Focus shift not available at my settings

[vandrv]

I have a question about focus shift shooting in the D850. For some reason that option is grayed out on my camera and i get the message that that setting is not available in the camera's current settings or state. I have tried everything I can to get this to work. I've even gone so far as to read the manualbut haven't had any luck. I've used afs lenses and reset all setting but had no luck. Can anybody point out what I might be doing wrong? I'm sure it must be operator error but for the life of me I can't figure it out. Thanks for any help.

 

[fishbio]

metering set to A or M?, lens and camera set to autofocus?

 

[vandrv]

metering set to A or M?, lens and camera set to autofocus?

Yes they are. I actually did get it straightened out. Somehow my XQD card was quite completely inserted, at least that's what I think. I removed the card, inserted it and focus stacking was available. I was sure it had to be pilot error. Thanks for your help

 

[fishbio]

how odd. glad you got it fixed.

 

[vandrv]

I thought it was strange too. The downside of getting focus stacking to work is that now I guess to be able to use it for macros, I will need to upgrade my macro lens. I currently have the Nikkor 105 D, which is a great lens.

 

[fishbio]

I thought it was strange too. The downside of getting focus stacking to work is that now I guess to be able to use it for macros, I will need to upgrade my macro lens. I currently have the Nikkor 105 D, which is a great lens.

I had the same issue. I had a handful of manual and AF-D micro lenses but a friend sold me his 105mm f2.8 AFS for a good price. It works a treat for stacking.

Larry

 

[vandrv]

I guess I am going to have to start looking.

 

[Cedric-D850]

Hi, I'm having the same problem that was described in the beginning of this discussion : On my Nikon D850 the FOCUS-SHIFT option is greyed out. I've tried what I could based on the info I found on the internet ( stop bracketing, set date & time, fully charge battery, insert SD card, AF ...) but without luck. Does anyone have an idea why that option remains greyed out on my camera ? ( ' Not available in the current settings' ...). Is there another setting that blocks it from working ? Thanks !

 

[Palouse]

Some things that you should check:

AF lens set to Auto focus, Camera set to auto focus
Bracketing is OFF
Focus mode is a singe point mode

 

[Mike Buckley]

To clarify Nick's comment that mentions the AF lens, if your lens only does manual focusing you won't be able to do focus shifting.

 

[Palouse]

Here is what Nikon has to say,

"Focus shift is available at all image quality settings. Note that focus shift is unavailable in some situations, including when multiple exposure or HDR shooting is in progress, the camera clock is not set, an incompatible lens is attached, or no memory card is inserted."

It's not a complete list. I'd add things such as single shot or continuous shooting mode.

 

[Cedric-D850]

Thanks for the replies, but the suggestions do not apply to my situation : I use older lenses, but they are all AF lenses.
I switched the bracketing off, the camera is in single point mode, lens and camera are set to AF, the battery is fully charged, the clock is set, an SD-card is inserted
and there is no HDR nor multiple exposure going on.
There must be something else in the settings that conflicts with the focus shift option, but I can't find it ...

Could it be that my SD-card has not enough space (32GB) ?
I didn't buy an XQD-card yet. They are expencive, and I still have a few SD-cards I used on my former camera (Nikon D600).
Even the HDR option is also greyd out, just like the focus shift ... I also noticed that in the movie menu, the options 'movie quality' and 'active D-lighting' are also greyed out. I don't know if that indicates to something relevant, but I thought I might mention it here...

I have back button button focus, could that be the cause ?

 

[daveg]

Older lenses: if screwdriver focussing, could that be the problem (it definitely would be on the Z6).

Try with a non-Screwdriver lens?

DG

 

[Cedric-D850]

Older lenses: if screwdriver focussing, could that be the problem (it definitely would be on the Z6).

Try with a non-Screwdriver lens?

DG

Maybe that could be it : All my lenses are AF lenses.
I should try it with an AF-S lens . I'll try to borrow one, just to see if that is the cause of the greyed out focus shift option.
Or maybe I'll ask this in Nikon support.

Thanks !

 

[Mike Buckley]

My deceased uncle always had a saying: "When all else fails, read the instructions." No need to borrow an AF-S lens or contact Nikon support. Page 212 of the D850 manual says, "Use an AF-S or AF-P lens."

 

[Cedric-D850]

Maybe that could be it : All my lenses are AF lenses.
I should try it with an AF-S lens . I'll try to borrow one, just to see if that is the cause of the greyed out focus shift option.
Or maybe I'll ask this in Nikon support.

Thanks !

I just checked the users manual again : Page 212 :' Use AF-S or AF-P lenses for this option.' I overlooked that !
Unless someone can advice me which AF-S lens I should buy (for mainly landscape photography), we can close
this thread.

Thanks to all of you for assisting me !

 

[fishbio]

I just checked the users manual again : Page 212 :' Use AF-S or AF-P lenses for this option.' I overlooked that !
Unless someone can advice me which AF-S lens I should buy (for mainly landscape photography), we can close
this thread.

Thanks to all of you for assisting me !

Only you can decide what lens you need.

 

[DMAH]

Thanks for the replies, but the suggestions do not apply to my situation : I use older lenses, but they are all AF lenses.
I switched the bracketing off, the camera is in single point mode, lens and camera are set to AF, the battery is fully charged, the clock is set, an SD-card is inserted
and there is no HDR nor multiple exposure going on.
There must be something else in the settings that conflicts with the focus shift option, but I can't find it ...

Could it be that my SD-card has not enough space (32GB) ?
I didn't buy an XQD-card yet. They are expencive, and I still have a few SD-cards I used on my former camera (Nikon D600).
Even the HDR option is also greyd out, just like the focus shift ... I also noticed that in the movie menu, the options 'movie quality' and 'active D-lighting' are also greyed out. I don't know if that indicates to something relevant, but I thought I might mention it here...

I have back button button focus, could that be the cause ?

Which release mode are you using? I came across this issue a while back as I always shoot on timer mode, specifically 2 seconds to avoid camera shake. If you have timer selected it won't allow focus stacking. Choose S for single frame and it solved my issue

 

[Hebephrene]

I am having a similar problem. I am using a Nikon 850 with a 28-300 Nikkor lens. When I scroll to Focus Shift it says off. I have set it for 9 shots with a narrow gauge option, with exposure smoothing on and silent photography on. The battery is fresh, I have SD card with plenty of memory, I have it set on Auto Focus and on AF-S. The clock is set. I have the VR setting on the lens off. My apeture is F8 and yet the start button is grayed out and when I push the button I get an error message that this option is not available at current settings or with the camera in its current state. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Palouse]

Is your exposure metering set to A or M?, and the lens and camera set to autofocus? Timer off. Single frame shot. No exposure bracketing. Single point auto focus.