Canon EF-S 18-55 random auto focus problem

Hello I have been working with Canon EF-S 18-55 NON IS lenes and have found a problem I can't seen to solve. The problem is that I do get auto focus but at certain points it will not focus. I have changed the board with a known good one, The motor assembly, The contacts with good looking ones from working units but not the contact strip as they look good. The assembly moves freely with little resistance. I have also seen this problem on IS versions too but mainly on the non IS versions. I'm looking for any other suggestion that might solve the problem.

Yes I do and have had very good success in repairing them but I have a few that just defy me and have this problem.

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Canon Rebel T3 EOS Flash and Auto Mode Problems: Help Me!

I recently got a job as a photographer for the nightlife in my city. I went out and tried to shoot the other night. My camera isn't broken, but I had it in auto (green rectangle) and when I'd hit the shutter button, it would just flash, looking like it was having a seizure, and not take the picture. It eventually took the photos, but it flashed in their faces like 3 times before it actually took the photo. People cursed me out and it was awful. Why won't my camera just take the picture the first time??? Why does it say it's "busy" and how do I know when to take the photo to avoid pissing people off? Also, when I went to the "no flash" seting, it took the picture with no problem, but I absolutely NEED the flash to work. Please help me!

Bob has nailed it.... when auto-focus is enabled and the camera is using "One Shot" mode (the default focus mode), the camera will NOT take a photo until it can confirm that it was able to lock focus. To help the camera focus, it will attempt to use the pop-up flash and strobe it very quickly to create something which is more-or-less about 1 seconds worth of continuous light. You'll want an external speedlite flash for two reasons... 1) Several external flash models include a "focus-assist" beam.2) The external speedlite models are significantly more powerful than the built-in pop-up flash and can handle subjects at much greater distances. Normally I'd suggest a Canon Speedlite 430EX II... but Canon recently announced it replacement will be available in mid-septermber. The 430EX III-RT ... and it's the same price (the new model has a radio receiver and can triggered via radio instead of optical (optical triggers require line-of-sight... radio does not.) I'd much rather have the radio-eqiupped version. The focus-assist beam in the flash illuminates a red-pattern momentarily while the camera is focusing. This beam allows the camera to focus even in total darkness. It doesn't have to pulse the flash to work as a modeling light to achieve focus (it's actually much better than the 1-second long burst of light.)

Rebel auto focus problems

why is there an autofocus/manual on the left hand side of the lense if you already change that on the right hand side of your camera???...is it because the camera button is diff from the lense??...i just had to recently buy another lense cuz mine was damaged somehow ...i never had to deal with this for the first 3 yrs of owning my camera...any insights will help me...

"why is there an autofocus/manual on the left hand side of the lense if you already change that on the right hand side of your camera???...is it because the camera button is diff from the lense??...i just had to recently buy another lense cuz mine was damaged somehow ...i never had to deal with this for the first 3 yrs of owning my camera...any insights will help me."
"the main round on/off button and where u switch settings you want to use.....and the other one is the af/m button on the left"
You say you never dealt with the AF/MF switch on your original lens that you had for 3 years. You probably just never noticed it.
But........ In the late 1980's Canon did manufacture 3 Auto Focus lenses for EOS cameras that had no Manual focus ring or AF/MF switch, so it is possible.
Canon EF 35-70mm 3.5-4.5A
Canon EF 35-80mm Power Zoom
Canon EF 100-200mm 4.5A
Mike Sowsun
S110, SL1, 5D Mk III

Camileo x400 auto focus problem

We have a new Camileo x400 camcorder. The 1st time using it to record indoors the auto focus kept moving in and out even when I kept the subject being recorded in the center of the field. Is there any way to override this so it will not constantly move in and out of focus? Is there a setting I am not aware of? We used it on the factory settings.

If you can't solve your issue and no one in the community can help, contact support to speak with a tech support agent at (888) 592-0944.
- Peter

Eos T5i Auto Focus problems

Hi, I have this brand new camera T5i and I haven't used it for over a week- however when I turned the camera on I noticed that the lens didn't auto rotate. Usually when I turn it on or off the lens tends to do it's all little thing...but nothing. I took some pics and the picture get focused howeve the lens didn't make that usual noise where it turns to one side and the other. I checked the buttons on the lens and are on AF and Stabiliar in ON. I though maybe the problem was with the lens, so I changed it to my other one and the same thing. It's like no power is being powered to the lens. It's not making any noise or rotating at all. I cleaned the little golden chips on the lens and the camera with a dry clothes- but no luck.
Can somone let me know if there is a setting that I may have touched as I'm new to this camera? Can you tell me if there is any way I can reset it to factory settings? Thanks.

"Actually, if its an STM lens it doesn't move or make any noise at all."
You must have glossed over this statement.
"Usually when I turn it on or off the lens tends to do it's all little thing...but nothing."
Unless he is mistaken and has forgot what it used to do and what it is doing now! At any rate, as long as the pictures it takes are good, I wouldn't worry about it or try to fix it. It may be nothing.
EOS 1Ds Mk III, EOS 1D Mk IV EF 50mm f1.2 L, EF 24-70mm f2.8 L,
EF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS II, Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 EX APO
Photoshop CS6, ACR 9, Lightroom 6

808: Random rubbish focus problem

A lot of people are finding this...
Yesterday I took a pic of my girlfriend who was sitting about 1m away, opposite me, and right in the middle of the picture.
The focus ended up on the wall behind her, 10m away...
This kind of thing happens more or less randomly.
It is a great camera, outclassing all pocket cameras on raw image quality, especially when you have time on your side (rarely the case when taking photos of people) but there is something mysterious wrong with it which ensures that many photos are useless.
Also the continuous autofocus basically doesn't work. It is extremely slow and when focused it often throws the focus away.
The camera is great for landscape and other reasonably distance static stuff where you have time to set it up and the focus doesn't matter.
I am sure Nokia know all about this, but the few Symbian software people still left there (now working at Accenture) are struggling with fixing anything. They have just issued a fix for the infamous email app "large attachment bug" but the fix works only most of the time, and in doing so they introduced a silly 15.3MB max email size limit.

Yes I do and have had very good success in repairing them but I have a few that just defy me and have this problem.

[Solved] gsimplecal auto focus problem with openbox+tint2

I'm using these apps described above.
Well, after I click the clock in tint2, the gsimplecal shows, but, it won't get focus automatically, which annoyed me a lot.
I've already set <focusNew>yes</focusNew> in my openbox/rc.xml.
Also, I noticed that even started from terminal, the gsimplecal window won't get the focus.
Is this a bug (or f**king feature) of gsimplecal? I installed it yesterday by yaourt -S gsimplecal-git.
Thank you.
This problem is solved by adding a per-application setting to openbox, as described in the gsimplecal wiki.
Adding the <focus>yes</focus> is enough, it doesn't need that much.
Last edited by XeCycle (2011-04-01 10:43:05)

This seems to be related to the skip_taskbar window hint (set to true by default), as of gsimplecal v0.6 you can override it with the following in your config:
mainwindow_skip_taskbar = 0

Should I spend the $280.00 to have Canon fix my 70D auto-focusing issue?

Should I spend the $280.00 to have Canon fix my 70D auto-focusing issue? Or just return back to my very much trusted Rebels?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

MelekalsCanon wrote:
Very much appreciate your taking time to send a response. As a new user I wasn't sure if anyone would bother. Allow me to add a little more to my first post. I fit in that niche between amateur and a person with clients. For over 10 years I have covered events for a non-profit agency capturing the look and feel of 20+ events per year and was given permission to purchase a few cameras over the year. My decision from the beginning was to use the Canon Rebel. Images were spot on and only once did I have an issue with one of them (after shooting outside events in 105 degree temps for 3 days).
So, when I retired a year ago it was for me a pretty simple choice to get a Canon for myself - especially since at that time the 70D was on the cover of magazines and was very highly touted. I also did a lot of desktop publishing and photo editing which helped me realize I wanted the best sensor, sharpness, resolution and lens I could afford - the 70D. My post was actually a result of reading many online responses including your very informative replies about the 70D focusing issues. My biggest concern is that I will spend several hundred dollars and maybe, just maybe get back a camera which captures better focused images, but still not as sharp as the lower end Rebels I was using. I had hoped to purchase my first "L" lens and really get excited - not repair the most expensive camera I've bought to date.
Thanks again and before it gets noted by someone...yes, I should have pushed this issue sooner and then at least the warranty would have covered the cost. An expensivve lesson learned. But I will have to add that at least one authorized Canon repair dealer told me they have had several folks feel like I did - that it was the photographer/me as a new user having the issue and not the camera. I now know it's my camera.
Let me clarify that I don't own a 70D, so anything I say about it is from watching what others have said, mainly in this forum. But it is disconcerting to see so much complaint about a camera that's supposed to have an innovative focusing system. One is strongly tempted to suspect that they went overboard in trying to make the camera serve both still photographers and videographers.
That said, I'm not a great fan of the Rebel line, because they lack autofocus microadjustment and I have at least one otherwise excellent Canon lens that would be useless without it. (The 70D does have AFMA, a point in its favor.)
As far as spending the $280 for the repair, I understand why it's a hard call. If I were in your shoes and were convinced that Canon understands the issue and would fix it correctly and permanently, I guess I'd go for it. If you don't think they do, but fell that you need something a cut above the Rebels, this may be a good time to buy a leftover or refurbished 7D. Even though I now have a 5D3, I still use my 7D's a fair amount and have been very happy with them. And the 7D2 has gotten such a favorable reception that's it's almost bound to make more 7D's available at a decent price.
Bob
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Canon 6D Back button auto focus and ISO settings

I was curious why when I am shooting in TV mode and I am using the back button auto focus that the camera will automatically change the ISO setting that I set. Is there something that I have missed in the settings or is this an automatic feature that can not be turned off?

Sounds like you have safety shift set in a custom function
Check C.Fn 1-6 Safety Shift - you may have it set to 2 - ISO Speed
PAge 306 in the EOS 6D manual
Canon specialist trainer, author and photographer - http://www.p4pictures.com

Canon Auto Focus

Hi All, I was using my Canon 24-70 with the Metabones MK IV adapter. When I put the lense into auto focus and then use the push to auto focus button, the lense would rack focus back and forth but never grab it. Just curious if 1) Is this something that can even be done or does it only work with native E mount lenses and 2) If it should work what am I doing wrong FS7 has FW2.0 and Metabones has current FW. Thanks.

I can confirm that there is still no iris flicker problem with M/B (speedbooster) FW V4.1 PLUS FS-7 FW V2.1. All seems to be running smoothly, and with a snappier feeling menu access/navigation. If you read the thread about FW 2.1 'bugs' in detail, it seems as though almost all the issues were caused by good ol' operator error of some sort or another. I personally recommmend installing the FW update. Cheers, jason

Canon 5D markIII change M focus to Auto Focus

Hi there
It's probably a very stupid question as I'm a total newb,
but I'm trying to set my auto focus mode to "one shot" on my canon 5D mark iii but it's stuck in M focus. I've set it to reset to factory setting but it's still the same. how to I change that?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi,
Don't want to sound harsh because we all were in the exactly same place as you, at one time or another. But it's obvious from your questions that you have little experience with Canon DSLRs and the 5D Mark III is a complex and fairly advanced model. I'd hate to see you get frustrated and not have fun using it.
So do yourself a big favor.... spend some serious time studying the camera manual and also consider buying and reading one of the guide books for your camera. I always make a point of getting a guide book, anytime I get a new, unfamiliar camera. (Others are probably good, too, but I can recommend authors David Busch, Micheal Guncheon and Charlotte Lowrie from personal experience).
Further, if you have limited photography experience, you also might consider getting a copy of Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure". These will help you get up to speed with the camera and enjoy using it much sooner.
Another way to change those settings is by pressing the Q button on the back of the camera. This will call up a "quick access" panel on the rear LCD screen, showing all the major settings of the camera. Use the joystick to navigate to the "Autofocus" box on that screen, press "set" button to enter that section, then scroll through the choices (One Shot, AI Focus, AI Servo) until the one you want is highlighted, then press "set" once again. Now a half-press of the shutter release button or a tap on the AF-On button will take the camera out of this screen and setup mode, back into "shooting" mode.
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM

My auto focus does not work with Canon 60D. Is it because of the camera or the lens?

My auto focus does not work with Canon 60D. Is it because of the camera or the lens?

I had the same problem. I make my AF work going to Menu / AF mode and selected Live mode. On Quick mode the AF did not work. I change the settings without realise it. Now my AF is working fine.

HELP!: Canon Rebel XS Changing Settings Randomly and Not Taking Photos!!

PLEASE HELP! This is a very desperate attempt at reaching out for help before I THROW MY CAMERA AT THE WALL! Frustration level 1000 reached. The problem: I power up my Canon Rebel XS (purchased in 2009 and treated like my baby), point it at the subject matter, press the shutter button to take my beautiful photo, and all hell breaks loose! The camera decides to change all the settings, usually the shutter speed. When it's in full auto mode, the shutter speed changes between 3 or 4 different options (depending on the settings of the photo) and then it never releases, resulting in no photo. I've tried holding down the button and pressing quickly, neither work. So I've tried this in all settings: In Shutter Priority mode, the aperture changes randomly. In Aperture priority mode, (you guessed it!) shutter speed changes randomly. What changes in manual exposure mode? Exposure level... all on its own. OH -- I FORGOT TO MENTION, as they change, they BLINK! Whatever setting is randomly switching itself, it blinks. As if to taunt me and grab my attention -- "Hey, you! This is why I'm not taking the picture! HAHA!" So honestly, if anyone has any insight, I would be EXTREMELY grateful. But I'm pretty sure it's possessed by an evil spirit intent on seeing me rip all of my hair out. >.<

What if we control the shooting conditions? If you go outside on a sunny day, there would certainly be enough light for the camera to focus and take a shot. Have you tried this? I ask this because if I attempt to take a photo in a situation where there is simply not enough light, the camera will do precisely what you are describing... it has some limits to ISO, shutter speed, and aperture that it cannot exceed (it could in manual control, but will not in the auto or semi-auto modes.) I've noticed that my camera doesn't want to exceed certain shutter speed limits, ISO limits, and of course the lens constrains the aperture values available. Also, if the lens auto-focus is enabled and the camera is in "One Shot" focus mode (the default) it will not take an image until it can lock focus on at least one AF point. Give the camera enough light... and all of these problems go away. Shoot in Manual mode and all of these problems (except focus) also go away. If the camera is not moving (e.g. on a solid tripod) and the subject is not moving (e.g. a still scene) then you can take an exposure as long as necessary to get a shot -- but you may have to manually focus the lens if the lighting is poor and the subject lacks adequate contrast.

Having trouble auto-focusing using the digital display.

My Rebel T3 seems to have problem auto-focusing indoors when using the digital display . Seems to work fine using the viewfinder.

Live View focusing is always going to be very slow. It is not just your camera.
Scott
Canon 6D, Canon T3i, EF 70-200mm L f/2.8 IS mk2; EF 24-105 f/4 L; EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS; EF 85mm f/1.8; Sigma 35mm f/1.4 "Art"; EF 1.4x extender mk. 3; 3x Phottix Mitros+ speedlites
Why do so many people say "fer-tographer"? Do they take "fertographs"?

I have a EOS 30D with EFS 17-85mm lens. Error 99 and now the auto focus is not working

The 30D started a month ago to show Error 99 and not I have lost auto focus? Any suggestons!

Error 99 is not specific. It just means something is wrong and the camera is unable to function, but doesn't give any clues what the fault might be.
I agree with cleaning the lens-to-camera contacts and the idea of trying the camera with another lens and the lens with another camera, to see if you can determine which is at fault.
It also may help to reboot the camera and/or reinstall the firmware. Maybe something has gotten hung up in memory or some instructions have gotten corrupted.
To reboot the camera simply turn the camera off, remove all batteries (including the small time/date battery), turn camera on and press shutter release button once (nothing will happen, this is just to clear any remaining power stored in the circuitry). Then turn the camera back off, reinstall the batteries, turn camera on and check the date/time. If it needs resetting, then you got a proper reboot. You likely will need to reset things in the menu and the custom functions.
While doing the above, it's a good time to replace the time/date battery. If your 30D still has the original, it may be sorely in need of replacement. Those little silver button batteries are widely available and easily found.
To reinstall the firmware, go to the Canon website, search for 30D model and look for the software page. The latest version of firmware should be available there for download, along with instructions how to install it. Follow the instructions very carefully. It's not difficult to do, but must be done right or there's risk of "bricking' the camera.
There's no guarantee that either of these will help... but they might, plus are free and relatively easy to try yourself.
If none of the above helps, you'll likely need to have the camera looked at by a professional repair tech.
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7D(x2), 50D(x3), some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & PRINTROOM

Canon EF-S 18-55 random auto focus problem

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