Uh Oh...kit lense is out of focus...

[PHeller]

Seems that i've knocked my kit lense out of focus.

I can send this to Nikon and they'll dial back in right?

Any pointers on how to do this?

[PHeller]

Come on folks, any help?

I did a search and couldn't yeild much.

Do I take it to a repair shop or will Nikon do this for me?

[jcon]

Nikon will do it for you, I'd contact them to see what they want you to do.

[PHeller]

I made such a big deal out of this, but I think what was happening was that in low light situation the Matrix AF couldn't figure out what I was focusing on.

I would assume if it were actually out of focus it would've done it all the time, lots of light or none.

Good info to know either way though.

[tcadwall]

Do you happen to have an SB-600 or SB-800? They will provide focus assist...

[K1W1]

I think all Nikon DSLRs have a focus assist LED on the body. Obviously the Speedlight will give greater range but the body LED should still work provided it is set up correctly in the menu.

[tcadwall]

I have seen a big difference in focusing indoors using the SB-600. Since I typically have the flash mounted in low-light (except for sports where there is really a lot of light available for focus purposes), I didn't really notice the amount of assist that the SB-600 was providing. One evening, I went to take a picture of my wife, and was going to do it long exposure without flash. I couldn't get the darned thing to focus when using a focus area off-center. If I moved the focus to center I was good. (more AF sensors there I guess). I then realized that the AF assist provided by the flash was probably what was missing. So for a test, I slapped the SB-600 on, and voila, instant focus - using any focus area.

[chromance]

Is this speed light always on? or is like a flash ?

How suitable is the nikon D80 built in flash?

[jcon]

The Nikon speedlights are external flashes, you can either attach it to the hotshoe on the body or use it off camera. They arent "always on" you can turn it off and on when you need to. It's a flash and it's MUCH better than the on board flash. The on board flash doesn't let you bounce the light or swivel like the SB's will. They are well worth every penny!