A simple tip that may help to get sharper photos (applicable for at least some Nikon cameras)

I was looking for a while for the technique that would make my photos sharper. Since I have switched my gear to Nikon D800E I have noticed that in some situations the sharpness of my pictures was not satisfactory. Initially it could be explained (in some cases) by left focus point issue, but after readjusting of the autofocus system by the Nikon service, I was still sometimes struggling with getting sharp pictures, especially in the AF-C autofocus mode.
I started analysing the possible reasons of the problem. One of the things that came to my mind was the technique that I use quite often, namely locking of the autofocus and recomposing the picture. In the AF-S mode the behavior of camera is simple: it focuses, lock the focus while the shutter release button is pressed half-way and then one can recompose the picture by moving the camera.
In AF-C the situation is slightly different. The D800E manual states on p. 91 that in AF-C mode camera focuses continuously while shutter release button is pressed half way. So simple half-press shutter release and recompose technique will not work (when one moves the camera to recompose, the gear will adjust the focus to a new situation).
To lock the focus in this mode one needs to press and hold the AE-L/AF-L button. I have tried it but found not very comfortable and convenient.
It is more convenient method to lock the focus in the AF-C (and in AF-S) mode. Use the AF-ON button to lock the focus instead of pressing the shutter release button half way.
How does it work? Quite simple, actually. To focus, press the AF-ON button. Camera and the lens will set up the focus to get the image sharp. If you release the AF-ON button, the focus will remain locked on the position where the focus was gained. So using this button decouples the autofocus action from the shutter release button. While for the AF-S mode it does not matter so much, for AF-C it allows to lock the focus just by using single button (AF-ON), instead AE-L/AF-L and shutter release.
When I started using this technique I was a bit skeptical since I was worried about learning a new habit to lock the focus by pressing something different than shutter release button. But it turned to be an easy and quick adaptation and now I get completely used to use it.
How does it help to get the sharper pictures? First of all, while recomposing in the AF-C mode the sequence of buttons to press is simpler: AF-ON press, AF-ON release, (recompose), shutter release.
Second (this may be my subjective feeling), I think that by using a thumb to press AF-ON button, I enforce more stable camera holding. So even if I track the objects photographed in the AF-C mode to have them constantly in focus, by using the AF-ON button I embrace the camera with my right hand in such way that it remains more steady.

To set up the AF-ON button for locking the focus, some settings need  to be adjusted.

Technicalities - how to setup AF-ON to lock the focus.

Initially the D800E is set in such a way that the AF-ON button locks the focus exactly the same as pressing the shutter release button half-way. To achieve the behavior described above one need to block the focus lock by sutter release button.
To do so set the Autofocus->AF activation option (a4) to AF-ON only (OFF) in the Custom Setting Menu.
In my menu navigation notation:

MENU, , ,,, 3x, ,, , AF-ON Only, Ok

 If you have the Nikon MB-D12 battery grip and want to setup the AF-ON button to lock focus, use the option Controls->Assign MB-D12 AF-ON option (f13) to AF-ON in the Custom Setting Menu:
MENU, , ,,, 5x , , AF-ON, Ok

Don't forget to set those settings for all custom menus where you plan to use them.

The updated version of the D800 settings cheat sheet can be found here.

Note that AF-ON button is available on the other Nikon cameras as well so this technique does not apply only for D800. Check your manual for the details on how to set it up in case of your camera.

  

D800E - autofocus issue: confirmed after the tests

As mentioned in previous post, I suspected that my D800E might have an autofocus issue when using autofocus points located at the left side of the viewfinder. I have decided then to perform more thorough test to see if the issue is real. I can say that there is a problem with my camera (left focus points don't work well, but on the right side the results are not so great as well). If one is interested in the technicalities of the test, read on.
The test I have conducted is based on the setup as described by Nasim Mansurov on his blog here and here.
It is pointless to repeat the test procedure in my post. So let me point out just a few aspects I have gone through when testing my camera:

Test approaching the autofocus point from both sides (low and high distances)

It means that for a given focus point I did two tests. I made the exposure initially unsharp by setting the lowest available distance for the given lens. So I turned the lens focus ring manually to the lowest possible distance and did the test. Then I turned the focus ring to infinity and redo the test again.

Why is it important? It turned that for both lenses I have tested, my D800E performs better when setting autofocus starting from low distances. When the exposure distance of a lens was set up to infinity, the autofocus performance was much worse (i.e. the autofocus didn't work). 

So by taking only one side one might not notice the problem.

Speed up the test by using tethered mode

I have connected my camera to the laptop and to 40'' TV set to see the results in a big format. Tethered mode for D800 is available in Adobe Lightroom 4.2. It is not officially released yet, but the release candidate version works pretty nice.  Having the results immediately on the big screen speeds up the procedure

So, what's next?

I have contacted Nikon Netherlands and they are aware of the issue (as a matter of fact they expect quite some more calls with respect to the issue). They claim to be able to fix it in one week. Let's see.

Project D800E - left focus point issue?

There are several months since I started using D800E. With a very big pleasure and fun. However, I also read a lot about this camera and of course have noticed reports about the issue with autofocus when using focus points located at the left side of the viewfinder (more about it here and here).
Unfortunately, my camera is apparently affected as well. Unlike the test shots posted by others I have discovered it while taking a picture during my holidays:

Don't look at the quality of the photo (I know, composition is between horrible and bad). It is a snapshot. But it is about autofocus. The focus point is marked with the red rectangle (thanks to Nikon ViewNX software getting this data was very easy).

The problem becomes visible when looking at the photo zoomed to 100%:

See the person that is supposed to be in focus? She isn't. But the person right behind her is.

I think it is start to perform a systematic test of the issue. I'll use most probably the prescription published on the Mansurovs blog. 

Why is it worth doing the test? Well, the photo has been taken using the AF-S mode and I am not sure if the persons were moving at the moment of capture. So I am going to check it in the repeatable conditions.

Project D800E - couple of handy settings

In the post about basic settings I have described a very few options only. The Nikon D800/D800E offers much more convenient options that can be used to customize the camera to one's personal preferences. The order of the settings is not very structured, I have chosen the ones that are most convenient to me.

Use dial buttons as cursor keys

It is convenient to navigate through the menus (or through the photos in the view mode) by using main and sub dial button instead of the cursor key. In this mode the main dial button is used to scroll up and down, and the secondary dial button to move left and right.

To set it up use the option f9 - Customize command dials in the menu Custom setting menu. Navigate to the Custom setting menu, choose option f9 and then from the submenu the last option: Menus and playback. Select the option On if you want to use the dial button for menu and in the view mode or On (image review excluded) to use it in the menu only.

In the quick-reference notation:

Menu,,f Controls,,->  f9 - Customize command dials ,, ->Menus and playback, , ->On, Ok

Note that this option does not disable the regular function of the cursor keys. It is an additional way of navigation through the menus and photos.

Lock exposure while pressing the shutter button half-way

I find this option convenient especially in the situations where the image composition needs to be changed after locking the focus. And in 90% cases I want to have the exposure locked as well on the light conditions that were measured during focusing.

To lock exposure by pressing the shutter half way use the option c1-Timers/AE lock from the Custom Setting menu

Menu,,c Timers/AE lock,,->c1 Shutter-release button AE-L  ,,->On, Ok

Customize AE-L/AE-F button

If one chooses to use release-shutter button to lock the focus and exposure, the AE-L/AE-F button can be used for different purposes. There are several options available, under the menu f6 - Assign AE-L/AE-F button.

There are two ways (mutually exclusive) of using the customized AE-L/AE-F button: choose the option by pressing the button (AE-L/AF-L button press) or choose the option by pressing the button and dialing the command dial buttons (AE-L/AF-L + command dials). Describing all options is actually something for the manual. I have found one option particularly interesting, namely the option called Bracketing burst. If the shutter-release button is pressed while the AE-F/AE-L button is pressed in single-frame release mode, the camera will shoot the number of photos specified in the bracketing program. Normally one need to press the shutter-release button multiple times to take all bracketed photos. Bracketing burst is convenient in combination with autofocus auto-mode. The focus and exposure settings will not change while taking the images in such activated series.

To customize AE-L/AE-F button for Bracketing burst use the following sequence:

Menu,,f Controls,,->  f6 - Assign AE-L/AE-F button ,, ->AE-L/AE-F button press, , ->Bracketing burst, Ok

Next time I will present the first version of the D800/D800E cheat sheet with the things already described and couple of new.