Hello Nikonians,

I've been reading you for a while, and today I need some advice. Here is my story.

I've bought my D800 in the USA in July 2012, and I've quickly realized that it was backfocusing with the left AF sensor. To be specific, my AFS 35mm 1.4 and my AFS 85mm 1.8 both needed an AFFT (AF Fine Tune) value of -5 for the center focus point and -15 for the extreme left focus point. The difference was manageable and I've decided to wait a bit before sending the camera to Melville to be adjusted.

That's what I did just after christmas. My D800 came back last friday and is now completely messed up:

- It frontfocuses with all my new lenses. I have tested the 35mm and the 85mm wide open with the central sensor and without fine tuning. The results are quite explicit.






My lenses are less than 6 months old and they are fine as you can see on this picture taken with a D200 (left is the 35mm, and right is the 85mm)



- The focusing system became unreliable. After fine tuning my lenses in daylight, first focus tests in daylight were acceptable. As soon as I entered my house with artificial light, it became totally unreliable. I then realized that the amount of fine tune needed for my lenses was dependent upon the color of the light. It was not the case before I sent the camera to Melville. I've done enough fine tuning in natural and artificial light before to be positive about it. Now, a lens that needs +10 in natural light needs +20 in artificial light. Of course, all those tests are done with the central sensor. The following picture explains that:



I have called Nikon on monday, and I first had someone nice who apologized, asked me to send pictures and told me that I will receive a UPS label in the afternoon to send the camera back. I've uploaded the files within 15 minutes and I haven't heard from them. I called back tuesday, and I've asked for a replacement as they have messed up my camera. I've been told that someone is currently looking at my pictures. They promised me to come back to me the same day, or on wednesday. I did not get any news from them today.

It is very hard for me to trust these people anymore. I would like to get some advices on how I should handle the case.

Thanks for your help,
Francois

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