Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 105mm f/1.4E ED, focusing issue

[Michafoto]

Hi, I am a professional photographer and have two D810 bodies. I have fine tuned them both for the 105mm 1.4 lens, so they are brilliantly sharp in the centre , but on both cameras, on one on the left side and on the other camera on the right side there is either a back or front focus issue and it is not sharp. I am a NPS member and had the lens checked by Nikon UK and was told that everything with the it is okay, but there might be some slight issues with the bodies and they might have to be specifically 'married' to this lens. In the moment I am using a loan 105mm 1.4 from Nikon and it has exactly the same issues, the focus around some of the border areas is off too. I do understand that it is a very shallow depth of field and I am using this lens just on f1.4, so the suggestion from Nikon might be right, that the cameras have to be adjusted to use this lens properly to achieve an accurate focus on all points of the field. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Please let me know, I would appreciate any suggestion. Thanks

[Erik Lund]

Let NPS look at your two d810.

I have head of one issue with tilted plane of focus of a 105mm 1.4 AFS on DPR, but it should not go from one side to the other,,,

Fine tuning AF is difficult,,, just saying, the central focus sensor is wider than the brackets indicate in the viewfinder,,,

[Bjørn Rørslett]

In lens testing., most people "forget" about the camera. You probably have a slightly warped lens mount, perhaps not out by more than 2 or 3 times of the (very) small allowable margin. This small error would go unnoticed with most lenses. Yet this deviation is sufficient to create issues with such a fast, super sharp lens such as the 105/.4.

Just had my Df checked, as part of the annual maintenance of my cameras. The mount was +0.03 to -0.10 mm off true thus the overall variation was more than 3 X the tolerance, requiring an immediate replacement. I had trouble with a Noct-Nikkor by the way. Camera is just fine now.

[Michafoto]

Thank you so much for your answers, that's really very very helpful! So basically I have to ask Nikon to have a look at the mounts and adjust them accordingly... that's probably why the technician also wanted to see the body with which I am using the lens. My problem is just, that I am using it sometimes with one, sometimes with the other body. They have offered me to 'marry' the lens to the bodies without charging me the usual fee, would that make sense? For now I'm glad to assume that it is not a faulty lens...

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Remember the tolerance for the camera mount is just +- 0.02 mm. The bayonet itself is pretty tough, but if one is in the habit of putting heavy lenses on the camera, then carry the rig in the field using only the camera's strap, eventually trouble is bound to arise. Still, people blame the lens(es) ...

[Michafoto]

Thank you very much Bjørn for the heads up, I do carry my cameras on straps around the shoulders, but my largest and heaviest lens is the 70-200mm and the cameras are both just around 9 month old... nevertheless it's really good to know and because I have a longstanding and good relation with Nikon they've promised me to solve the issue one way or the other...

[Michafoto]

... just out of curiosity, does anyone else experience the same issues with this lens, meaning that it is not entirely sharp in some areas on the edges of the focusing field? Thanks

[Akira]

Hi, Micha, welcome to NG!

I have no experience with 105/1.4E, but I've had the "smeared on the right side" problem with my D7000 and two samples of AF-S Micro 40/2.8 that were bought separately with around one year apart.  I had other Nikkor lenses for the same D7000, and they showed no such problems at all.

In both cases, I brought an SD card with the images shot with the lens/camera combo that showed the issue along with the 40/2.8 lenses to Nikon service here in Tokyo.  They said the lens were assembled within their tolerance.  I didn't know what to do, sold both lenses in despair and never looked back...

[Bjørn Rørslett]

My 105/1.4E is deadly sharp across the entire frame, even set wide open, on all my Nikons ( + Fuji S3/S5) I tried it with so far. Not much of a statistic as the sample size = 1; however, this tells me the expected behaviour gleaned from the MTF charts is manifested.

As I stated earlier, all my cameras go for a routine check-up once every year. I surmise this maintenance helps reduce many other minor issues.

[Erik Lund]

There are so many aspect to consider of possible 'reasons' for observing faults with lenses. one more not mentioned is: The lens has focus shift, as you stop it down especially up close zone of focus moves back,,,

My samples with Bjørns lens was also flawless wide open.

I would like to see some sample images that show the initial request for help. Showing this clearly:

,,,,,but on both cameras, on one on the left side and on the other camera on the right side there is either a back or front focus issue and it is not sharp,,,,,,,

[Michafoto]

Thank you very much Erik! Please find some samples attached, I've took a whole series on different locations and the result was always the same. Sorry for the sad expression of any wife, she had pneumonia and wasn't at all in the mood for some lens testing on that day

[Michafoto]

... btw they are crops from wider 3/4 shots...

[Michafoto]

... and this is a crop from a very wide shot, the focus was AF-S spot on the face like on the other samples... again I did a while set and all the images were the same. The focus is somewhere on the tarmac..

[Michafoto]

Focus in the middle.

[Erik Lund]

How did you focus, it looks like you used AF-S and reframed before you took the shot since you must be outside where there are AF sensors,,, ?

Does not look like a reliable/reproducible test to me. That would imply a tripod and reliable target etc.

If you want reliable focus at f/1.4 use AF-C