Nikon D7000 autofocus issue

Hi, I'm hoping that someone is familiar with this problem. It's not the usual back focus issue. This morning the autofocus on my D7000

stopped working properly. When I say stop working I mean that it was functioning properly then suddenly I began to get an Err message

in the viewfinder and on the LCD when I depressed the shutter button halfway to focus. The view finder would go dark and a single AF

point in the upper right quadrant of the viewfinder would light up briefly then the viewfinder would return to normal. The shutter would not

fire. Every time I depress the shutter button the same thing happens. At the time this first happened I was using a Nikon ED 80-200mm

AF D. I had also been using the depth of field preview which I only mention because when I executed my first remedial action, removing

and remounting the lens, I noticed that the depth of field preview lever in the body of the camera was stuck. It did not freely move up and

down when I attempted to move it with my finger. With the lens removed, I changed the selector to MUP and raised the mirror which

reset the depth of field lever. It now works as it should but this did not fix the autofocus issue. A few other details are that at the time of

the incident I had the camera set to single point autofocus and set to fire the shutter only when focused. Also, I switched the body and

lens to manual focus and everything works as it should to include the "rangefinder" function and being able to select any focus point in

the viewfinder. On autofocus, the motor works as the lens will still attempt to focus but again, the viewfinder gets dark and I lose the

ability to select focus points and the shutter won't fire. I have tried focusing with several different lens, everything from AF-D to AF-S and

get the same results. The camera body is a year and half old and has light use since I normally shoot with FX bodies. I have reset the

camera to factory settings but still no luck. I examined the contact points in the body and they look spotless but I have not attempted to

clean them yet. No alcohol in the house at the moment. One last detail. When I press the shutter button with the camera set to

autofocus I no longer receive the Err message, now the LCD momentarily shows what look like hieroglyphics then returns to normal

showing the normal settings info. I'm at a loss as to what should be causing this. Any ideas? Thanks

<p>What is the condition of the battery? Make sure the power source is good and in spec.</p>

Thanks for the response. Battery is 3/4 charged based off battery info item in the menu and is a nikon battery. All other

functions of the camera work properly. Playback, menus, displays, metering, flash, etc....in manual focus mode it's as if

nothing is wrong.

I just noticed something else. In autofocus mode, no matter what you set the aperture to it defaults back to the aperture

used when you last either fired the shutter (in manual focus) or used the depth of field preview. For example, if I set the

aperture to f/11 and either fire the shutter or use the depth of field preview then I change the aperture to f/1.8 and turn the

camera off, when I turn it back on then aperture is f/11 again. Like wise if I took the same steps as above but instead of

turning off the camera, I depressed the shutter button then it reverts to f/11. Depth of field preview lever still moves

freely in the camera body.

<p>It sounds like an electronic fault. I would remove the battery for 30 minutes and then try again. If it still exhibits this problem, it's time for a trip to the service shop.</p>

 

<p>Are you using a battery grip? If so, you may have a loose connection between grip and body.</p>

<p>Have you tried a hard reset? </p>

<p>Along the same thought as Peter, if you have a grip, try cleaning the contacts on both the grip and battery, when they get dirty, odd things happen, I make it a practice to clean mine every month, I do heavy shooting so this works best for me. While your at it, try cleaning the contacts on the lens and body.</p>

Thanks for the responses. I don't use a battery grip and I tried several times to reset the camera using both the green

button reset and reseting the custom settings in the menu. I also cleaned the contacts last night but none of that solved

the problem. I think Jonathan is right, time to send it in to Nikon.

 

The irony is that I had already started the process with Nikon to send in my primary camera, a D600, for repeated oil

spots on the sensor. Now this issue with the D7000 which had been my backup plan while the D600 is away. I've been

shooting Nikon for almost 30 years and have way too much invested in Nikon lenses to even consider switching but it

certainly is discouraging to have to send in two cameras that are under two years old for service.

 

As an aside, I have every professional film camera Nikon made and still use them quite frequently. I have never had any

issue with with the F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, or for that matter any of the other film SLRs (FE2, FM2, FM, etc...) that I use. I am

guessing that's because those cameras are simpler in design than modern DSLRs but I also can't help but think that

quality control is more of an issue today than it was in the past.

 

In any event, thanks for the help. I was hoping someone else had experienced this issue and that there was an easy fix.

Doesn't seem that there is. Time to send it in.

<p>You were using a D series lens. Did you perchance accidentally unlock the aperture ring and move the setting away from the highest f-stop number? That happened to me not long ago while shooting at night, and I told myself "This is a G lens. It can't be that."</p>

<p>Nope! It was a D lens. How I unlocked the aperture ring I have no idea, except that I had almost dropped the camera out the door earlier and caught it with the door from falling onto the pavement.</p>

<p>After I corrected the problem with the aperture ring, the error message went away and everything functioned normally--both the lens and the camera.</p>

<p>I realize that with your experience such a beginner's error is unlikely, but one never knows.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>

<p>As systems get more complicated, so do the opportunities for faults in the system. I never had these kinds of problems with my pinhole cameras!</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I have never had any issue with with the F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, or for that matter any of the other film SLRs (FE2, FM2, FM, etc...) that I use. I am guessing that's because those cameras are simpler in design than modern DSLRs but I also can't help but think that quality control is more of an issue today than it was in the past.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well, I have never had any issue with any Nikon DSLR, and I have had 8 since 2002: D100, D2X, D200, D300, D700, D7000, D800E, and D7100. Obviously some of those are still fairly new. Among them I have dropped three (D700, D300, and D7000) on hard surfaces: hard rock or asphalt. There are some minor dents but all three are still 100% functional and never needed repair.</p>

<p>My only Nikon body that has ever died completely was an F4, but that was after about 10 years. A freind got two F5 as soon as they were introduced in 1996, and both had that false battery low issue that was common among early F5 bodies and went back to Nikon for repair. One of the two went back so many times that Nikon eventually gave her a new one.</p>

<p>I think Nikon quality is as good as always; it is certainly not perfect but it never was. The difference is that web forums are a lot more popular in the last few years so that every issue is re-discussed 100 million times.</p>

Landrum, I did think of that issue when it happened as I have on occasion moved the aperture ring on AF-D lenses on

many occasions. That wasn't the case this time and the D7000 shows an FEE message when that happens vice the

dreaded Err that I got.

 

Shun, great point about the Internet and the ability to highlight issues so that there is the perception that all feedback

about certain products is bad. If my camera was functioning fine I doubt I would have posted something about how

normal it was functioning. All in all I have been very pleased with Nikon.

<p>Thanks, Charles. You are right about the messages. I forgot the difference. It didn't seem likely to be the aperture ring, of course, given your reference to trying other lenses, but I thought that I would at least mention it. I will never forget the time I first got the FEE message with an N80 years ago and just about went crazy trying to figure out what was wrong.</p>

<p>--Lannie</p>