Does the D800 sound noisy when hunting for focus? I leave my D700 and new D800 set to AF-C and use AF-ON only to focus. I never really paid attention to the fact that the D700 was hunting a wee bit as it was so quiet.

The D800 grinds a bit noticeably, drawing my attention to the flickering focus light and oscillating focus arrows. Tell me this is normal!

This is in low light by the way, since focus assist lighting is inactive in AF-C.

TY!

Scott Chapin
Powder Springs, GA, USA
Nikonians Team Member

Is this with a particular lens? Some lenses (especially non AFS) can be a little on the noisy side, but I've never noticed anything emanating from the d800 itself.

Cheers
Rob

It's all about the light

Both my 85mm f1.4 and 24-70mm f/2.8 lenses, which are both AF-S SWM lenses, are slightly noisy on the D800, but very quiet on the D700.

It's noticeable, but not loud. Maybe I'm obsessing.

Scott Chapin
Powder Springs, GA, USA
Nikonians Team Member

Good question!! Just picked up my 28-300VR an it is very quiet using AF-C with AF-ON from 28 to 300. Then tested with my 70-200VR, 300 f/4 and my 105VR .... they are all noisy ...with a grinding sound. It's not the camera in my opinion. But I wish they were all as quiet at my 28-300.

Dan

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Dan,

It's just strange that they are quieter on my D700, if it's a lens issue.

Scott Chapin
Powder Springs, GA, USA
Nikonians Team Member

Scott,

I agree that it is strange! I turned on my D800 with the 70-200VR (just now) and held the AF-ON button down and put my ear to the side of the lens as I moved the combo around. The noise is definately coming from the lens (as I think we knew). And the Nikons have the AF motor in the lens ...so the camera only signals the lens to focus.

Could there be something in the camera that isn't giving the lens what it needs (volts/current?) or that the D800 doesn't recognize when it is in focus as quickly as the D700 does (AF software)?

The 70-200 is relatively quiet when changing AF on 'short' FL changes....say 20ft vs 22ft...then when going from say 10 ft FL to 30ft FL it chatters...also when the contrast is not that great and it has to hunt a bit it chatters even more.

The 28-300VR is virtually silent when focusing and extended to 300mm and it does not matter what the FL differences are or the contrast. Why would the 28-300 be so silent if it were the camera software/other? The 70-200 was set to f/2.8 so there was more light in it than the 28-300?

Personally, I need one of our techies to chime in!!!

Dan

"My most rewarding photos are those that capture something I didn't 'see' in the frame....so just SHOOT."

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I'm wondering whether the D800's auto focus is more sensitive and it hunts harder seeking exact focus. Yes, I'd like to hear a techie response as well.

Scott Chapin
Powder Springs, GA, USA
Nikonians Team Member

Scott,

I was thinking more about this issue. So I tried my 70-200VR on my V1. It is also noisy on the V1 as it is on the D800...but the 28-300 on the V1 is not noisy on either. That said, it does seem that the 70-200 is MORE noisy on the D800 than on the V1.

So back to my earlier comment that perhaps it is the lens and not the camera.....could it be both? The lens is noisy on both but more noisy of the D800 because of the 'design of the inside of the camera body' and somehow the D800 reverberates the noise more??

I still wish we could get more input to this issue from some techies! It is a real issue ...and I hate to say it, but I actually enjoy 'using' my V1 more than my D800 because it is so quiet (electronic shutter, light weight and no mirror flap). But I do like the D800 output MUCH more than the V1!!

Dan

"My most rewarding photos are those that capture something I didn't 'see' in the frame....so just SHOOT."

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Dan,

I'm thinking it has more to do with low light and the D800's focusing system being more aggressive in seeking focus. But as Eric suggests, I might have it looked at, since he isn't experiencing it. You are though, so it might be normal and we're obsessing over something others would not.

I'd be curious to know if others are experiencing the same.

Scott Chapin
Powder Springs, GA, USA
Nikonians Team Member

Scott

I don't notice any real sound with any lenses. You might want to take the combination by Camera Service Co. or Peachtree Camera for a quick look. They are Nikon Authorized shops in the area and can do warranty work if needed.

Eric Bowles
Nikonians Team
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I might do that. They always do great work for me at unbelievably reasonable prices. It's not a terrible sound, its just more noticeable. When the light is good, focus is achieved rapidly in absolute silence.

It's as thought the camera is trying harder to be precise and is apparent in low light.

Scott Chapin
Powder Springs, GA, USA
Nikonians Team Member

Eric,

It is only in AF-C when it is really noticable for me and much more so if the VR is running. In AF-S ...which I use most of the time... and with VR off, it just snaps in focus and it's fine.

Dan

"My most rewarding photos are those that capture something I didn't 'see' in the frame....so just SHOOT."

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Well that's different. Both lenses I'm using are AF-S and no VR. They snap right to in most cases, but low contrast or low light causes the aggressive hunting. The D700 hunts too, but their is no chatter.

Scott Chapin
Powder Springs, GA, USA
Nikonians Team Member

I am experiencing the same problem you described on my venerable but pristine Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 AFS when mounted on either my D800 or my F100. None of my other lenses do this at all. I've tried AF-S and AF-C modes, tripod or not, bright and dim light. In all circumstances, the lens exhibits a fairly loud chattering, and the focus arrows in the viewfinder oscillate back and forth. It will USUALLY settle down to the right focus point, but not always. I inquired on Nikon's website about a repair, and they gave me an $800 estimate. Mind you, this lens is about 13 years old, but looks brand new as I rarely shoot telephoto images. I can manually focus it without a problem, so I guess I'll have to settle for that. Shucks, or something to that effect.

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That sounds like a separate issue. This chattering does not occur on other model bodies and it is very quiet, but noticeable.

Scott Chapin
Powder Springs, GA, USA
Nikonians Team Member

>Does the D800 sound noisy when hunting for focus? I leave my
>D700 and new D800 set to AF-C and use AF-ON only to focus. I
>never really paid attention to the fact that the D700 was
>hunting a wee bit as it was so quiet.
>
>The D800 grinds a bit noticeably, drawing my attention to the
>flickering focus light and oscillating focus arrows. Tell me
>this is normal!
>
>This is in low light by the way, since focus assist lighting
>is inactive in AF-C.
>
>TY!

I don't have a D700 to compare with, but I tried my 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S and my 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR on my D3 and D800, and they sound essentially identical.

In low light, and when moving the aim of the camera around, the system works hard to find focus, and it causes what I would describe as a rattling sound. The sound comes from the powerful motor in the lens making small focus changes in response to the commands from the camera.

I think this is normal.

Russ
Nikonian Moderator
Russell MacDonald Photography
Nikon CLS Practical Guide

I'd call this two differernt things. All of my lens seem a lttle noiser on my D800 than the D7000, especially the AF-D lenses.

As for the auto focus lock on - I just made a post in the other thread "Auto-Focus lock on vs chattering" that Linwood started.

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I don't hear much of anything but vr working on the 70-200 but I can see how how it would be of concern if you heard noise with one camera only. The only motor that can generate noise related directly with the body is the focusing motor. Even though it is not being used on afs lenses, is it possible the focus motor is being turned on and spinning away while not engaged to the screwdriver linkage, which is not even there in the afs swm motor lenses?
Stan
St Petersburg Russia

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Excellent thought! It would be very comforting to know if that were the case. In support of that, I do not detect any focusing changes during the chattering.

Scott Chapin
Powder Springs, GA, USA
Nikonians Team Member