topic Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

BonnieM — Sun, 24 May 2020 23:32:10 GMT

Rebel T7i

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

Ray-uk — Mon, 25 May 2020 10:07:11 GMT

I have never heard of this problem before and I think we need more information, what lens are you using and are you using live view or the viewfinder. Firstly you need to make sure that it is the humidity causing a mechanical problem with your equipment and not just the humid air preventing you from obtaining focus.

If it is the humidity affecting equipment then I would suggest you try another lens because that is more likely to be affected than the camera body.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

BonnieM — Mon, 25 May 2020 10:16:29 GMT

I have tried three different lenses - 60 mm Macro, 18-135, and 70-300. As the humidity increases, the problem becomes more pronounced. I tried shooting with it again last evening - outdoors - first 7 or 8 shots were perfect - it worked as it is supposed to. Then it started becoming intermittent - press shutter release and nothing would happen, no autofocus, nothing. I kept pressing the shutter release and suddenly intermittently it would focus and shoot. This is all while looking through the viewfinder. However, if I switch to live view, it works perfectly, every time. The camera was shipped to Canon three weeks ago and they found no problem. The first day I got to try it after it came back to me, it worked great - it was a nice dry day. Yesterday it had rained and the humidity was up and I started having problems with it again.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

wq9nsc — Mon, 25 May 2020 11:18:47 GMT

How soon is this happening after you take the camera outdoors? If your camera is coming from a cool indoor environment into a hot humid outdoor environment the moisture is going to form on every exposed part until it comes up to temperature. I keep my cars and pickup AC set on cold but when shooting summer sports I don't set the temp as cold or I will be dealing with lens fogging.

I suspect you are getting enough fogging on the mirror to throw off AF as the humidity precipitates out on this surface which has a fair amount of thermal lag. I shoot with 1 series bodies and my sports lens are weather sealed so I have never run into this issue but the front element will quickly fog on the 300 and 400 2.8 primes when it comes out of cold AC into the humidity.

As a test, try keeping your camera in a warmer part of the house before bringing it outside or put it in a sealed plastic bag and let it sit outside for 30 to 60 minutes prior to photography.

Rodger

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

BonnieM — Mon, 25 May 2020 11:22:46 GMT

My AC is not on - temperature inside house was 73 and outdoors was 68. It is not immediate upon going outdoors - the problem becomes worse the longer I am out. I had considered lens fogging as an issue but the conditions don’t support that.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

Waddizzle — Mon, 25 May 2020 14:21:41 GMT

You mentioned that you tried it in the evening. How dark was it? Does the camera have enough light?

Try setting the camera in P mode, set the lens switch to MF, and press the shutter. If it does not fire the shutter, then something is wrong. I expect it to fire. I cannot imagine how going from inside to outside could have such crippling effect.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

ebiggs1 — Mon, 25 May 2020 15:10:36 GMT

Bonnie M,

There is cause and effect. A lot of the time people associate a certain cause for whatever effect they see. A lot of the time the two are unrelated. I believe that is your case. I would tend to agree with Canon.

First reset your camera. Menus, tools, clear all settings and all custom settings. Now set the T7i to P mode. ISO 200 and average WB. Make sure your lens has the AF switch on. On a nice day go outside and take a dozen or more random shots of varying subjects. If it works, it works and there isn't anything wrong with the gear.

Personally I have never "babied" my gear. It goes where I go and it does what I want. Whether the weather is hot, cold, stormy or nice, yes, even high humidity and none of my gear has ever failed because of that. I do have the best Canon has to offer and it got regular maintenance but it always worked. I did a lot of work in Alabama where the humidity is quite high all year round. It is especially high in the summer. I would tend to suggest you check else where for the problem.

What part of the country are you in? What are the subjects you shoot? You know the lack of contrast will keep the T7i from shooting? Too close or too dark will also keep it from shooting.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

BonnieM — Mon, 25 May 2020 15:21:53 GMT

All of what you suggested was tried when I spoke with Canon the first time and we could not resolve the issue. I have shot on an ice day with great conditions and no issues. In the past I have shot on days with high humidity with no issues. For some reason this problem has only existed in the past month. Also, how would you explain that I can get one or two shots then press the shutter button and nothing happens - in good light - and no settings on the camera have been changed? It seems to me that if this is “operator error” then I would never be able to get a shot, but as long as humidity is low, I can shoot. I have taken many photos of the moon, some Milky Way photos, low light, long exposure of waterfalls - so it’s not like I don’t know how to use the camera.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

RobertTheFat — Mon, 25 May 2020 15:24:24 GMT

@BonnieM wrote:
My AC is not on - temperature inside house was 73 and outdoors was 68. It is not immediate upon going outdoors - the problem becomes worse the longer I am out. I had considered lens fogging as an issue but the conditions don’t support that

From what you've told us so far, what stands out is that you have high humidity at only 68 degrees. If the outside air itself is foggy, that could make it harder to focus, and it might get worse as the foggy air made its way into the camera. That's not "lens fogging" in its purest sense, but the effect could conceivably be similar.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

Waddizzle — Mon, 25 May 2020 15:26:05 GMT

@BonnieM wrote:
All of what you suggested was tried when I spoke with Canon the first time and we could not resolve the issue. I have shot on an ice day with great conditions and no issues. In the past I have shot on days with high humidity with no issues. For some reason this problem has only existed in the past month. Also, how would you explain that I can get one or two shots then press the shutter button and nothing happens - in good light - and no settings on the camera have been changed? It seems to me that if this is “operator error” then I would never be able to get a shot, but as long as humidity is low, I can shoot. I have taken many photos of the moon, some Milky Way photos, low light, long exposure of waterfalls - so it’s not like I don’t know how to use the camera.

Use your cell phone to capture video of your issue, and upload it somewhere. Email the link Canon, and provide a detailed description about your ongoing issue, and be sure to reference the service ticket number that was used the first time.

If the video captures "now it works, and now it doesn't" that would be perfect.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

BonnieM — Mon, 25 May 2020 15:29:30 GMT

Not foggy, just humid. I live in the mountains of West Virginia. It’s not foggy, just higher humidity than normal for this time of year. But, I also had the camera out last fall immediately after rain and had no issues - conditions similar to what we have now.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

BonnieM — Mon, 25 May 2020 15:31:08 GMT

Great suggestion - I had thought about that. I will call them in the morning to find out where to send it.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

RobertTheFat — Mon, 25 May 2020 15:37:00 GMT

@BonnieM wrote:
Not foggy, just humid. I live in the mountains of West Virginia. It’s not foggy, just higher humidity than normal for this time of year. But, I also had the camera out last fall immediately after rain and had no issues - conditions similar to what we have now.

I hear you, but rain lowers, not raises, the humidity of the air.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

ebiggs1 — Mon, 25 May 2020 15:53:22 GMT

" But, I also had the camera out last fall immediately after rain and had no issues - conditions similar to what we have now."

This is why I urge you to look elsewhere for the problem. My guess, it is not humidity at all. It is just a condition that is present you are connecting to the camera. If you don't open up the possibilities you may never solve the problem.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

BonnieM — Mon, 25 May 2020 15:58:12 GMT

I am looking at other possibilities. I have a couple of much more experienced/technical people I am going to have look at it.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

BonnieM — Mon, 25 May 2020 16:00:33 GMT

@RobertTheFat - yes, normally it does, but I can tell you that right now the humidity is abnormally high for this time of year. I will be trying it again this afternoon and will let you know the results.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

BonnieM — Mon, 25 May 2020 16:03:40 GMT

@ebiggs1 - what would cause the problem to to intermittent? Same settings, same light, same everything, but still no photo. That’s the part that is getting me. Normally something either works or it doesn’t work, intermittent with worsening the longer outside is why I am leaning toward environmental conditions.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

ebiggs1 — Mon, 25 May 2020 16:09:14 GMT

Believe me I know how frustrating a problem like this can be. That is why you need to keep an open mind and consider all possibilities. It could be so intermittent that the Canon tech never experienced it. My gut feeling is it is not humidity though, still.

If you think of or see any additional conditions please get back.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

BonnieM — Mon, 25 May 2020 16:15:29 GMT

Thank you! And I will get video to show I am not crazy.

Re: Rebel T7i will not focus or shoot in high humidity, shoots fine when dry

RobertTheFat — Mon, 25 May 2020 17:13:19 GMT

@BonnieM wrote:
All of what you suggested was tried when I spoke with Canon the first time and we could not resolve the issue. I have shot on an ice day with great conditions and no issues. In the past I have shot on days with high humidity with no issues. For some reason this problem has only existed in the past month. Also, how would you explain that I can get one or two shots then press the shutter button and nothing happens - in good light - and no settings on the camera have been changed? It seems to me that if this is “operator error” then I would never be able to get a shot, but as long as humidity is low, I can shoot. I have taken many photos of the moon, some Milky Way photos, low light, long exposure of waterfalls - so it’s not like I don’t know how to use the camera.

You're physically pressing the shutter button, right? Not setting it off from a computer via a WiFi connection? I ask because one thing that water in the air can do is lower the reliability of weak-signal RF communications. That, and the water in intervening leaves, is what makes satellite radio harder to receive in the summer. And digital broadcast TV harder to receive when it's raining.