Camera Labs

Hi there, I'm new here and I'm from Canada. (hope that is ok)
I'm having an issue getting proper focus with my NIKON d7000 and 50mm f1.8G lens. Anytime I take a picture of anything weather its people or objects its almost never in proper focus. The only way I can get it in proper focus is when I use live view or I manually focus. It doesn't matter what focus mode. I'm really getting frustrated. So many shots are ruins. Is there something I might be doing wrong? I understand that at f1.8 its almost impossible to get focus because the DOF is so small. I usually try to shoot at f2.8 or even f3.5.
I really need tome help here. I've tried everything I know do to.
I have even raised my shutter speed and shot in manual because I thought that maybe it was just my hand shaking but I set it on a tripod or table and I still can't get proper focus. I've also played with the AF fine tune and it still won't get proper focus.
Thanks for any help. I do have some pictures I can post later to show you what I mean.

Hello - just a few things we need to know to be of assistance.

1. Do you have trouble focussing any other lens? Is this the only lens that gives trouble?

2. How many focus points do you have switched on? Which focus points do you see the camera using?

3. How far off is the focus - hopeless, or just a bit adrift?

4. Is the focus front-focussing or back-focussing consistently, or is it all over the place?

5. Are the focus problems occurring in poor light only? If you put the camera on a tripod, is the situation better?

6. Do you have the centre focus point set to narrow or wide? Sometimes it can focus on a point in the background when you think you're on the subject.

Basically, if the camera and lens are working properly together, you should have acceptable accuracy at f1.8.

The D7000 has a micro-focussing adjustment. You might check what it is set at, and see if adjusting that resolves the situation.

The type of focussing that DSLRs use (live view excepted) involves assessing how much the lens is out of focus and moving the focus to a predicted position. It is why it is so fast, but it may not be quite as reliable as live view.

Hope this is some help. It is a very nice camera to use.

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HCC
Nikon DSLRs, film cameras from Leica to Linhof

...full quote deletet / Thomas...

Alright I will answer your questions in the same manner.

1. I have an 18-105mm lens as well and it seems to be fine. I have shot in many different environments and it performs well.

2. I have tried all focus modes in auto. Single point, 39 AF, 11 AF, 9 AF and 3D tracking.

3. The focus is just a bit off usually behind. But sometimes in front.

4. I would say its mainly all over the place.

5. I have test it in both low and daylight. (mostly indoors because its cold outside!)

6. I think I answered this one.

Thanks for all your help! I have seen these lenses produce super Sharp images and I know what they are capable of. So I don't understand why mine won't even on a tripod.
I have tried both hand held and tripod. And I have even used a remote.

My apologies for missing your point on the focus fine tuning.

Hope you find the solution. Lenses are getting to be complex critters themselves, these days.

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HCC
Nikon DSLRs, film cameras from Leica to Linhof

Anyone else have any suggestions? BTW thanks Hilary for your help.

It sounds like a bad lens to me, return it to the dealer and trade in for new one or have it repaired.

Well I've done some more testing, and I have found that when on a tripod and using the view finder the mirror slaps so fast and hard that it cases the camera to shake. And when in live view the mirror moves slower therefore less shake. So the mirror-up-mode or mup works a lot better! And quiet mode works as well. So I think the lens itself works great just have to learn a few things! Thanks for all your help! If there is anymore issues I will post here again.

You should test focus only on a tripod or other stable setup plus short shutter speeds to avoid any blur to ruin sharpness. (Ah, and of course a fixed target!)
If there is a clearly visible difference between live-view based AF and phase-shift bases AF under these conditions that cannot be corrected with AF fine-tune give the lens back.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Yes I have done with a tripod and table. There is a huge difference between live view and the view finder. The view finder is very blurred and the live view is tack sharp.

reading this post has given me a spot of da ja vu lol
i had the exact the same problem, same camera and same lens
i tried alsorts, i spent hours adjusting the focus fine tune to where i thought it looked good, untill i took identical shots with the D90 and the same lens and saw that it was no where near as sharp.
i did a lot surfing and found that some 7000s had focusing issues early on, and who knows how long mine had sat on the shelf before i bought it, anyway in the end i sent it back to amazon, i was still in the window where i could get a refund (they never offered a replacement) and i didnt want to risk being stuck with a faulty camera.
maybe theres an issue with this lens and the 7000 but i would have thought there would be lots of people reporting it if there was.
im sorry i couldnt be of more help and offer a solution but i just wanted you to know it wasnt just you had that problem.

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Nikon D90, nikon 18-105vr, nikon 70-300vr, sigma 105 macro, nikon 50 1.8, Tokina 11-16 2.8