lydiabpinkham Loc: Arlington, Tx

i'm shooting a D3100, i recently bought a tamron 16-300mm len
using the kit lens i would occassionaly have a problem getting the camera to focus and shoot., i had hopes that getting a better lens would allievate this problem.
i was in a light and lighting class, had the camera set up correctly, same settings as the other class members. and i'm primed and ready to shoot my pic and it wouldn't take the picture. the instructor told me to figure out why i couldn't shoot, and i'm at a loss.
Can any one shed some light on this
thanks

pixbyjnjphotos Loc: Apache Junction,AZ

I have experienced a similar problem with my D80 and a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 lens. This equipment combo takes some mighty fine pictures. However, every once in a while the lens won't focus and the camera won't take a picture unless the lens is focused. What I have found is that there is a very slight amount of play where the lens mounts to the camera. I can twist the lens just a wee bit cw or ccw. I would suggest that you turn the camera off before checking this. If, the camera won't take a picture, the lens may not be focused and it may be because the contacts in the mount are not making good contact. Gently give the lens a little twist without unlocking the mount and see if there is a little bit of play there. Move in both directions and see which way makes good contact and allows the camera/lens to focus and then you should be able to take a picture. This may not be your problem but it is worth a try. I run into this problem about once every 200 to 300 pictures. Always at the most in-opportune time. I just shut the camera off, give the lens a little twist in the mount, turn the camera back on a everything is just fine. Mine has about 1/32 inch of play. I am not sending the lens back because I need it too much of the time and now that I know what the problem is I can make it work for me.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

I'm not familiar with your lens (or camera), but I did a quick Google. In one of the pictures showing this lens, there are two switches visible: one is for AF or MF, the other one just says On Off and I can't tell what it is for.
Is it possible that one of these two switches isn't seated properly, maybe not pushed all the way to the position they should be?
A third switch simply says Lock, but again I don't know to lock what?
I looked for a manual on-line, but couldn't find one.

amehta Loc: Boston

Already answered...

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

I'm thinking the "lock" switch is for locking the lens barrel to prevent lens creep. You may want to look at how far you are from the subject. If your lens is trying to focus below the minimum focus distance, the shutter will not fire. Since I shoot Canon, I'm familiar with Nikon lenses, but every lens has a minimum focus distance.

B

amehta Loc: Boston

The camera works in what is called "focus priority", so it will only let you take the picture if it has locked focus. This can be an issue if there is not much light for the AF system to use.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Check to see if the lens is set to manual focus. I have made that mistake and wondered why nothing happened when I mashed the shutter.

steveg48

Im not familiar with the 3300 specifically but I am with Nikons in general. Usually there is a custom setting for focus prioirity in AF-S mode and separately in AF-C mode. You can choose focus priority or release priority. As amehta says in focus priority the camera won't shoot unless focus has been achieved. In release priority it will shoot even if not in focus. Hope this helps.

CruiserBob Loc: Lititz, Pa.

I'm with Jeff on his account. I recently received a D3200 kit and this all just recently started for me. I can be anywhere, shooting anything and all of a sudden, nothing. I'm at 380 shots on the clock total from out of the box thus far. When this occurs for me, I receive a prompt in the upper left corner of the display that says ( forget exact verbage ) lens not attached. I know I seat it correctly. I know there is play when seated, minimal, but play. I just tweak it to it's seated position and the prompt goes away. I'm not upset with the D3200's performance, even in lite of the circumstances but it does have me wondering, what next. Bob

Swamp Gator Loc: Coastal South Carolina

I have my cameras set to not focus or trip the shutter if there is no memory card installed.
Prevents me from getting some 'great shots' only to realize later I got nothing.

Because yes, despite my many years of photography experience, there have been times I have run out of the house in a hurry and left the card in the reader.

Did the same thing back in the film days. Learned it the hard way one time when the frame count got to 38.

onebilly Loc: Virginia

[quote=lydiabpinkham]i'm shooting a D3100, i recently bought a tamron 16-300mm len
using the kit lens i would occassionaly have a problem getting the camera to focus and shoot., i had hopes that

I have had this same problem with my D40 and have found that takeing the lens off and putting it back on usually helps

kamrakid Loc: Reinbeck, IA

Sorry if this is a duplicate post.
If the lens you're using has a manual aperture ring, it needs to be set at the smallest aperture. With my equipment, if the aperture ring gets bumped off of its smallest setting, the camera locks up and gives me an "FEE" message on the LCD.

amehta Loc: Boston

I don't think the D3x00 camera have the focus/release priority option. I did not find it in the D3200 manual.

Sprocket Loc: Upstate New York

I know that some new Tamron's have an additional switch that will lock the general distance that you are trying to focus. This lock will make it so that your focus motor does not have to travel as far in both directions before it locks in on the subject and allows for a much quicker focus.

PattyBWest Loc: Jacksonville, FL

You might also want to check battery level. With my d5200, if the battery is down to the 1/3 charge level, my lens will not focus and the camera will not take a picture of any kind.