Canon Rebel XSi - Autofocus issues

Canon Rebel XSi - will not take photos, autofocus issues

 

When the mode dial is in Full Auto, Portrait, etc., our camera refuses to take photos, the flash will continually flicker, incl focus

confirmation light, and the camera will not focus in order to take a photo. The camera is on AF setting. When we press the >AF

button, the display says "This function is not selectable in the current shooting mode."

 

How do we fix this?

If you have the camera set so that AF is activated by the button on the back of the camera (instead of activated by pushing the shutter button half way), that set up is only available in P, Av, Tv, and M modes. If AF works fine in those modes, perhaps this is your problem. In fully auto modes, like Portrait, AF should be activated by pushing the shutter button halfway.

<p>Does this happen when you are outdoors and in good light? Or if you are not using flash?</p>

<p>What you describe sounds typical if you are shooting in really dark room, or outdoors at night. Especially if you are shooting in "Full Auto or Portrait". The camera will flicker the flash, in order to achieve focus, if it is unable to "lock" onto an object it will blink the AF indicator (meaning unable to lock).</p>

<p>If this is happening in the sunny day-outdoors, then you have a problem with the camera. If it is happening indoors in low-light. Then it is normal, you need to work on using other settings and possibly an external flash.</p>