Canon T7 constantly trying to find focus

[jakef2008]

Hi, I have been using a Canon T7 for the past few years and have had no problems with it.  Today, however, when shooting a basketball game, the camera would not let me view the back LCD, and none of the buttons would work except my trigger button to take the photos.  After testing different lenses and resetting my camera, nothing changed. By looking at my 70-200 2.8 focus range area glass, I noticed that the camera was constantly trying to find focus even when not half-pressing the shutter or taking photos.  The camera would simply be around my neck and be trying to focus.  I tested other lenses and had the same problem.  I recently got the 70-200 2.8 IS version 1 and am curious if the lens, has caused this but I have used the lens twice before and hadn't had this problem and the problem continues on all my other lenses.  Has anyone else experienced this issue on T7 or any other Canon DSLR and if so how would I go about fixing it? 

Note: The camera still takes photos and occasionally the screen will work but the majority of the time it refuses to turn on and seems to be stuck in the autofocus firing mode.  

[deebatman316]

Are you sure you completely reset the camera. Custom Functions will have to be reset separately. Then a factory reset to completely clear the camera. What other lenses do you have to test out. Your current 70-200mm F/2.8L IS USM lens uses what's called a Ring Type USM AF motor. These lenses provide a focus distance scale on them and allow full time manual focus. You can turn the focus ring at any time while in AF mode. Without causing any damage to the lens. This is because there is a clutch underneath the focus ring. The focus ring on Ring Type USM lenses do not spin when AF is being performed.

[jakef2008]

I have completely reset all of the functions on the Camera and have tried the Canon 18-55 kit lens and the Sigma 150-600mm lens with it and the same problem occurs.  The camera seems to keep telling the lens to find focus.  The motor inside the lenses for the autofocus on the Sigma 150-600 and the Canon 70-200 2.8 have the focus distance ring spinning and you can hear the motor constantly on when listening closely.  Should I just take the camera to a local repair shop?

[deebatman316]

The camera needs to be sent to Canon for repair.

[Waddizzle]

“ Today however, when shooting a basketball game, the camera would not let me view the back LCD, and none of the buttons would work except my trigger button to take the photo.

I tested other lenses and had the same problem.  

Note: The camera still takes photos and occasionally the screen will work but the majority of the time it refuses to turn on and seems to be stuck in the autofocus firing mode,. “

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Welcome to the forum.  Sorry to hear you’re having an issue with your camera. There are few details about your camera setup and testing that are not clear.

What shooting mode setting are you using on the top dial?  Has movie mode been enabled? 

What AF Mode are using?  One Shot, AI Focus, or AI Servo?

When you refer to your “trigger button” is that an external accessory?

When you tested your camera with other lenses, did you test with or without your “trigger button”?

[jakef2008]

When I refer to the trigger Button I mean the built-in shutter button on the camera used to capture the photos. I shoot all my photos in full manual and AI Servo.  The main issue is not that the camera doesn't take photos, the issue is that the camera is always focusing and seems to almost always be ready to take photos which does not allow me to change any of my settings on the LCD because the Camera thinks that it is always taking a photo.  

[Waddizzle]

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@jakef2008 wrote:

When I refer to the trigger Button I mean the built-in shutter button on the camera used to capture the photos. I shoot all my photos in full manual and AI Servo.  The main issue is not that the camera doesn't take photos, the issue is that the camera is always focusing and seems to almost always be ready to take photos which does not allow me to change any of my settings on the LCD because the Camera thinks that it is always taking a photo.  

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I am confused.  Are you using the Optical Viewfinder or Live View?  It almost sounds like you are talking about both at the same time.  

What happens in One Shot AF mode?  Does it still try to continuously refocus?

[jakef2008]

I only use the optical viewfinder.  The camera as soon as I turn it’s on starts going crazy trying to find focus even though I haven’t even started trying to take photos.  Since the camera thinks it’s trying to take photos it doesn’t let me view or change any settings to adjust lighting 

[jakef2008]

Update:  After letting the camera sit for several days, the issue resolved itself and the camera is back to working fine.  Very interesting and weird problem with the cause still unknown but grateful that it fixed itself.