lens is very good. My 12-24mm Nikkor is better on the D7100 than on the D7000. Use the 70-300VR and the situation changes. I do think the D7100 is a camera with some issues.

Ironheart

@DaveyJ, What happens when you try and shoot video in movie live view mode and Manual? (page 161 in D7100 manual). It seems like this is straightforward...

MikeGunter

Hi all,

@DaveyJ - It seems to work, but not the way I'd like it to work. You have to back out of it all the time to get it right.

The best setup is to frame in LiveView without much concern for exposure, then exit, and choose either A or M modes, and I use (info) to set shutter / aperture / ISO for exposure. In LiveView, the exposure should be correct.

Some modification could be made with ISO or exiting for either shutter or aperture.

The imagery is terrific, but I agree the focus likes modern lenses and/or lots of light. My faster lenses focus faster, and it favors my 'newer' lenses.

I chimp a lot, and it takes a time to write. While I might agree that's a bad habit, I own it.

Getting the right Picture Control is going to be critical, of course, but right now the footage is just fantastic.

My best,

Mike

DaveyJ

My D7100 will not shoot in Manual Mode video at all. I have read the instruction book, established a case with Nikon USA, etc. All other functions appear normal.

DaveyJ

The D7100 is a really great camera. It is going to B&H on this next tuesday. But I can't leave it as we use it too much.