Tronjo Loc: Canada, BC

I had the same problem with Tamron 24-70 on D850 wile testing it in the store - occasionally the AF would not engage when trying, like if the lens was in some sleep mode. I had to manually rotate slightly the focus ring to "wake" it up. The guy in the store told me this is a known issue with some Tamron on Nikon bodies. This and other issues like focus breathing made me drop Tamron option altogether.

OviedoPhotos

To add to this, check the minimum focusing distances on each lens. I have an older AF lens that has a 5' minimum focusing distance.

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

I have a Nikon d5500 w/a Tamron 18-270 lens. No problem w/that. Will occasionally get a black photo. Assume it has something to do w/my aperture/shutter speed settings.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

I've had the same problem with my Nikon lenses when there wasn't enough light (solution: switch to manual focus) or when the object wasn't within focus distance (solution: step back until it is in focus distance or switch to manual focus and wonder why the photo is "soft").

Mike1017

stay with Nikon glass you probably will not have this problem my 2 cents

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

I have both Nikon and Tamron glass, no issues on my D500.

saxman71 Loc: Wenatchee, WA

Sounds like you only have Tamron lenses for your Nikon D500 body. I sincerely doubt it is a Tamron lens/Nikon body compatibility issue. If it was there would be a lot of us with the same complaint. I have the D500 and three Tamron lenses and use them in combination without any focusing issues. I'm left with the thought it must be the way you have the auto focus set up on the camera body. Two things to try: 1) make sure the camera is set to AF-C, go into the custom setting menu and find (a) Auto Focus, then (a1) AF-C priority selection then click ahead to the next screen and set the camera to "Release". The camera should then fire if the image is out of focus. 2) If you already have it set up that way in-camera I would suggest setting the camera up for back button focus to see if that does anything to remedy the problem.

Oly Guy

The lens needs to get a fix on a solid object sometimes if the wall near object will not give the lens an object to fix on also the sky will offer the same problem but the infinity setting should kick in. I have those issues at times-also a small object may be hard to focus on like a small bird -this is when the focus is set on small point focus...mainly.

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

Once again we're digitizing an analog world.
There are plus/minus tolerances in everything. Sometimes they work- sometimes not.
Do you shut the camera off before you switch/remove the lens, then turn it back on?
Do you have other lenses to try, and/or somebody to trade/try other lenses? Maybe it's *just* that particular combo.
I'd say, start from zero. *GENTLY Clean* The contacts- lens and camera. The sensor. The lens- front and back glass. Take off any/all filters.
Take a picture of a subject with a busy back and foreground. Sometimes the camera/lens combo need to be "adjusted" together. Try again with no background/foreground objects. The 55-200 lens on my d3200 has a DOF centered waay in the back, but is nicely centered on the D7100.
Shoot various light, aperture and contrast conditions. Certain Sony and Canon camera/lens combos also have a tendency to "hunt" for focus at times.
Get another battery: I have one that's @ 1.5 yrs old- charges right up, lasts @ 15 minutes.
And rereading the above posts, could this be a d3200 thing?

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

There bespeaks a man with an unlimited money supply.

JoAnneK01 Loc: Lahaina, Hawaii

The only times I've had when there was not enough light for the autofocus to focus. Since focus could not be found the shutter would not work thus no photo. Once I shined a light at the subject and the autofocus worked.

sv3noKin51E

Johnny, we use both Tamron and Nikon lens with our Nikon bodies, both give great results. The hunting may depend on which lens/body is set up shot, and how the lens cooperates with a given body. In some cases, cleaning the contacts can help a great deal or eliminate the problem, as been mentioned.

With pir D300 FW updated last year, we solved a hunting issue with one of our Nikon len hunting with the D300, but it's never seemed to hunt with with a Tamron lens. The other side of the coin, our 150-600mm hunted a bit on most of the bodies, but after much research, working with the settings, it came to shutting the VC and AF off for certain shots especially on the tripod, was the best way to stop focus hunting, as it's only an AF issue; manual shooting doesn't have those problems (not being snarky).

Tamron must reverse engineer all of their FW and settings to come up with their lenses, since Nikon doesn't share their proprietary code with anyone. If you've played with all conceivable AF/VC and switch settings and the lens still hunts in whatever AF mode you're using, you could attempt to calibrate the lens. The D300 isn't a particularly fast old bird (camera) compared to recent models. A Tammy that hunts on the D300 may work fine on a D7200. Don't attempt a calibration without being sure you can do it, and know the procedure forward and backward. The last option, ask Tamron; they will be glad to help, and are usually easy to get on the phone even, though their repeated, on-hold announcements become tedious if not annoying, the FM station that plays in the background on hold plays classic rock. Hope this helps, happy shooting. sv

JohnnyRottenNJ Loc: Northern New Jersey

Thanks to all for the various suggestions. I have had this intermittent problem on three different Nikon cameras. It started with my D200. I had a 70-200mm 2.8 lens and the problem started almost immediately. It happened again after I got the D300 with a few different lenses. Removing and reinstalling the lens does seem to help. And now it is happening on my D500. In this instance, I had taken over 50 pictures that day. It was a fixed background. (We were taking photos of Santa Claus with a kid seated on his lap.) I had set the metering to a single dot as it gives me better results using the TTL flash. The camera was focusing fine when all of a sudden the lens would hunt and not focus or fire. I removed the lens and re-inserted it and that kind of cleared it up. There is a camera shop nearby that is a Tamron dealer, I may bring the camera and lenses to them and see what they say.
PS: I had sent the 70-200mm 2.8 back to Tamron twice and both times it came back mared "tested OK." But this and several Tamron lenses have all done the same thing on three different Nikon camera bodies. If it continues, I may look to trade them in for some Nikon glass.
Again, thank you all for your tips and advice.

sv3noKin51E

Johnny, pity Tamron sent the lens back to you without resolving the matter. Usually they do a bang-up job, but if the lens is with warranty, it would be reasonable to ask they replace it given the history. Merry Christmas and happy shooting. sv