Why does my camera sometimes refuse to take a photo?

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FineFeatheredFriends

New member
Hello, everyone. I am new to photography and this is my very first post! I recently started a love affair with birds and birding and, well, photographing birds naturally came afterwards. I have a question about my camera that I'm not sure how to ask, so I'll tell you a little story and give as much details as I can.

I own a Nikon D5500 and use a 300ml zoom when I take bird photos. Last week I was in Florida with my girlfriend and we were birding on a nature trail. It was close to dusk, so a tad dark. In a stroke of great luck a Carolina Chickadee (very small songbird) landed on a branch a mere few feet from us! I took aim, pushed halfway down to focus (which took a while. What's up with that, first of all? Is it because it's moving?) and then pushed all the way down to snap the photo..but the camera was having nothing of it. Wait, what?! This is a Golden Opportunity here! I'm so close to this bird it's taking up my entire viewfinder! Push halfway down to focus, then all the way down to....ok, halfway down to focus, all the way down to...HELLO? What the what? Maybe if I switch from manual to auto? Nope. Focus yes, shoot no. Focus yes, shoot no. Focus took a while sometimes but eventually it would focus and then not let me shoot a photo. Sport mode the same. Ok, maybe it's the focus. Switch to manual focus. Focus in on the bird. Great. Push all the dow-Push all the way- PUSH ALL THE WAY DOWN! I know this how the camera takes photos. it has to be! I've using it for for over 6 months! What the heck is going on!? Needless to say I was incredibly, incredibly frustrated. Here's the other odd thing. My girlfriend was having the exact same problem with her Cannon Powershot SX510. What is it that we're not understanding?

For the record, I did fortunately come away with one really good picture of the bird.

Thanks, everyone.

-Peter
 
cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
It sounds like the camera was not achieving focus and depending on how you have Shutter priority set it will not take a picture until the camera detects that it is in focus. You might want to look at 'Back Button Focus' topics to see if that will be something that you would like to use. There is a good thread under the sub-forum Tutorials. I think it is a sticky at the top of that forum.
 
cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
I might add that under low light conditions the Auto-focus has a hard time. Also depending on your focus mode ie spot, matrix, etc can be part of the problem
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
FineFeatheredFriends said:
Hello, everyone. I am new to photography and this is my very first post! I recently started a love affair with birds and birding and, well, photographing birds naturally came afterwards. I have a question about my camera that I'm not sure how to ask, so I'll tell you a little story and give as much details as I can.

I own a Nikon D5500 and use a 300ml zoom when I take bird photos. Last week I was in Florida with my girlfriend and we were birding on a nature trail. It was close to dusk, so a tad dark. In a stroke of great luck a Carolina Chickadee (very small songbird) landed on a branch a mere few feet from us! I took aim, pushed halfway down to focus (which took a while. What's up with that, first of all? Is it because it's moving?) and then pushed all the way down to snap the photo..but the camera was having nothing of it. Wait, what?! This is a Golden Opportunity here! I'm so close to this bird it's taking up my entire viewfinder! Push halfway down to focus, then all the way down to....ok, halfway down to focus, all the way down to...HELLO? What the what? Maybe if I switch from manual to auto? Nope. Focus yes, shoot no. Focus yes, shoot no. Focus took a while sometimes but eventually it would focus and then not let me shoot a photo. Sport mode the same. Ok, maybe it's the focus. Switch to manual focus. Focus in on the bird. Great. Push all the dow-Push all the way- PUSH ALL THE WAY DOWN! I know this how the camera takes photos. it has to be! I've using it for for over 6 months! What the heck is going on!? Needless to say I was incredibly, incredibly frustrated. Here's the other odd thing. My girlfriend was having the exact same problem with her Cannon Powershot SX510. What is it that we're not understanding?

For the record, I did fortunately come away with one really good picture of the bird.

Thanks, everyone.

-Peter
Click to expand...
There's a setting in the Auto-focus configuration menu (Pencil icon) called: "AF-S Priority Selection". There's also one called "AF-C Priority Selection". Set this/these to "Release" instead of "Focus" and the camera will take a shot, regardless of it having achieved focus-lock or not, in their respective settings.

.....
 
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B

Blacktop

Senior Member
FineFeatheredFriends said:
Hello, everyone. I am new to photography and this is my very first post! I recently started a love affair with birds and birding and, well, photographing birds naturally came afterwards. I have a question about my camera that I'm not sure how to ask, so I'll tell you a little story and give as much details as I can.

I own a Nikon D5500 and use a 300ml zoom when I take bird photos. Last week I was in Florida with my girlfriend and we were birding on a nature trail. It was close to dusk, so a tad dark. In a stroke of great luck a Carolina Chickadee (very small songbird) landed on a branch a mere few feet from us! I took aim, pushed halfway down to focus (which took a while. What's up with that, first of all? Is it because it's moving?) and then pushed all the way down to snap the photo..but the camera was having nothing of it. Wait, what?! This is a Golden Opportunity here! I'm so close to this bird it's taking up my entire viewfinder! Push halfway down to focus, then all the way down to....ok, halfway down to focus, all the way down to...HELLO? What the what? Maybe if I switch from manual to auto? Nope. Focus yes, shoot no. Focus yes, shoot no. Focus took a while sometimes but eventually it would focus and then not let me shoot a photo. Sport mode the same. Ok, maybe it's the focus. Switch to manual focus. Focus in on the bird. Great. Push all the dow-Push all the way- PUSH ALL THE WAY DOWN! I know this how the camera takes photos. it has to be! I've using it for for over 6 months! What the heck is going on!? Needless to say I was incredibly, incredibly frustrated. Here's the other odd thing. My girlfriend was having the exact same problem with her Cannon Powershot SX510. What is it that we're not understanding?

For the record, I did fortunately come away with one really good picture of the bird.

Thanks, everyone.

-Peter
Click to expand...

All lenses have a minimal focus distance, where if you get closer then the minimal focus distance the camera will not achieve focus.
If your lens is rated at (Oh let's say) 5 feet, and your camera's sensor is closer than that, it will not focus.

You were probably too close to the bird. I wish I had that problem!
 
Danno

Danno

Senior Member
Isn't it amazing that we always seem to learn something new about our camera just in the middle of that amazing shot... that one you cannot believe you have an opportunity to take. I am glad at least you maintained your composure and did get a shot of the bird, and came here to learn what might have happened.

Welcome to the Nikonites.
 
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aroy

Senior Member
If the above image was taken after you moved a bit back, then you may have been too near for AF to lock, and in AF-S mode the camera will not shoot till the focus is acquired. Unless there is a moving object, I prefer this mode, as then the shot will be in focus.

Another thing to note is that the central focus point is normally the most sensitive one, so when shooting birds in low light
. use AF-S instead of AF-C
. use single point AF and select the central point
. use spot metering instead of matrix metering
 
T

thequeenscheese

Senior Member
I get this also sometimes and it is annoying for me its usually that its not achieving focus as mentioned above, popping into manual generaly solves it, it is a pain tho i have to admit, but on the flip side its also good 6 of 1 and 1/2 dozen of the other for me, and Ive learned something in this thread today.

what is the best way to set the diopter up? is it as simple as auto focus on something then set the diopter to suite my eye? also is it different on different lenses etc?
 
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aroy

Senior Member
thequeenscheese said:
.......

what is the best way to set the diopter up? is it as simple as auto focus on something then set the diopter to suite my eye? also is it different on different lenses etc?
Click to expand...

Diopter setting is for the body. The eyepiece will modify the distance at which the image in view finder will be focused. My method is
. Select a fast lens, say F1.8 (F1.2 is even better !)
. Select Aperture Priority and set the lens at F1.8
. Place a graduated scale, say a normal foot ruler, on a wall at a distance of about 1m inclined towards you.
. Use single point AF, AF-S
. Select Central focus point
. Point at a graduation and let the camera AF on it
. Now adjust the diopter till the selected graduation is sharpest

The reason for selecting a fast lens is that the DOF is narrow and the OOF is very evident at short focusing distances.
 
D

Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
Someone mentioned Back Button Focus and it is great for birds. Here is a little on what it is and how to set it up.

Back Button Focus is a great tool for so many photographers and is something I think everyone should try at least once. Below are a few sites that talk about the how and why of Back Button Focus.

Benefits of Using the AF-ON Button for Autofocus by Nikon USA


BACK BUTTON FOCUSING – EASIER THAN YOU THINK! by Improve Photography


Here is a good YouTube video that goes over the why and how of Back Button Focusing.

You can do a search of the forum on "Back Button Focus" or BBF and see the many threads that have been created on this subject.

Try it, You will like it.






 
cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
aroy said:
Diopter setting is for the body. The eyepiece will modify the distance at which the image in view finder will be focused. My method is
. Select a fast lens, say F1.8 (F1.2 is even better !)
. Select Aperture Priority and set the lens at F1.8
. Place a graduated scale, say a normal foot ruler, on a wall at a distance of about 1m inclined towards you.
. Use single point AF, AF-S
. Select Central focus point
. Point at a graduation and let the camera AF on it
. Now adjust the diopter till the selected graduation is sharpest

The reason for selecting a fast lens is that the DOF is narrow and the OOF is very evident at short focusing distances.
Click to expand...
I'm not refuting what you have said, but I have one question about it. Your method seems to be assuming that your lens is achieving the proper focus. What if your lens actually needs Fine Tuning to match the camera as can be done on some cameras ie D7100?

I have always tried to adjust the diopter using the grid markings in the viewfinder to get them sharp and defined.
 
cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
^^^ Thinking a little more on that, I could see it working OK if, First set the focus on the ruler using Live View. Then use the view finder diopter to get the ruler in focus through the View Finder.

Now after re-reading again, I see you are using Auto Focus to achieve focus first. That should also work. Ha! That's what I get for thinking without thinking. :unconscious:
 
A

aroy

Senior Member
cwgrizz said:
I'm not refuting what you have said, but I have one question about it. Your method seems to be assuming that your lens is achieving the proper focus. What if your lens actually needs Fine Tuning to match the camera as can be done on some cameras ie D7100?

I have always tried to adjust the diopter using the grid markings in the viewfinder to get them sharp and defined.
Click to expand...

Yes my method assumes that the AF for the specified lens is spot on.

I think that the best Focus is when you use Live View and zoom in to the point of interest. But that works mostly if you are tethered or on a tripod. The idea of seeing "object in focus" on the view finder is to get focus fast and go ahead with the shot. When there is any action in the scene, we rarely have the luxury of using a tripod and taking time to get perfect focus. That is where good and accurate AF wins.
 
T

thequeenscheese

Senior Member
When I was reading up on which lens to get (ended up with a tamron 18-270) I read that you can have the lens calibrated to the body but not sure if that was high end lenses, certain bodies etc?
 
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