Nikon D7000 issues with auto focus holding sideways

Memphis2.5

I bought a D7000 had it a while now and I have had issues with the auto focus occasionally not working when I hold the camera on its side. I'll hold it level again and it will focus then it seems to focus fine on its side after that. It has done this since I first got it. It only does this occasionally and on all my lenses. Just wondering if anybody else has had this problem as well and if so if it has gotten any worse. I don't want to send it our for service since it is my only body.

Matthew Saville

This is probably an issue with the cross-type AF points, which are the points to the side of the three center columns. They are only sensitive to detail in a certain direction, either horizontal or vertical, so if you're shooting a photo of something that has most of it's pattern detail running in a certain direction, such as fur or hair, then switching from horizontal to vertical could cause the camera to lose all ability to lock focus.

I teach workshops on autofocus alone sometimes, since it is such a complex subject, and whenever I do I always have my students test their off-center focus points to see which direction of detail they are sensitive to. The best way to test this is with telephone wires against a blank sky background. your camera's edge points will instantly lock focus if the AF point is oriented one way, but the other way (usually "in-line") ...it will just hunt and hunt.

This is, unfortunately, one reason why I am kinda jealous of the Canon 7D, and a few other cameras from various manufacturers that have started spreading out their cross-type AF points a whole lot more.

=Matt=