Table Of ContentSecrets To The Nikon Autofocus System | Steve Perry
Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System
Copyright 2017-2018 Steve Perry, Backcountry Gallery, LLC.
All rights reserved
All photos and illustrations by the author unless otherwise noted
http://www.backcountrygallery.com
Book Version 1.2.1
Note: This book is an independent work and not sponsored by or
authorized by the Nikon Corporation in any way. All information is
presented to the best of the author’s / publisher’s knowledge and any and
all other liability is expressly disclaimed. Nikon is a registered trademark of
the Nikon corporation, as are the Nikon referenced names of the camera
bodies, accessories, and lenses contained herein. All other trade names
are copyrighted to their respective manufactures. The author / publisher
shall not be held responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages –
however unlikely – caused by following the advice found in this book.
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Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System | Steve Perry
Feedback ........................................................................................................................4
Abbreviations Table .......................................................................................................5
AF System Modules .......................................................................................................6
Introduction .....................................................................................................................7
The Basics .....................................................................................................................12
Focus Mode Selector ............................................................................................................14
Locking In Your AF Position .................................................................................................16
Autofocus Modes: Continuous Servo, Single Servo, And Auto AF ..................................17
Focus Tracking With Lock-On Custom Setting ..................................................................32
More Related Custom Settings ............................................................................................44
Manual Focus ........................................................................................................................49
Alternative Focusing Methods ....................................................................................51
Back Button Focus. ...............................................................................................................53
BBAF Setup Guidelines .......................................................................................................57
Front Button AF (non-shutter release) ................................................................................77
AF-C With AF-Lock Focusing ...............................................................................................81
Alternative AF Q&A ...............................................................................................................87
AF Area Modes ..............................................................................................................90
Single Point AF ......................................................................................................................96
Dynamic Area AF .................................................................................................................102
Group AF ..............................................................................................................................118
3D AF ....................................................................................................................................126
Auto Area AF ........................................................................................................................134
Losing Control In Scene Modes .........................................................................................137
Live View .....................................................................................................................138
Live View AF Modes: AF-S and AF-F .................................................................................146
Live View Focus Areas ........................................................................................................152
Focus Peaking (D850) .........................................................................................................159
Custom Settings For Autofocus. ...............................................................................165
Number Of Focus Points ....................................................................................................169
Store By Orientation ...........................................................................................................170
Limit AF Area Mode Selection ............................................................................................173
Autofocus Mode Restrictions ............................................................................................175
Focus Point Wrap Around ..................................................................................................177
Focus Point Options ..........................................................................................................178
Built-In AF Assist Illuminator .............................................................................................186
Rangefinder .........................................................................................................................187
Manual Focus Ring In AF Mode (AF-P Lenses) ................................................................189
Special Customizations .............................................................................................191
AF Options With The Fn & Pv & AE-L/AF-L & Joystick & AF-On Buttons .....................194
Multi selector Center Button AKA the “OK” Button ........................................................206
Lens Controls .............................................................................................................214
Focus Mode Switch .............................................................................................................217
Focus Limit Switch. .............................................................................................................225
Focus Operation Selection Switch ...................................................................................232
How Your Autofocus System Thinks ........................................................................242
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Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System | Steve Perry
Contrast Detection AF .........................................................................................................244
Phase Detection AF .............................................................................................................246
PDAF Tracking .....................................................................................................................252
AF Sensors ..........................................................................................................................253
Aperture Limitations ...........................................................................................................259
AF Sensors And Light Levels. ............................................................................................268
AF Sensor Size And Position .............................................................................................268
Autofocus Fine Tuning ...............................................................................................276
Should You Fine Tune At All? .............................................................................................286
Setup Recommendations ...................................................................................................292
LensAlign With FocusTune Software ................................................................................295
FoCal ....................................................................................................................................302
Auto AF fine-tuning .............................................................................................................308
DotTune ................................................................................................................................315
Which Method? ....................................................................................................................322
Focusing Techniques .................................................................................................323
Compose With AF Points ....................................................................................................325
Tracking Techniques ...........................................................................................................327
Trap Focus ...........................................................................................................................336
Shooting Through Stuff ......................................................................................................341
Focusing Techniques 2 - Deep Focus ......................................................................348
Diffraction ............................................................................................................................351
Hyperfocal Distance ............................................................................................................357
Focus Stacking ....................................................................................................................378
Nikon Focus Shift Shooting (D850) ...................................................................................388
Overcoming Tough Focusing Situations .................................................................418
Bursting Into Sharp Focus (Static Subjects) ....................................................................420
Work An Edge ......................................................................................................................421
Use Your Center Area ..........................................................................................................424
Switch To Group AF If Possible .........................................................................................425
Try Manual Focus ................................................................................................................425
Try A Faster Lens / Lose The Teleconverter .....................................................................430
Focusing At Night. ...............................................................................................................432
10 Reasons You’re Not Getting Sharp Photos .........................................................441
#1 Shutter Speed .................................................................................................................444
#2 Poor Technique .............................................................................................................451
#3 Dirty AF Sensors ............................................................................................................454
#4 Heat Refraction / Atmospheric Issues ..........................................................................457
#5 Your Subject Is Just Too far Away ................................................................................462
#6 Dirty Contacts ................................................................................................................464
#7 Zooming In, Focusing, Zooming Back .........................................................................465
#8 Vibration Reduction .......................................................................................................467
#9 AF Speed .........................................................................................................................473
#10 Your Lens Has A Problem ............................................................................................477
Final Thoughts ............................................................................................................490
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Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System | Steve Perry
Feedback
I’d love to hear from you!
I welcome any feedback, comments, or questions you have about this
publication. In addition, although I’d like to think I’m perfect (my wife
assures me that’s not the case), if you do happen upon a stray typo, error,
or omission I’d love to know that as well.
Also, I’m not an expert on every type of photography, so if you happen to
know a handy autofocus technique or trick that is absent from this book, I’d
love to hear it. It may end up in the next edition!
Feel free to drop me a line via the contact page on my website located
here:
http://www.backcountrygallery.com/contact/
Please note - positive feedback may be featured on my site. ☺
Thanks!
PS - If you enjoy this book, please tell your friends. If you don’t tell me!
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Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System | Steve Perry
Abbreviations Table
Below you’ll find a short list of abbreviations used throughout this book. For
the most part, these are introduced as we go along, however, if you happen
to forget one of them, you can refer back to this page. No need to
memorize it or anything, just so you know it’s here.
AF – Autofocus
AFFT – Auto Focus Fine Tune
AF-A – Auto Servo Autofocus
AF-C – Continuous Servo Autofocus
AF-S – Single Servo Autofocus
BBAF – Back Button Autofocus
D3xxx – Short for D3000 series cameras
D5xxx – Short for D5000 series cameras
D6xx – Short for D600 series cameras
D7xxx – Short for D7000 series cameras
D8xx – Short for D800 series cameras
PDAF – Phase Detection Autofocus
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Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System | Steve Perry
AF System Modules
Throughout this book, you’ll find that I refer to the type of AF system by the
number of AF points and not the Nikon Multi-CAM series. Nikon uses
designations like Multi-CAM 3500DXII or Multi-CAM 20K and the truth is, those
are tough to remember for most people. So, instead we’ll refer to the various AF
systems based on the number of total AF points: 11 (D3xxx), 39 (D7000, D6xx,
D5xxx), 51(D7100, D7200, D7500, D750, D8xx, D4/s), or 153 (D5/D500/D850).
However, for reference, here are the Multi-CAM units for the cameras covered in
this guide. Note that you don’t need to know everything listed at this point, it will
make more sense after you’ve finished the book.
Cameras AF Module AF Points Cross-type F/8 EV Range
Compatible
D5/D500/ Advanced 153 (55 user 99 (35 user 15 -4 to +19
D850 Multi-CAM selectable) selectable)
20K
D7200 Advanced 51 15 1 -3 to +19
Multi-CAM
3500DXII
D750, Advanced 51 15 11 / 1 -3 to +19
(only 1
D7500 Multi-CAM point on D7500)
3500FXII
D4, D4s, Advanced 51 15 11 -2 to +19
D8xx Multi-CAM
3500FX
D7100 Advanced 51 15 1 -2 to +19
Multi-CAM
3500DX
D600, D610 Multi-CAM 39 9 7 -1 to +19
4800FX
D7000, Multi-CAM 39 9 0 -1 to +19
D5200 thru 4800DX
D5600
D3xxx Multi-CAM 11 1 0 -1 to +19
1000
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Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System | Steve Perry
Introduction
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Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System | Steve Perry
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Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System | Steve Perry
First off, I’d like to thank you for purchasing this guide. I sincerely hope you
find it useful and that it helps you squeeze every drop of performance from
that fantastic autofocus system you have tucked away in your Nikon.
I have a confession to make and I think I should get this out in the open
before we get too far. The truth is, I wasn’t planning on writing this book, at
least not at first. It simmered quietly on the back-burner of my mind for a
while as I tried to decide if it was worth taking a keyboard to the idea or not.
However, I just couldn't help but notice the way my inbox overflows with
questions regarding autofocus every day. What modes, what settings, how
to wade through the Custom Settings, why are all my cat photos blurry, and
that sort of thing.
Additionally, when I peruse my YouTube channel statistics, my most
popular videos are inevitably the ones that describe ways to get better
results from your AF system.
Now, Mom Perry’s little boy may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but it
seems pretty obvious that getting the most out of Nikon’s AF system ranks
high on the priority list for most shooters.
So, this book was born. It’s funny too – the initial idea was just to do a short
“how-to” guide, but as I wrote, the project took on a life of its own. My
fingers flew across the keyboard, and I was surprised how much pent-up
Nikon AF information I had been hoarding. Within a few days, I realized that
this was going to be far more than just the simple 30-page guide I had
originally envisioned, so instead of stifling it (for the sake of expedience), I
allowed it to grow into the manuscript you have on your screen now.
So, this is a (pretty darn) complete guide to the Nikon AF system. As such,
we’re going to cover every aspect of the system, starting with the basics
and working our way up to more advanced topics. I’ll also share my
thoughts on what to use and when so you’ll have much more than just a
supplement to your instruction manual with this guide.
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Secrets To The Nikon Autofocus System | Steve Perry
