ultrataco said:
yes, check for back focusing. (Is it just me, or does that seem that pretty common with the D7000?)

Yes very common, I had to send mine in for repair as well. Previous owner thought it was fine with his 16-85vr and sigma 85 1.4 :DD and with my lenses af fine tune -20 wasn't enough.

Vs. that d50 try contrast detection AF and stop the lens down if your pixel peeping.

ultrataco said:
I also went from a D50 to a D7000 and was surprised and a little disappointed that the D7000 did not completely blow away the D50. However, I have yet to do a direct comparison (If/when I do, I'll post here). That said, I still like the D7000 better overall.

I also have just (ordered on Monday, got it yesterday) upgraded from a D50 to a D7000 and I have to say that my first impression is the exact opposite. I was not expecting to be totally blown away by the D7k, but wow, just wow. First impressions from a D50 user:
* ISO > 800 is now usable - in fact I was getting very good 100% results at ISO 3200 with ISO 6400 acceptable.
* Manual Focusing is a breeze with the three green marks (too near, in focus, too far), rather than the "in focus" dot on the D50
* The 100% Pentaprism is SO much brighter - I never realised how dark the D50 pentamirror was until now. Focusing is much more accurate and I feel like there are less misses.
* The second command wheel is fantastic (I know that if you are coming from a D90 etc. this is not new, but it's new for me!) I generally shoot in Aperture priority and I use this to modify the ISO... so much easier to change now.
* U1/U2 are very useful - I'm using one for action (JPG Norm for 6fps shooting) and the other for night (as it's winter in Europe, so dark a lot at the moment). I can't wait for Apple to support the D7k RAW format ;-)

I have to do some side-to-side comparisons but I'm a very happy camper at the moment.

I, of course being a geek, did the lens cap on/high ISO video stuck pixels test - I can see three (two blue/one red) only on the computer and I can't see what the big deal is - on normal video they don't show up and honestly, I had to pixel peep to see them. I was concerned about it before purchase, but I'm really not now.

cheers,
p.

Hi all,

As for focus tuning a new camera, Nikon bulletin 15896 says,
====
The "AF Fine Tune" feature allows users to make focus adjustments to compensate for minor differences in their particular lens and camera combination. In general it is not recommended to adjust the AF Fine Tune unless you are having a specific focus issue, as unneeded adjustments can decrease the overall focus quality of the camera.

There are many ways to test and set the AF Fine Tune but one effective way is to reproduce a "real life" situation where a problem is suspected. For instance, if you feel that the focus is incorrect when shooting close-up subjects, you should reproduce that type of shot.

Place a subject with depth (a ruler works well) into the scene and focus on a pre-defined spot. Choose "AF-S" focus mode, make sure that the focus point is on a part of the subject that can be easily focused upon; see the camera manual for tips on autofocus point selection. Take a photo and review the results on the computer.

If some part of the photo other than the selected focus point is sharper than the focus point use the AF Fine Tune adjustment. Adding a "+" correction will move the focused point away from the camera and would be used in a "front focus" situation. A "-" adjustment moves the focus closer to the camera and would be used if the test photo showed the focus behind the selected point.

The "±20" range is an arbitrary scale and does not represent any actual distance. Trial and error will be needed to determine the best setting.

Up to 20 different lens or lens converter adjustments may be saved. Zoom lenses should be tested at the middle of their focal length range unless a specific error is seen at one particular setting or the lens is always used at particular zoom setting,

If the AF Fine Tune does not increase the sharpness it could indicate a more serious problem, and the lens and camera body should be sent to Nikon Service for evaluation.
====
Unquote.

I would summit that any new camera shouldn't have gross focusing problems with reasonably late model lenses.

Other forums are suggesting that there are some D7Ks that have some focusing problems.

Ratcheting a lens to +/- 20 units to get it to focus seems out of whack.

My best,

Mike

guys, don't expect that Your new camera will blow away Your old one. in most cases You'll be happy to see a difference. in some cases You'll see the difference only when You go to extremes - shot high iso and add good quality lenses (that will deliver)

nikon29 - as for Your picture, please don't compare two shots taken with flash, as this will not give You anything, also there's some focus issue on the d7000 picture

How about provide RAW sample with manual focus

yes, check for back focusing. (Is it just me, or does that seem that pretty common with the D7000?)

and : if you want full resolution D7000 images do not size down the D7000 sample :-)

on the D7000 generated image the setup is different from D50 generated image:
1/50s (D7000) instead of 1/90s (D50s)
and more interesting !!
Focus distance (D7000) 1.995262 instead of Focus distance (D50) : 2.511886

--->>> Sub-second Time Original: 50
User Comment:
White Balance: Auto white balance
_ImageStabilization: 0
Flash Compensation: 0
--->>> Focus Distance: 1.995262
Focus Mode: 1

The Focus distance is different the focus on the D7000 image is nearer to the cam
you can see this on the orange sitting tiger - it's sharper in the d50 image;

The question now if you do manual focus not the matrix one (D50 has only 5 sensors - no prob)
and you focus exactly the same point and the distance is still different - then there is a focusing issue,
try a setup with a tripod, self-timer;

Also the d50 Image benefits from 1/90s instead from a 1/50s, try to get the setup using manual modes

/Karl

I had a Nikon D300 for 3 years
and now a D7000 and I am disappointed too
could be some issue with backfocus (but same lenses fit in focus on my D300)
a lot of my images I made are too soft.
and lack in quality;

It could be the same with your cam;
if you use the in-cam generated jpeg, pls check that your jpegs
are not size but quality optimized.

VR cannot be the problem because the 50mm 1.8
has no VR;

If nothing helps pls shoot the pics in NEF+Jpeg and send the cam
back to Nikon with the samples
/Karl

I'm asuming these are straight from camera jpgs, it was shot at 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400.
At 1/60 you might be getting some camera shake, depends on how steady you are ?
Nikon's default sharpening setting is about 3 so try it at 6 as others have suggested for the D7000.
Have a look at what KR is saying about the D7000, he loves it... kenrockwell.com/nikon/d7000.htm

I also went from a D50 to a D7000 and was surprised and a little disappointed that the D7000 did not completely blow away the D50. However, I have yet to do a direct comparison (If/when I do, I'll post here). That said, I still like the D7000 better overall.

You may want to try the AF -Fine Tuning. This is from the B&H website for the D7K. "An additional feature of the autofocus system is AF fine tune. Photographers sometimes require an extra level of ultra-fine AF tuning. This feature allows you to individually fine-tune and register the autofocus position for up to 12 lens models, then apply that compensation whenever the same lens is attached." I would normally i would agree with IndyGeoff but it looks like you used a flash. Did you use the same flash or are you using the on-camera flashs?

Thanks for all the comments.
I uploaded photos from both the cameras. Please download them.

http://img143.imageshack.us/i/d7000.jpg/
2464x1632 Image Quality - Fine

http://img841.imageshack.us/i/d50c.jpg/
2256x1496 Image Quality - Fine

Please let me know if I did anything wrong. I feel that the picture out of D50 is far better than D7000. Am I missing something. Do you think my D7000 is defective.

Please help.

I am not surprised since you shot at 1/60th. Could have been some minor shake. Shoot at 1/125th, or higher, next time to see if it still seems better than the D7000.

Also, make sure you're doing a fair comparison. The images should be the same size on your screen (or print, if that's how you're comparing). It's not fair to compare each image zoomed to 100% because the D7000 has nearly three times the pixels for the same scene. Even at 100%, I'm a little surprised the D7000 doesn't beat the D50. ;-)

Yea upload them somewhere.

And focus test http://photo.net/learn/focustest/ your D7000 / 50 1.8 combo. If detail is what you're missing it is focus I'd be suspecting.

You must have got your files mixed up.

Hello,
I am upgrading from D50 to D7000. I took few photos to compare between the two with same lens and settings. In all the pictures D50 exceeded the quality. I tool all the photos in night time at my home. I was expecting D7000 will perform better.

I took pictures with Nikon 50MM 1.8 lens. I took pics with the following settings
aperture 2.8, ISO 400, shutter priority 1/60 sec.

What I found is, in case of D7000 the detailing is missing.I am not sure what do with D7000. I waited for it long :)

Please let me know if I am doing anything wrong. Is there any place, I can upload the original photos, so that you can see them?

Thanks.