Nikon D800 Left Focus Woes

Several of my friends know that I recently finally jumped and bought a Nikon D800, in spite of my concerns about getting a camera body with the dreaded “D800 Left Focus” issue. Well it turns out that my beloved camera does indeed have the left focus issue.

Of course I’m heartbroken and little p’d off. But, the process of getting a new camera and digging in deep to understand how it works, and to test it thoroughly has actually been a very rewarding process.  I’ve learned a lot about how DLSR auto-focus works and how quality lenses on an ultra-high resolution camera require disciplined technique and know-how to get great shots (still learning here).

But the bottom line is, I have a bum camera body. Before I made the purchase I told myself that if I did get a D800 with the left focus problem, I’d immediately send it back and get the D600. Well, I did rush order a D600 and started testing, just to compare to the D800, and to verify that I’d done the D800 testing correctly. In the process I’ve discovered that while the D600 is a great camera (in fact it’s similar in a lot of ways to my D7000), I reeeeeeallly do want the D800. There are several reasons why I prefer the D800 and I’ll explain them in detail in another post. But the main point here is that I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not going to be happy until I get a D800 without the left focus problem.

So…the search is on. I’ve already purchased another D800  from Best Buy. It has the left focus issue too. So now I’m waiting for two more D800’s from B&H Photo.

I’ll be posting a detailed report on my testing of the 4 D800 cameras and hopefully I’ll be able to report that I’ve found a winner.

Wish me luck!