Nikon D 40X auto focus not working!

05/07/2011 07:28:18 PM · #1

I put my camera away working perfectly fine and the next time I took it out to use, the autofocus suddenly doesn't work. There's a noise like it's trying but nuttin' :( I've tried different lenses, nothing. The lenses are set to auto, I've checked other settings trying to figure out if I did something wrong somewhere, but I'm lost for a reason! Has anyone had this happen or heard of it happening with the D 40X? Any ideas?
Thanks

05/07/2011 07:31:23 PM · #2

Originally posted by PurrpleX:

I dont know the D40, but I have the D80. This might be an obvious thing so ignore it if it is, but there is a Manual/Auto on both the camera and on the lens, sure your Camera one is on auto? Also, grab your manual, there is a way to reset the camera, might just need a reboot. And lastly, check your battery strength.

Random ideas :)

05/07/2011 07:40:53 PM · #3

Thanks Socom,

I've checked the settings on the lenses and the camera, it's not that =o\ As for a way to reset the camera... well, I'd grab the manual but I'm pretty sure my ex still has it, in Canada (I'm in the States)... grrrr. If just resetting it would work I'd be soooo happy! Maybe I can find the manual online? Hmmmm, think, think, think...
Oh and it's not the battery, put a fresh one in.

Odd yet strange 0.o lol

05/07/2011 07:42:42 PM · #4

Here is the PDF of your Manual

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX100

05/07/2011 07:51:05 PM · #5

Thanks!

spiritualspatula

05/07/2011 10:22:49 PM · #6

The D40x lacks a motor itself, so it could be the lens (which does house an AF motor). Try another lens and tell us the results.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX100

05/07/2011 10:45:00 PM · #7

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

The D40x lacks a motor itself, so it could be the lens (which does house an AF motor). Try another lens and tell us the results.

She had said she already tried different lens. So if the camera doesnt have its own AF Motor, could be the connections on the ring then?

spiritualspatula

05/07/2011 11:23:44 PM · #8

Originally posted by Socom:

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:
The D40x lacks a motor itself, so it could be the lens (which does house an AF motor). Try another lens and tell us the results.

She had said she already tried different lens. So if the camera doesnt have its own AF Motor, could be the connections on the ring then?

Bummer, I missed that part somehow...
Is there any movement of the elements (meaning, does the lens hunt around for focus without locking, or just sit there)?
You could try cleaning the contacts and everything, but if its actuating the motor in the first place, I don't think its that, since I'd venture to guess that would cause a lens error (what I've seen happen). Couldn't hurt anything though.
You could also ensure the AF sensor itself is clean by using a rocketblower to dust it off (it's below the mirror, pointing up towards the pentaprism of the camera).
The reset is a good bet too.

Do all the lenses make noise in that fashion, and not focus at all? Just seems strange to me that the motors are actuating but not doing anything.
It seems like the AF sensor has to be functioning at least somewhat if its signaling the lens to AF (the whirring), so I'd expect the elements to move in response. I guess it could be an AF sensor failure, but just sounds odd to me, personally.

For anybody stumbling upon this thread with a cam with liveview, you can see if your lens will AF within liveview, since liveview uses contrast detection which is separate from the normal AF sensor function (it focuses the image by maximizing contrast in the image that is projected on the sensor, not phase detection through the AF sensor). This will pinpoint the sensor as an issue.

05/08/2011 02:19:05 PM · #9

There's no real movement, just the sound of it trying to start? sort of... a tiny clicking and you can feel it and yes it's like that with all of the lenses (if that makes sense)
Ok, I tried resetting the camera... still not working :(
I should mention that I'm not exactly technically co-ordinated ha!

kenskid

Nikon D700

05/08/2011 02:23:45 PM · #10

Do you have any kids?

Not trying to be funny but it seems like it is simply broken. Something like a bump or a drop would do.
How padded is the bag? Could the whole bag have been dropped?

05/08/2011 03:29:14 PM · #11

Nope, no kids. But there was the smallest of bumps the other day, I thought nothing of it, just a tap near the end of the lens. I suppose I could see that causing a problem (maybe) with that particular lens but no lenses are working =o\ Could that have done it???? And if so, what, in particular, could it have done? I thought nikons were more sturdy than that! =o\

kenskid

Nikon D700

05/08/2011 03:42:16 PM · #12

I'm not exactly sure how your "lens motor" camera works (meaning the focusing mechanics are in the lens) but I suppose a bump could have done something to the electronics that line up on the lens and the body (contacts)...damaging the body part...which would explain why no lenses are working.

On another CRAZY thought....is there anything in the menu system of that cam that you could have triggered? Some kind of focusing thing? Likely not the problem because you said you can hear the gears moving....but worth a check.

EDIT: have you cleaned the contacts on the camera? These are the things I was mentioning above.

Originally posted by PurrpleX:

Message edited by author 2011-05-08 19:43:52.

05/08/2011 03:54:39 PM · #13

Could a tap of the lens really do such damage, sigh? bummer
As for something in the menu I might have 'changed', I don't know, I looked but couldn't find anything that seemed to be connected. Besides I did a 'reboot' of the camera, so all the settings were set back to original. That should've taken care of anything of that sort, shouldn't it?

I'm bummed :(

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX100

05/08/2011 03:57:32 PM · #14

Ok, I went through the settings again and it seems to be working! It was set to AF ON, I switched it to Af/Ae lock. And suddenly it's working 0.0 Does that make any sense? (As I said before... I'm not technically savvy lol)

Message edited by author 2011-05-08 20:40:09.

spiritualspatula

05/08/2011 04:57:27 PM · #15

Originally posted by PurrpleX:

Sounds like you might have changed which button was actuating AF so that it was the AF-On button that was dedicated to it, and half-pressing shutter only did exposure. I had thought of asking you to try using the AF-On button but then didn't think it was necessary; looks as though I was wrong there ha.
Happy to hear it was a simple problem though!
But, this should have been solved with the reset if it was done properly- I'm pretty positive factory default is AF for shutter half press... so that's a bit of a mystery...

ETA: As per taps and damage- yeah, impacts can do some odd things, but I wouldn't say they typically do. It's always possible, but camera gear is relatively resilient (some products obviously significantly more than others).

Message edited by author 2011-05-08 20:59:44.

David Ey

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D

05/08/2011 05:01:19 PM · #16

There is only one question unanswered...will a rap on the end stop it from focusing too?

05/08/2011 05:05:54 PM · #17

Thanks, I'm glad it was a simple fix too (even if it wasn't simple figuring it out lol)

I did do the reset as it said, it's just pushing 2 particular buttons at one time for 2 seconds... it kicked off and back on. I would of thought it should have reset everything but doesn't seem it did. Oh well, all's well that ends well! I'm relieved -.-

Thanks everyone for your help! :)

05/08/2011 06:22:26 PM · #18

Originally posted by PurrpleX:

Reset doesnt remove custom settings, so maybe you should check there just so it doesnt happen again :)

kenskid

Nikon D700

05/08/2011 07:42:49 PM · #19

Nice ! So it was a minor thing !

Originally posted by PurrpleX: