closing this, if You wanna continue please use either one of the older fine tune topics - yes it's been discussed before - or the d4/d800 issue one if You think it's a common problem. generally if You spend such amount on Your camera than IMHO You should understand what is fine tuning. if You don't, than sending a camera to Nikon (together with lens) is a good idea - and they will tune Your lens and Your camera to be pin sharp (though, it doesn't mean that You gonna get 100% pin sharp results). generally, in 8 out of 10 cases it's not a lens->camera problem but user problem, aka lack of proper technique, which in case of d800 is highly visible - but that was also discussed before.

kevin pan said:
I just requested amazon give me a replacement d800. My d800 needs AF fine tune,however, even AF fine tune couldn't adjust my 50mm 1.4g to tolerate level. Asking nikon repair center to fix the issue will cost you shipping fees and time. I would advice you to return it and get a new one!

Are you sure the lens isn't a problem there?

I just requested amazon give me a replacement d800. My d800 needs AF fine tune,however, even AF fine tune couldn't adjust my 50mm 1.4g to tolerate level. Asking nikon repair center to fix the issue will cost you shipping fees and time. I would advice you to return it and get a new one!

When you send your camera and lenses back to nikon don't expect overly much, they are like "hmm this lens only would need a -7, hmm let's not touch it."
For zooms AF fine tune is only useful if the front/back focus behavior is consistent, if the lens is bad in this aspect you better return it quickly, because chances are no Nikon service center will ever fix it perfectly. For fast (like f1.8) primes AF fine tune can be used with almost every lens, but it's not exactly easy to set up, because focus systems can behave differently depending on the color of light, if it focuses well enough wide open you best not touch it.

For calibration google "AF fine tune moire method"! The whole AF fine tune ordeal and the sensitivity to badly aligned lenses is exactly the same with a d7000, so just search for forum threads about d7000 fine tuning for more info.

I really hope I didn't somehow miss this topic already discussed. I've gone back through the thread since before the D800 was released and couldn't find an exact answer so please forgive me if I am starting a thread improperly.

In preparation for receiving my D800 on Tues, I've been reading the manual. I got to the AF fine tuning section and the manual says it shouldn't be necessary in most cases.

I was curious as to why it would be an option if it wasn't necessary so I looked into it more. I've read in several places that some people are having to fine tune every lens to -15 or -20. Then there are some who don't have to tune any lenses. I've never had this as an option before so I am a little anxious about it.

To make things worse, I'm finding conflicting info about how to do it! I've seen several people who simply set the camera up on a tripod, focused on some small print and went though the range and picked the best adjustment. Some did this with the aperture wide open, some did it closed down a little and I have no idea why.

Then I've seen one person who had something that had to be downloaded and shown on the computer screen with the camera aimed EXACTLY square to it and each lens had to be run several times. There were concentric circles and thiings. It confused the heck out of me. It seemed very complex and quiet honestly scary.

To top it off, I've also read that every camera needs to be shipped back to Nikon with the full compliment of lenses to have them fine tuned by a technician at anywhere from $20-$400 a pop! That's a huge expense plus the time I'd be without my equipment!

Then there's the issue of zoom lenses. I can't get a definite answer as to where the lens should be optimized. Some people are doing it smack in the middle, others at 70%.

I'm starting to loose sleep over this issue! I'd ask on one of the other forums that already has a similar thread that doesn't fully answer my questions, but they aren't very nice to newbies and you all seem to be more tolerant of people who are still learning. I really appreciate your help.

Thanks.