Help. Tamron 17-50 Auto Focus Issues

[bill_deegan2]

<p>I have a 3 week old (bought new) Tamron 17-50 w/BIM used on a Nikon D90 body. First 3rd party lens I have purchased with help from Photo.Net folks that have used this lens. I am having issues where the lens will just stop auto focusing. A "fee" message appears on top of info window. Either repowering the body, or removing, re-attaching the lens is required and this restores auto focus, until the next time.<br>

As a separate issue, some images are out of focus when autofocus is working. Could be operator error but similar images captured 15 seconds apart shows one image in focus , the other out of focus.<br>

This is driving me nuts. No, I haven't tried cleaning the contacts, however I suspect something more serious is going on.<br>

Before I send the lens in for replacement/repair, any other users of this lens/body combination experiencing same?<br>

Regards,<br>

Bill</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>The FEE error indicates that the lens' aperture ring is not set to the minimum aperture. Therefore, technically that should never happen to a G type lens that has no aperture ring. In fact I have quite a few G lenses and I have never seen that error on those G lenses. The Tamron 17-50mm/f2.8 has no aperture ring.</p>

<p>I assume you are talking about this lens, right?<a href="http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/1750_diII_a016.asp">http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/1750_diII_a016.asp</a></p>

[Michael R Freeman]

<p>As Shun noted, you should NEVER see a "fEE" error message on a lens with no aperture ring. That error message is reserved *exclusively* for an incorrectly set aperture ring, and nothing else. On the D90 it is activated by the little switch at the 8 o'clock position next to the mount, which is depressed by a small post on the back edge of the aperture ring. On lenses with no aperture ring, the CPU communicates to the body that it is a "G" lens and the input from this little switch can therefore be ignored.</p>

<p>If you are indeed getting the "fEE" message, and not "ERR", then I suspect something is seriously wrong with the CPU in the Tamron lens, and it is not communicating the proper lens data to the camera. It is communicating, otherwise you would get a "---" message on the top LCD, but for some reason the D90 thinks this is a D lens with an aperture ring.</p>

<p>If this continues to happen after cleaning the contacts on the lens and camera, then I would suggest you return the lens for warranty service, or exchange it for a new one at your vendor if it is still within the return period. Something is definitely not right with the lens CPU.</p>

[dave_petley2]

<p>That how come I buy nikon lens not tamron or 3rd party lens </p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>While I only use Nikon lenses for my Nikon cameras, plenty of people have used Tamron lenses without any problems. Most likely the problem is specific to this particular copy of the lens. It is best to get a replacement; if that is not possible, get it fixed under warranty.</p>

[bill_deegan2]

<p>Shun, Thank you for your comments and yes, that's the lens tied to your link.<br>

Michael, I have cleaned the body contacts so I will see what happens, thanks for your time replying.<br>

Dave, thanks for replying. As I mentioned, this is my first 3rd party lens. This lens is highy rated by many at Photo.net and reviews I have read have been mostly positive. Sample variations are a reality no matter what brand of lens.</p>

[CvhKaar]

<blockquote>

<p>As a separate issue, some images are out of focus when autofocus is working.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>For this I'd need to see some example, since there are several possibillities Like :<br />- In continiues AF , ( Sports) you can take pictures even when not in focus ( = elease Priority over Focus Priority).<br />- If on Automatic AF , the camera chooses the subject to focus on, which sometimes may not be what you want to focus on ( settings on a1 ..)<br />- When choosing the "wide Focus Area", ( settings a2) same thing, something else may be in focus. or when on Center focus, the subject in the center may not have enough relief to focus on .<br />etc. etc.</p>

[robert_k1]

<p>As C.P.M. pointed out, these dslrs have many focus setting options. They can be confusing and are not easy to understand as described in the user manual. If not set correctly for a particular situation, the seemingly random out of focus shots may lead one to blame the lens. Let us know what your settings are and the shooting situation, and you may get better answers.</p>

<p>But the settings may or may not have anything to do with the error message.</p>

[bill_deegan2]

<p>C.P.M-Thank you for responding. I was using SB-800, 1/200, Manual mode on camera, picking my autofocus points. Looking back, i really think it was operator error as I was in a hurry and may have grabbed the wrong AF point. One issue about the D90 i don't like is the AF point selected is difficult to read at times in the view finder.<br>

Robert-Yes, you are right, and thanks for responding. Many AF settings. As an update to Michaels suggestion, I have cleaned the contacts, taken some images that are sharp with AF working perfectly. So far, so good.<br>

Thanks everyone for your thime .</p>

[louis_stoeger]

<p>I have that lens on my D90, and get a similar error. Mine is "F--" I've found it is from the lens getting "twisted" (the same motion as if you tried to remove it but without pressing the button). I've found that a good "twist" as if re-attaching the lens, will usually fix the problem, as will actually removing and reattaching it. I've been considering sending mine in too. I've also noticed several small imperfections on the front element of mine. I don't know if they're affecting image quality, but they irritate me. I've also noticed some shots that I *thought* should be sharp are a little soft, even when I'm sure my focus point was good - I've assumed it was camera shake.</p>

[bill_deegan2]

<p>Louis, thanks for responding. You're experience mirrors mine. I have cleaned the contact points on both the lens and in camera body. So far AF & focus points are dead on. If you haven't already tried, clean the contact points with some alcohol.</p>

[louis_stoeger]

<p>I'll try that, test and report back, but I'm not real hopeful. It's been behaving this way since about 2 weeks after I bought it.</p>

[louis_stoeger]

<p>ok, I cleaned the contacts with a q-tip that was <strong><em>dampened</em></strong> (not wet - call me paranoid) with 91% isopropyl alcohol. And have not been able to repeat the error. That said I have also been working a lot and shooting very little (in fact only twice since my last post above), and since this was always a highly intermittent problem I'm not proclaiming the problem fixed - yet. If it comes back I'll post back another update. </p>

[louis_stoeger]

<p>got the same error again today. Bill, what did you decide about sending yours in? I'm leaning toward doing that myself.</p>

[thesaltypeanut]

<p>I've been having the same issues! I bought the lens a few months ago and it worked great until the last wedding i shot a few weeks ago. I got the error message (I shoot Canon) and I about flipped my lid! Luckily I was able to just turn my camera off, twist and then I was good.</p>

<p>Let me know what you decide to do about sending it in...</p>