D80 focussing problems

[richard1]

I am not sure that I am using this site correctly. If not, perhaps someone can tell me how to do so.

I have a question or, better put, a concern. After using a D50 for less than a year, I bought a D80 about two months ago. I was very pleased with the D50, but I presumed that I would be able to get better shots with the additional pixels, particularly as I often take pictures of birds and crop much of the picture away.

To date, I have been disappointed, particularly with focus. I think the D50 did a better job of exposure and focus. I use the camera principally with a 28-200 Nikon IS. I have some "shake" and need the help. However, I will quickly add that the use of a tripod really doesn't seem to make much difference in the focus.

Have others had this problem? Should I send it to Nikon for warranty work? I am just about to get rid of the D80 and buy another D50. My daughter now has the D50 which I bought about a year ago.

Richard Wallace

 

[coyot]

Richard,

Hi,

I have the D200, and at first I thought their was a problem w/ the focusing. But, the problem was really in that I was looking at the images on my monitor, and the saved DPI for the jpg files is 300. This did not translate well to the monitor. But, if I printed the file, the focus was very sharp (not always ... but usually!).

I would make sure that before you go through the hassle of sending in the D80 for repair, that you really setup a tripod and double check the focus as several f-stops ... right down to F-16 and wide open to 2.8. Take the first shot w/ the camera's auto focus and then the next shot set on full manual mode (remember, you have to set the camera AND the lens, to both be in manual mode). From everything I have read about the D80, it should really outperform your D50!

Be sure to PRINT and examine some of your control shots ... don't just look at them on the monitor. Might even do something "c&y" like have a model hold an index card for each shot, indicating if the focus is AUTO or MANUAL.

Good luck,

Let us know how it goes.

Michael.

 

[dirk]

Hi Richard,

I moved the thread to the Nikon D80 section. I would second the advise of Michael

 

[allaw]

I don't have a docussing problem per se, but I have been disappointed with the spot metering mode. When I tried to point the camera to a dark area for metering and the shot will most of the time come out to be underexposed (the area still very dark). I wonder if other user has this problem? When I tested the same metering with my friend's D200 and it over-exposed the shot which make the dark area brighter.