Sandbuilder Loc: Ohio

I’m new to this forum and have been impressed with the knowledge of the people posting. Hopefully you can help me.
I have been a Canon shooter for over 25 years, and now I have what I think is a Nikon problem and need help. My daughter volunteers at our local SPCA. She takes pictures of the cats and markets them on Facebook. She knows just enough about her camera to get good pictures. For the last two years she had been using a Canon T6s with a Tamron f2.8 24-70mm lens. She uses a rapid fire setting and takes up to 600 images a night just to get that “perfect look” for an animal that best expresses its personality. She usually shoots in low light conditions because she wants “normal looking” eyes, not slits (from flash). So in order to let her shoot at higher ISOs I purchased a Nikon D750 for her for Christmas. She also got the same Tamron lens for the Nikon.
Now for the problem. She shoots with a fixed speed (1/60) and at ISOs ranging from 1600 to 6400. She sets the shutter on high speed and is usually in the 50mm to 70mm lens range. Often during her session the aperture “locks up”. It can happen at 2.8, 8, or 11. In all cases the camera is frozen. The shutter is inoperative. She takes the lens back to a wider setting, shoots a picture at the frozen f-stop and then it frees up.
She never experienced this with her Canon camera shooting under similar conditions. I admit my lack of knowledge of Nikon cameras is probably the problem. Any help would be appreciated.

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

its the tamron lens, they just seem to need more light/time for a focus lock.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

To be honest, you should have purchased another Canon camera since you daughter is familiar with their menu system etc. Many people that have used different camera platforms say that the Canon camera menus are the best and most well organized. I shoot Canon and every once in awhile I run into a person that is new to photography and has a Nikon camera that needs help. I offer to help and I get totally lost and can't help them.

Back to your problem. One thing I'd look at is a menu setting that tells the camera not to release the shutter if the camera doesn't have focus. In low light conditions, especially using a 3rd party lens, (as someone else pointed out) it may have trouble achieving a perfect focus and therefore not allow the shutter to release giving you the impression that it's locked up. Don't ask my how to change that setting. I could only help you if it were a Canon menu.

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

Lots of happy users just use back button focus and shutter trip on release;
or she could use center spot focus and give it time to acquire focus.

Sandbuilder Loc: Ohio

Thank you all for the replies. I discussed the problem with her and I also thought initially it was a failure to focus. However, if she directs the camera at a well-lit subject it remains locked up. I never heard of a focus failure that permanently locked the camera.

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

She may have a problem, there is a ton of current problems with the
tamron lens line for focus issues on the web right now.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

I think there is a "terminology" failure going on here. What exactly does "locks up" mean? I am guessing the shutter will not trip? What MODE is she shooting in? Manual? Aperture Priority? Program? If her ISO selection AND her shutter selection causes the camera to need an Aperture that is outside the range of the lens then the shutter will not trip. Also, if the camera is set to "Focus Priority" and the scene is not in focus, then the shutter will not trip then either.
If the camera is truly "locked up" and totally unresponsive, then remove the battery for a few seconds and re-insert it and try again.

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

Perhaps we need some clarification of the symptoms:
1) if she shoots at 1/60, how can she set the shutter to high speed?
2) if the aperture locks up how is she able to take it to a wider setting and
then shoot at the frozen f-stop before it frees up?

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Is she shooting in manual mode? I've had instances with my D7000 where if I am not in manual mode, the camera won't take the pic because there's not enough light. Also set auto iso. The D750 can do better than 6400 iso if needed. Id keep the exposure at f2.8. Also she can go down to 1/30 handheld if needed.

Sandbuilder Loc: Ohio

Sorry for the lack of clarity:
She is shooting in Speed Priority ("S"). The reference to "high speed" is continuous shooting vs single frame. As to the aperture "lock up", the lens is a fixed f2.8. The reference is to the zoom setting. She is usually shooting at 50 to 70 mm. She has to zoom to 24mm to get the camera to fire. Even at the 24mm setting the aperture remains locked on the f-stop until fired.
As to "locks up", yes the shutter will not trip but also the f-stop will not change, even if the lens is pointed toward a bright light source. So both aperture and shutter are locked. Note that the aperture was in range for the original shot. The lock up occurs after the picture is taken.

Sandbuilder Loc: Ohio

Please note that removing the battery to unlock the camera is not necessary. It just requires going to a wide zoom and shooting a picture at the locked f-stop. Then the camera resumes normal operation.

oldtigger Loc: Roanoke Virginia-USA

is she trying to use the AE lock button and why is she using S speed instead of A aperture priority?

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Try this: Remove the battery, then press the power button for several seconds. About 15-20 seconds seems to work. Then re-insert the battery. What this does is it gives the camera a sort of "soft" reset. It won't change any of your/her setting, but in most cases, the camera will resume normal operations. If this fails to make her camera work properly, perhaps she might want to send it in to Nikon for warranty repairs, along with a detailed description of the problem.

I do have to ask. You state that she uses the camera in the "speed" (S) mode. I'm guessing this is actually shutter priority? If so, the shutter speed needs to be set at a speed that will allow the requisite aperture to be set by the camera that will result in a proper exposure. If the widest aperture on the lens won't allow this, then the ISO has to be set either on auto IS or manually set at a high setting, i.e., 1600, etc., to compensate for a slow lens. I don't know how the SPCA feels about using flash, but that might be the solution.

Lastly, I have to bow to the knowledge of others regarding the Tamron 24-70 lens. Perhaps it's the lens that is having issues, given that if you zoom back out to 24mm to get it to work properly, that might be a good indication of a defective lens. Other than that, I'm not familiar with Tamron lenses.

Sandbuilder Loc: Ohio

Thank you all for your input. There are some good suggestions that we will try.

queencitysanta Loc: Charlotte, North Carolina

Faster SD card, raise the flash sync from, 1/60 to 1/250 Sec