when do you know your lenses need calibartion?

[paul doumit]

Hi eveyrone .

this my first ever post.

 

I have purchased a whole arsenal of new nikon lenses.

I was wondering when do someone know a lens is dyue for calibration or other

maintenance routines ?

 

 

Thanks

[imaginature]

This is a good question. I have a 500f4P that I dearly love, but I've noticed that I can't seem to get a razor sharp image with it. Don't have those problems with my 80-200AF-S or other AF lenses. I have 20/20 vision, too. I have noticed the problem seems worse since getting the D200 (my only digital slr). The 500 obviously has some age on it - about 10 years old.

 

Vince

[michaelging]

I have used dozens and dozens of Nikon lenses in my 35yrs. shooting. Unless you drop the lens, bang it into something,drop it into a river,or spend a lot of time photographing in fine sand,you should not have to do anything to your lenses. If the focus starts getting stiff,then I would have it serviced.Most Nikkors are built to last many years without any problems.

[paul doumit]

I am asking this because I recently purchased a D200 and my images all of a suddent became soft on all my lenses. So I figured its the camera and I am returning. While I was testing I felt the zoom ring on the 70-200 is stiff now how stiff I dont know. Maybe its a good or maybe its a bad thing.

[benjaminm]

Try to increase sharpening on your D200:

SHOOTING MENU, Optimize image, Custom, +1 Image sharpening.

 

Benjamin.

[Rich B NYC]

Are you experiencing a problem with a specific lens? If not, there's no need to fix what isn't broken.

 

I can't speak for any of the auto focus lenses, but I have Nikkors going back to the 1960's that are still going strong. They really knew how to build 'em back then.

 

Rich

[erik_loza]

What Michael G. said. My lenses have led a far-from-pampered life, and though some are pretty scarred up, none have lost any optical capability. If you truly want to test a lens' sharpness, do the brick wall test from a good tripod on film. Too many variables on a DSLR, especially one new to you.

[alex_lofquist]

My philosophy is "If it works, don't fix it!" If the AF works smoothly, the images are sharp, and there is little or no evidence of internal dirt, delamination, or other obvious faults, leave it alone! There is always the possibility that the technician can screw it up.

As far as the 500P f/4 lens is concerned, I only had one repair on it: the lens mount detent insert had fallen out and the lens wouldn't lock properly to engage the electrical contacts. If I didn't get sharp photos it was generally due to not using proper long-lens technique.

[imaginature]

I'm thinking about setting up some "test shots" this weekend. It could be something as simple as the viewfinder diopter being a click or two off (I've never set it because it appears to be set at +-0). I know lenses don't typically "fall out" of calibration, but somewhere in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "you know, every few years, I have to have my Nikon binoculars adjusted, so...". Then again, I have a Nikkor 20mm f3.5UD (AI'd) that is still sharp as a tack.

 

I hadn't even thought about the diopter thing until this thread - thanks!

 

Vince (hoping the diopter is off...)

[Uhooru]

Regardless of what should happen or not happen, fact is, sometimes a lens can be off for whatever reason. Do you have or can you borrow another body and try it on that. Also you might want to set up a little test. You'll want to use the lens fairly wide open and then test at near focus middle and back focus. Use a tripod. Maybe this way you can get an objective handle on your errr objective:) lens.

[bruce_rubenstein]

If an lens element, or group, are out of alignment the image will show a variation across the frame. One edge/corner may be sharp but the another one won't. What is more common with old lenses is that a film from evaporated lubricants can form on inner glass surfaces. A cleaning will improve contrast.

 

With a D200, the mirror in the camera may be out of alignment and need to aligned. When I first got my D200 it wouldn't focus well with MF lenses. When I sent it in for banding I also asked Nikon to check the focus and it was much better when I got it back.

[leicaglow]

My D200 seems very soft in JPEG mode, but almost too sharp in RAW (I shoot both). Are you looking at the RAW image, or JPEG?

[timothy_nelson]

Not sure what the original poster (Paul D) means by calibration, since he says he has a set

of new Nikon lenses. Assuming his camera(s) are working well with his existing lenses

(which is the first thing he should test), the real issue he should address is whether the

new lenses are all up to spec in the first place. Modern lenses, especially AF zoom lenses,

are incredibly complex. Because lenses are now largely assembled like other high volume

high tech gear, with tight manufacturing tolerances, but little final QC (i.e., individual

testing of each item), it is up to the purchaser to do the final QC and make sure he got a

good one. It may not be possible to "calibrate" a lens to good performance if it is

defective. That means you must systematically test all features of the lens before deciding

to keep it. Accuracy of focus at all focal lengths and distances, uniformity of field from

edge to edge, freedom from chromatic aberration, etc. If you discover problems within the

return period from the retailer, it goes back for exchange, If you discover them later, it

goes back to Nikon for repair or replacement. You'll discover that they are very

accommodating, because they know a certain fraction of lenses sold are defective and will

be returned. Same is true for all high tech manufacturers. They just can't afford to test

every item they produce any more.

 

The older lenses that we praise for being so solid, reliable, and uniform in performance

were assembled by methods that included individual testing, so probably few got into the

market that were out of spec, but this is not true any more. If you have a new "arsenal" of

lenses, I'd say you have a lot of QC work ahead of you.....

[aaron l]

Unadjusted JPGs and RAW out of the D200 are very soft. I've run my D200 with +1 sharpening. I really wish it had +1/2 sharpening, really. It's really not your lenses.