How to Fine Tune Your AF on a Nikon DSLR

You can manipulate the AF fine-tune on your Nikon DSLR in order to optimize the sharpness and resolution of your lenses. This is a great tool for achieving the highest picture quality possible.

Sharpness and focus are two of the most basic properties of a good, quality image. Watch and learn as this tutorial goes through the menu options to help you fine turn your AF.

This tutorial shows you how to properly calibrate your lenses using a menu feature of AF Fine-Tuning that is available in D300(s), D700, and D3-Series ONLY. Only use AF Fine-Tuning if the lenses are focusing slightly off the target focusing area by back-focusing or front-focusing, resulting in soft (unsharp) images. AF Fine-Tuning will help you with that by correcting the focus shifting.

Below is the direct link to download the Lens Sharpness Chart in PDF (Portable Document Format). We created this chart after testing every Nikkon and Zeiss lenses (consumer grade and commercial grade) available today for the maximum sharpness performance at different focal lengths and apertures (tested on FX and DX digital SLRs and film SLRs). You can keep a copy for yourself and it is printable. Enjoy!