How To Fine Tune The Focus Point On A Camera

If you lot find that certain lenses practice not produce the desired results with autofocus, you lot can fine-tune autofocus for each lens using the AF fine‐melody pick in the setup carte du jour. AF tuning can as well be used to kickoff focus from its normal position for a deliberate defocus effect. Note that AF tuning is non ordinarily required and may interfere with normal focus; use only when necessary. Check focus earlier making any adjustments using Saved value or Default option.

Annotation that fine-tuning applies only with phase-detection AF (viewfinder AF) and is not available during live view.

Before Yous Begin

Before beginning AF fine-tuning, ready the materials you'll need and familiarize yourself with the AF fine-tune menu.

The AF fine-tune bill of fare

The AF fine-melody carte contains the options listed beneath.

Option	Clarification
AF fine melody (On/Off)	On: Turn AF tuning on for all saved lenses. Off: Turn AF tuning off.
Saved value	Tune AF for the current lens (CPU lenses just).
Default	Choose the AF tuning value used if no previously saved value exists for the current lens (CPU lenses only).
List saved values	List previously saved AF tuning values. If you lot are using more than 1 lens of the same type, yous tin can add an identifier to the lens name (for example, the terminal two digits of the lens series number).

What Yous'll Demand

Ready the post-obit:

The camera and lens:
Ready a D4S camera and a CPU lens.
A focus target:
The ideal target is flat and features sharply contrasting areas of solid black and solid white. The target in this example is a white stripe on a black background; the stripe should be well-nigh 1.v cm wide.

Setup

Gear up the subject and set up the camera as described baelow.

Lighting the Target

Fine-melody autofocus not in a poorly-lit interior but outdoors or in other brightly-lit locations. If it is adequately lit, we recommend choosing a location y'all would ordinarily employ for photographs.

Positioning the Target

Position the target at about the distance where a human subject would fill the frame in portrait ("tall") orientation. Identify the target at correct angles to the optical axis, parallel to the camera body.

Photographing the Target

Choose single-point AF and select either the focus point you use most oftentimes or the heart focus point, then frame the target and take a picture using autofocus.

Checklist

Confirm that:

the target is brightly lit,
the target is at most the distance where a man subject would fill the frame in portrait ("alpine") orientation, and
the target is at correct angles to the optical axis, parallel to the camera trunk.

Fine-Tuning

Follow the steps beneath to fine-tune autofocus. Annotation that fine-tuning applies simply with stage-detection AF (viewfinder AF) and is non available during live view. Yous may have difficulty focusing at infinity or at the minimum focus distance while fine-tuning is in result.

ane Select AF fine-tune.

Highlight AF fine‐tune in the setup menu and printing .

two Select AF fine-melody (On/Off).

The AF fine‐melody (On/Off) option in the AF fine-tune carte is used to plough AF fine-tuning on or off. Highlight AF fine-melody (On/Off) and press .

three Select On.

Highlight AF Fine-tune(On/Off) and printing to enable AF fine-tuning for all saved lenses and return to the AF fine-tune carte (to disable AF fine-tuning, select Off).

iv Select Saved value.

To fine-melody focus for the current lens, highlight Saved value and press .

5 Select a value.

Select positive values to shift the focal signal for autofocus away from the camera, negative values to shift it towards the camera.

The photographic camera tin can store values for up to 20 lenses; to fine-tune additional lenses, attach them and echo the steps above. Note that fine-tuning values are stored by lens name (focal length and maximum aperture) and that only 1 value tin be stored per name, although values recorded with teleconverters attached are saved separately. To delete previously-saved values, select Listing saved values, highlight the desired lens, and printing .

Checking Focus

Photograph the target as described in "Setup" and check focus (if the result is hard to see in the camera monitor, transfer the picture to a reckoner, where it can be viewed at higher resolution). Adjust fine-tuning in the desired direction and repeat the procedure until you are satisfied with the results. Before each shot, change the focus distance by a big amount prior to engaging autofocus.

Other Options

The options in the AF fine-tune menu can too be used for the tasks below.

Storing Values for Additional Lenses

Fine-tuning values for additional CPU lenses can be added using the Default option as described nether "Fine-Tuning".

Managing Previously-Saved Values

To view previously-saved values, select List saved values in the AF fine-melody menu.

Lenses are listed by focus distance and maximum aperture, and can also exist assigned an identifier as described below. To delete a lens from the list, highlight information technology and press .

To distinguish them from other lenses with similar names (or, if you own multiple lenses of the aforementioned type, to identify the particular lens used for fine-tuning), lenses tin be assigned unique ii-digit identifiers.
Highlight a lens in the saved values list and press to display the lens identifier. Printing or to cull an identifier and printing to relieve changes and exit.