A strange D850 problem

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gpsman

gpsman

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Lately, while shooting BIF’s the focus point setting changes intermittently. Here are the details.

Bought New D850, now approximately 3 months old
I always shoot manual mode
Focus point set for “GRP”
Back button (AF-On) set for "AF-On"
All other settings are default. No other buttons pressed during shooting.

PROBLEM: When I hit the back button to lock on and focus, sometimes focus switches to “single point”. If I release back button and press it again, it goes back to “GRP”. Then to single point after some random number of shots. No consistency.

This happens occasionally and I have tried different scenarios to see if I can make the problem repeat or move. No luck.
I thought it might be the pressure I exert on the back button. But I can't seem to make the problem happen consistently. Could also be temperature related as I seem to experience this around freezing. hmmmmmmm! I'll have to play with that one.

I'm a tech trouble shooter from way back in the day (30 +years) and I consider myself a fairly good trouble-shooter. So, I'm very patient. I even worked for Nikon Land Survey Division in Melville, NY back in 2000. (that's another adventure for a different time)

I did a factory default reset and will now reset my buttons by the book (David Busch's Nikon D850)
Just curious if anyone has seen this. I love the 850 and I'm sure, with a little digging, I'll figure it out. This may even be normal if a certain setting is changed or turned on and I don't know about it.

Well, Thanks for listening, any feedback appreciated

Regards

Jeff
 
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I think it's normal. The single point is showing the ACTIVE focus point, the grp display shows the whole array of possible focus points. In GRP the camera always determines focus by itself from one of several autofocus sensors. You can move the “group” around via the Direction pad, but you can’t select which of the focus sensors are actually used for focusing.
 
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Palouse said:
I think it's normal. The single point is showing the ACTIVE focus point, the grp display shows the whole array of possible focus points. In GRP the camera always determines focus by itself from one of several autofocus sensors. You can move the “group” around via the Direction pad, but you can’t select which of the focus sensors are actually used for focusing.
Click to expand...
Mine didn't work that way. Not in Grp. In that mode it continuously displayed the entire group.

I'd suggest trying shutter focus and/or assigning AF-ON to a different button. If the problem goes away you've narrowed it down to the button being the problem.
 
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gpsman said:
Lately, while shooting BIF’s the focus point setting changes intermittently. Here are the details.

Bought New D850, now approximately 3 months old
I always shoot manual mode
Focus point set for “GRP”
Back button (AF-On) set for "AF-On"
All other settings are default. No other buttons pressed during shooting.

PROBLEM: When I hit the back button to lock on and focus, sometimes focus switches to “single point”. If I release back button and press it again, it goes back to “GRP”. Then to single point after some random number of shots. No consistency.

This happens occasionally and I have tried different scenarios to see if I can make the problem repeat or move. No luck.
I thought it might be the pressure I exert on the back button. But I can't seem to make the problem happen consistently. Could also be temperature related as I seem to experience this around freezing. hmmmmmmm! I'll have to play with that one.

I'm a tech trouble shooter from way back in the day (30 +years) and I consider myself a fairly good trouble-shooter. So, I'm very patient. I even worked for Nikon Land Survey Division in Melville, NY back in 2000. (that's another adventure for a different time)

I did a factory default reset and will now reset my buttons by the book (David Busch's Nikon D850)
Just curious if anyone has seen this. I love the 850 and I'm sure, with a little digging, I'll figure it out. This may even be normal if a certain setting is changed or turned on and I don't know about it.

Well, Thanks for listening, any feedback appreciated

Regards

Jeff
Click to expand...
Is it possible you are touching another function button at the same time without noticing? Just a thought…
 
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NorthernFocus said:
Mine didn't work that way. Not in Grp. In that mode it continuously displayed the entire group.

I'd suggest trying shutter focus and/or assigning AF-ON to a different button. If the problem goes away you've narrowed it down to the button being the problem.
Click to expand...
Good idea. I always said , if I can move the problem, I can find the problem. Good suggestion
 
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Palouse said:
I think it's normal. The single point is showing the ACTIVE focus point, the grp display shows the whole array of possible focus points. In GRP the camera always determines focus by itself from one of several autofocus sensors. You can move the “group” around via the Direction pad, but you can’t select which of the focus sensors are actually used for focusing.
Click to expand...
I know that the camera makes some overrides or decisions, I didn’t think it changed the screen. I don’t see it being consistent.
 
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You may want to set your shutter button for release only. Having AF on the shutter button and back button at the same time can cause issues. Just turning BB af on doesn't turn off AF on the shutter button.
 
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Palouse said:
I think it's normal. The single point is showing the ACTIVE focus point, the grp display shows the whole array of possible focus points. In GRP the camera always determines focus by itself from one of several autofocus sensors. You can move the “group” around via the Direction pad, but you can’t select which of the focus sensors are actually used for focusing.
Click to expand...

It's not normal. Single point is what his default is set to, so when the AF-ON is released it just defaults back to this mode. It's not how it works.

Warren D said:
You may want to set your shutter button for release only. Having AF on the shutter button and back button at the same time can cause issues. Just turning BB af on doesn't turn off AF on the shutter button.
Click to expand...

The camera sticks to whatever autofocus you pressed first. I have all my function buttons set to different auto focus modes, and usually leave single point on the shutter button itself. If you press AF-ON for group, and then press the shutter halfway it will not override the AF-ON mode or any other function button you pressed selecting an AF mode first.
 
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Well, I changed my 200-500 ( too heavy to hold) for my old 24-105mm. Sat in front of my tv and pressed that back button more than 100 times. Couldn’t get it to fail. Oh well, back to the drawing board. I don’t think it was the lens. It just worked the way I expected it to.
 
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gpsman said:
Lately, while shooting BIF’s the focus point setting changes intermittently. Here are the details.

Bought New D850, now approximately 3 months old
I always shoot manual mode
Focus point set for “GRP”
Back button (AF-On) set for "AF-On"
All other settings are default. No other buttons pressed during shooting.

PROBLEM: When I hit the back button to lock on and focus, sometimes focus switches to “single point”. If I release back button and press it again, it goes back to “GRP”. Then to single point after some random number of shots. No consistency.

This happens occasionally and I have tried different scenarios to see if I can make the problem repeat or move. No luck.
I thought it might be the pressure I exert on the back button. But I can't seem to make the problem happen consistently. Could also be temperature related as I seem to experience this around freezing. hmmmmmmm! I'll have to play with that one.

I'm a tech trouble shooter from way back in the day (30 +years) and I consider myself a fairly good trouble-shooter. So, I'm very patient. I even worked for Nikon Land Survey Division in Melville, NY back in 2000. (that's another adventure for a different time)

I did a factory default reset and will now reset my buttons by the book (David Busch's Nikon D850)
Just curious if anyone has seen this. I love the 850 and I'm sure, with a little digging, I'll figure it out. This may even be normal if a certain setting is changed or turned on and I don't know about it.

Well, Thanks for listening, any feedback appreciated

Regards

Jeff
Click to expand...
Quick update:

I changed a few of the settings in my camera. Whatever I did, It seemed to work. I had the camera sitting on my tripod for 45 minutes in the cold and could not get it to fail. If anyone is interested, I can list the setting changes. But as of now it works. It is not normal for the focus settings to change randomly and intermittently.
Thanks for all who offered suggestions and words of encouragement. much appreciated.
 
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gpsman said:
Lately, while shooting BIF’s the focus point setting changes intermittently. Here are the details.

Bought New D850, now approximately 3 months old
I always shoot manual mode
Focus point set for “GRP”
Back button (AF-On) set for "AF-On"
All other settings are default. No other buttons pressed during shooting.

PROBLEM: When I hit the back button to lock on and focus, sometimes focus switches to “single point”. If I release back button and press it again, it goes back to “GRP”. Then to single point after some random number of shots. No consistency.

This happens occasionally and I have tried different scenarios to see if I can make the problem repeat or move. No luck.
I thought it might be the pressure I exert on the back button. But I can't seem to make the problem happen consistently. Could also be temperature related as I seem to experience this around freezing. hmmmmmmm! I'll have to play with that one.

I'm a tech trouble shooter from way back in the day (30 +years) and I consider myself a fairly good trouble-shooter. So, I'm very patient. I even worked for Nikon Land Survey Division in Melville, NY back in 2000. (that's another adventure for a different time)

I did a factory default reset and will now reset my buttons by the book (David Busch's Nikon D850)
Just curious if anyone has seen this. I love the 850 and I'm sure, with a little digging, I'll figure it out. This may even be normal if a certain setting is changed or turned on and I don't know about it.

Well, Thanks for listening, any feedback appreciated

Regards

Jeff
Click to expand...
I would spray some contact cleaner on the buttons - just in case ... 🦘
 
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The D850 problem-solved?

Well, I didn't fix the problem, but I did find the problem. It turns out that it is an AF/M focus or/and a focus ring problem when MA/M is set to MA on the lens. In this case a Nikon 200-500 mm.

In AF mode, the display is set to GRP. If I turn the focus ring on the lens ever so slightly while back-button is pressed, it sets the lens from (MA) to (M) mode causing the screen to show single point focus. When I release the back button, and repress, the screen goes back to GRP. (Turn the focus ring and single point focus reappears)

To confirm this, on the camera, when I set the AF/M switch to M mode the screen switches to single point focus. I can repeat this all day long.

Question is: Is this normal? I can provide more detailed info if anyone has a need.
Is my next call to Nikon? Yikes, that's a scary thought!

It's not a bad thing. If I'm shooting through branches, I can go to single point simply by tuning the focus ring. Release the back-button and I'm back in GRP for BIF shots
 
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And now the conclusion of the D850 problem:

It appears that there is a Focus Ring enable/disable switch in the D850 Menu called A13. The problem is, it only appears with certain lenses that the D850 recognizes. Unfortunately, the Nikon 200-500mm lens is NOT wired to send that signal (I think) since there is no list of compatible lenses, I am going by David Busch's Nikon D850 book. (pg. 397)
Since A13 is not turned on, I cannot disable the focus ring on the lens.

And that my friends, is the rest of the story.

The moral of the story: I need to keep my sorry paws off the focus ring while shooting.
That took a week to figure out, not too bad!
 
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gpsman said:
The D850 problem-solved?

Well, I didn't fix the problem, but I did find the problem. It turns out that it is an AF/M focus or/and a focus ring problem when MA/M is set to MA on the lens. In this case a Nikon 200-500 mm.

In AF mode, the display is set to GRP. If I turn the focus ring on the lens ever so slightly while back-button is pressed, it sets the lens from (MA) to (M) mode causing the screen to show single point focus. When I release the back button, and repress, the screen goes back to GRP. (Turn the focus ring and single point focus reappears)

To confirm this, on the camera, when I set the AF/M switch to M mode the screen switches to single point focus. I can repeat this all day long.

Question is: Is this normal? I can provide more detailed info if anyone has a need.
Is my next call to Nikon? Yikes, that's a scary thought!

It's not a bad thing. If I'm shooting through branches, I can go to single point simply by tuning the focus ring. Release the back-button and I'm back in GRP for BIF shots
Click to expand...
Some manual focus will enrich your skills ... 🦘
 
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