Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 sharpness at infinity


cheesy

New Member
Aug 31, 2010
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hi bros need your help here.

it appears that the shot that i have taken with Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 isn't sharp when i did manual focus to infinity, even at the smallest aperture.

i didn't have this problem with 18-105mm or 16-85mm.

what am i doing wrong here or is there something that i'm missing?

thanks in advance!
 

hi bros need your help here.

it appears that the shot that i have taken with Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 isn't sharp when i did manual focus to infinity, even at the smallest aperture.

i didn't have this problem with 18-105mm or 16-85mm.

what am i doing wrong here or is there something that i'm missing?

thanks in advance!

u should at least show us the pic so people can help u ...
 

shouldnt be.. this lens is tack sharp unless you got a lemon. when you manual focus to infinity, stay still and switch to AF, does the focusing distance window move? If it move, that means you did not manual focus properly earlier.
 

u should at least show us the pic so people can help u ...
its a pity that i have just deleted the picture. i thought its pretty clear cut?

what is it that you wanna know? perhaps i could try to explain it to you.
 

shouldnt be.. this lens is tack sharp unless you got a lemon. when you manual focus to infinity, stay still and switch to AF, does the focusing distance window move? If it move, that means you did not manual focus properly earlier.
im sorry but why would the focusing distance move when switching from MF to AF?
 

instead of turning all the way to infinity, why not manually turn it a little more backwards n try?
 

hi bros need your help here.

it appears that the shot that i have taken with Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 isn't sharp when i did manual focus to infinity, even at the smallest aperture.

i didn't have this problem with 18-105mm or 16-85mm.

what am i doing wrong here or is there something that i'm missing?

thanks in advance!

If you focus at infinity but your subject is nearer than a few metres, there's a pretty high chance it won't be tack sharp.

I think small pig was asking you to try manual focusing at your subject, then switching to AF and activate the autofocus without moving your camera (ie on tripod). If focus shifts, that means you didn't nail correct focus the first time :)
 

Usually for infinity you have to turn it all the way and turn back a little.
 

its a pity that i have just deleted the picture. i thought its pretty clear cut?

what is it that you wanna know? perhaps i could try to explain it to you.

Why not try to recreate this problem? After all if the lens is defective, this problem should repeat itself time after time.
Repeat your experiment and post the photo please :)
 

its a pity that i have just deleted the picture. i thought its pretty clear cut?

what is it that you wanna know? perhaps i could try to explain it to you.
like the old saying goes..
a picture speak a thousand words.
 

If you feel that your lens is not giving you the results like the other lenses you have when it should be, just bring it down to NSC for a check. I've came across lenses which cannot focus proper at infinity and was fixed by them. Mind you, I'm not brushing away possibilities of user error though.
 

@ smallest aperture?like f/22? Tt wld be diffraction @ that kindda settings otherwise as wad others hav mentioned u may needa turn back e focus ring
 

managed to restore the photographs, phew! :sweat:

aim i right to say that this particular shot properly requires me to do some hyper-focal distance to ensure the foreground is sharp?
the foreground (referring to the rocks) seems a little OOF to me. does the background look ok to your?
2itlxjs.jpg


the second shot which i took out of fun turns out otherwise. still trying to play around with the lens.
15r1gfa.jpg
 

instead of turning all the way to infinity, why not manually turn it a little more backwards n try?

Usually for infinity you have to turn it all the way and turn back a little.

@ smallest aperture?like f/22? Tt wld be diffraction @ that kindda settings otherwise as wad others hav mentioned u may needa turn back e focus ring
i remember turning it all the way to infinity then turning it back a little but the results does not seem to differ much.

anyway i have uploaded some photos. hope it helps to clarify.
 

If you focus at infinity but your subject is nearer than a few metres, there's a pretty high chance it won't be tack sharp.

I think small pig was asking you to try manual focusing at your subject, then switching to AF and activate the autofocus without moving your camera (ie on tripod). If focus shifts, that means you didn't nail correct focus the first time :)
thanks for clarifying. i face this issue when shooting landscapes. so im not sure if the focusing of subject applies to it.

If you feel that your lens is not giving you the results like the other lenses you have when it should be, just bring it down to NSC for a check. I've came across lenses which cannot focus proper at infinity and was fixed by them. Mind you, I'm not brushing away possibilities of user error though.
yeah im thinking that it could be user error so wanna clarify first. still trying to figure out the characteristics of the lens.
 

How are are ou away from the rocks? From the photo it seems that you are abt 1.5m to 2m away which you can use hyperfocusing. Usually, you do not use the smallest aperture of a lens to shoot as even though more you can achieve more DOF, diffraction also comes in and degrades your image quality. if the rocks are that near to you and you focus to infinity (or even a little back), it's likely the rocks will be OOF. Either the depth of field could cover the rocks, or diffraction sets in a smaller aperture as what you mentioned.
 

im actually on the shore of rocks, didnt do any cropping. and yes i believe i could be 1.5m to 2m away or even nearer. the first shot was done on f/16; wanted to try f/22 to see if i could achieve more DOF with the lens, but of course, it comes with diffraction.

so does the first shot look ok to you? in terms of sharpness etc. with hyperfocusing i should be able to solve the OOF of the rocks right?
 

The picture is a little small to tell. And the rocks are not very well exposed to tell too. What is ur focus distance when u take the shot? At infinity or at a nearer range?
 

im actually on the shore of rocks, didnt do any cropping. and yes i believe i could be 1.5m to 2m away or even nearer. the first shot was done on f/16; wanted to try f/22 to see if i could achieve more DOF with the lens, but of course, it comes with diffraction.

so does the first shot look ok to you? in terms of sharpness etc. with hyperfocusing i should be able to solve the OOF of the rocks right?

If you're so near to the rocks and you want them to be in focus, you should be focusing at the hyperfocal distance, and not infinity.
 

The picture is a little small to tell. And the rocks are not very well exposed to tell too. What is ur focus distance when u take the shot? At infinity or at a nearer range?
17mm at infinity.

If you're so near to the rocks and you want them to be in focus, you should be focusing at the hyperfocal distance, and not infinity.
yes am aware that with hyperfocusing, it should fix it. anything else that i have missed out? how about the second shot?