Question concerning Nikon 80-200 zoom lens

[Modingus]

Trying to balance my Nikon 80-200 2.8 AFD on my D700 and started at 200mm at 16.4 ft using with an aperture of 2.8. Found that the lens was front focusing significantly eventually moved my auto focus fine tune to +20. While that helped some (between 6 & 8) I never got it to zero. I then checked at 80 mm at 6.6 ft at 2.8 and it was dead on. Is there a problem with the lens that could be adjusted or is this something that is to be expected on a zoom?

[MichaelT]

Hi Bill,

No this is not normal behavior for a zoom. The primary problem is that even with a +20 adjustment you cannot achieve proper focus at 200mm. This would indicate a defective lens, or a severe body/lens mismatch. I would suggest the lens and that you share your data with Nikon to decide the best approach for a repair.

Of course I would double check your testing at 200mm. Also if you could borrow another body you could confirm whether or not the lens is at fault.

Sorry that your results are not good, but glad that LensAlign could help you get to the root of the problem...