I just upgraded from a D50 body to a D7000 and am a bit lost and confused. When I tried both of my lenses on the camera I could not get the camera to auto focus itself or take a picture. I tried it switching from auto to manual and I could take pictures. At first I thought maybe my lenses were the issue but its clear there is a setting that is preventing my lenses from auto focusing. I could not locate it and a bit puzzled and frustrated.

Additionally I would like any tips at hot to get the best I can out of this camera.

Thanks!

Couple of things to try;

Is there enough light in your scene to achieve auto focus? If not, you can try using the focus assist light, (Custom setting A7) or using a flash attachment that has focus assist.

Are both the lens and camera set to auto, (lever on front of camera set to "A")?

Did you try focusing with the AE-L/AF-L button on the back of camera,(if custom setting F5 has been set to "AF/ON")?

well you did not say what lens you are trying to use ...

Best Picture,,?? All the Nikons come out the factory set soft so up the sharpness to +9 and the contrast to -1 so you dont burn the whites ......

There's an autofocus on/off switch to the left of the lens mount. Are you sure this is switched on?

Cheers

My Nikonians gallery

Hi Bryan,

Welcome to Nikonians. I believe it would be very important for you to study the manual and make certain that the custom settings are set in the manner that you desire. Regarding the focus, the a1 & a2 (custom settings) will play a part in that along with how the lens is set (A or M) plus the auto focus mode button (AF or M) on the camera body.

To really get the most out of your camera I'd suggest getting a good book, such as Thom Hogan's Nikon D7000 guide or D. Young's book. Nikon's manual is good but really leaves a lot to be desired, imo. I have Thom's ebook along with his "go to" guide and they go into great detail plus suggestions on different custom settings. The more you "play" with your camera and lens the more you'll learn and since digital let's you see the results immediately you have nothing to lose. Good luck.

John

Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. <><

the thing that took me a while to realize was that if you start using U1 and U2 it remembers EVERY menu setting so if you make a change when in P of say iso it does not affect the Us

The D7000 is a rather complicated instrument compared to the D50. There are a few elementary (obvious) things to check, e.g. making sure the lens cap is off and that the settings on the D7000 body and lens are both alike, i.e. auto or manual.

The next stop is your owners' manual. Look at the diagram on p.3 and check out the pages cited for #10 and #11.

After that (as mentioned by others) there are several books which translate some of the owners' manual "Engineeringese". One that I have found useful is by David Busch (Nikon D7000) who has written many user manuals over the years (and gotten great reviews). If you look in Busch's book (see pp 143-152).

Another step you can take is to call the Nikon help line: 1-800-645-6689.

Good Luck!!

Thanks everyone for the insight.
I had not figured out that you have to us the "AE-L, AF-L" button and shutter release button both to focus and take the picture.
Again "newbie" error. Learning lots about the camera and boy is it beast of a camera with many weapons. Excited.

Thanks again,


Bryan

>Thanks everyone for the insight.
>I had not figured out that you have to us the "AE-L,
>AF-L" button and shutter release button both to focus
>and take the picture.


Actually, you shouldn't have to do that - unless you've specifically programmed the button for that behavior. Out of the box behavior is that the shutter release button, pressed 1/2-way, activates autofocus.

I'd suggest you read through the manual about resetting all settings, and then reset them, getting back to an out of the box state.

Download the spreadsheet of settings at the top of the forum to give you another perspective on everything you can control.

I read the manual (put me to sleep 3 times) Read lots on line, read an aftermarket manual,

THEN

found the DigiTutor! WOOT!
http://www.nikondigitutor.com/eng/d7000/index.html

The Nikon site taught me more per minute than any method.

Try it!

I hadn't come across that before, thanks for posting it.

-James