Canon Community

moma · ‎10-24-2013

I have had my camera for 2 years and have had no problems. Now it won't focus properly when using the LCD screen. It also says it is busy when I try to take a picture. Help!! It will take pictures when I use the viewfinder.

TCampbell · ‎10-27-2013

If the camera is in "One Shot" mode (it's default mode) then it also uses something called "Focus Priority". This means that it _must_ confirm that it was able to achieve focus before it will take a photo.

The other mode is called "AI Servo" which uses something called "Release Priority". In that mode the camera _will_ take a photo when you completely press the shutter button even if it was not able to focus (usually this is not a behavior you want unless you know how to watch for it to confirm focus, but sports photographers like this mode.)

There is a focus mode called "AI Focus" -- it's not truely a new mode... it really just means it will try to evalutate if a subject is moving or not and then try to use either "One Shot" mode or "AI Servo" mode depending on if the subject was stationary or moving.

ALSO... the camera will only attempt to auto-focus is the AF/MF switch on your lens is in the AF (auto-focus) position. If you switch it to MF (manual focus) then the camera should take a photo immediately (even if it's not focused).

Anyway... the camera can struggle to focus if the lighting is poor and/or if the subject lacks contrast (e.g. if you simply point the camera at a clear blue sky then it will actually struggle to focus -- even a starry night sky is a problem because the individual stars just aren't big enough and bright enough.

If your camera is having a problem AND you are taking a photo in poor lighting or of a subject that lacks contrast (or both) then this isn't actually a problem with the camera (even a perfect working camera would have problems in those situations).

It might help if we could eliminate the possibility that the reason the camera is struggling to focus is due to inadequate lighting.

Can you take the camera on on a nice birght sunny day and try to focus on a well-illuminated subject? This would allow you to either confirm or eliminate the possibility that lighting is to blame.

There is also the possibility that the lens is a problem. What lens are you using and do you have more than one lens?

If you have the standard "kit" lens that usually comes with a T3, it should be an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II. This lens does _not_ allow for "full time" manual focus. This means you should not attempt to focus the lens if the lens is in "AF" mode. Switch the lens to "MF" mode. Turn the focus ring at the front of the lens all the way in one direction (it doesn't matter which way) until you have run the focus either all the way "out" or all the way "in". Then switch the focus mode switch back to "AF". Point the camera at a subject and attempt to focus. You *should* hear the focus motors on the lens as it attempts to focus. If you do not hear the focus motors, then it could indicate a problem with the lens. If, by some chance, you happen to own either a "USM" lens or the new "STM" lens, these lenses have focusing motors which are extremely quiet (espeically the "STM" lenses) so you likely would not hear the lens focus. But the "STM" version of the EF-S 18-55mm lens is extremely new and as it sounds like your camera is a few years old, you probably do not have the "STM" version.

Usually if the camera or lens has a malfunction then the camera would display an error message code. It doesn't sound like it's displaying a code, which makes me suspect it's not taking a photo because it's unable to lock focus (but the focusing mechanism is correctly attempting to focus). This is why I am wonderng if the reason it is not locking focus is due to inadequate light or due to a subject with inadequate contrast.

Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da

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Anonymous · ‎08-19-2019

Do you have mirror lockup accidentally selected? If so, it will take two presses of the shutter release button to take a picture, and the viewfinder will black out until the second press of the shutter button.

David489 · ‎09-14-2019

Weirdest thing my Canon 1000 Rebel stopped taking pictures although everything else like fous and shutter were working OK. i took off the lens to have a look to see if the shutter was working, pushed the shutter button and the shutter mirror worked fine. Then I noticed it had taken a white picture. Put the lens back on and now its taking pictures again. Maybe it just reset itself.

Qaiser-Abbas · ‎01-20-2020

I have cannon 4000d with kit lens. But when i click the photo from the screen i take photo easily but when click the photo from the view finder it not take the photo on AF mode. But at MF mode take photo. Please solve my problem

RobertTheFat · ‎01-22-2020

@Qaiser-Abbas wrote:
I have cannon 4000d with kit lens. But when i click the photo from the screen i take photo easily but when click the photo from the view finder it not take the photo on AF mode. But at MF mode take photo. Please solve my problem

Some cameras won't take a picture if the lens reports that it can't focus. That's the likely answer in your case, probably because there's not enough light. The screen uses a different focusing system, so it may not have the same problem.

Some flashes can provide a focus assist beam. Maybe that would help.

Bob
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

TCampbell · ‎01-22-2020

Hi Quaiser,

As Bob points out... if the camera wont take a photo in AF mode but will take a photo in manual mode... it usually means the camera does not think it was able to achieve focus.

The camera will struggle to focus in poor lighting conditions. It may also struggle to focus if there is not very much "contrast" (e.g. if you point a camera straight up at a plain blue sky the camera wont be able to achieve focus -- this has to do with how the focus system works.)

If you have fantastic lighting AND the subject has lots of contrasty details and it *still* can't focus... then that would be an indication of a problem.

In poor lighting with low contrast... you can use the "AF Assist" beam option with several Canon speedlite flashes and it will will probably be able to achieve focus anyway.

Tim Campbell
5D III, 5D IV, 60Da

Decock · ‎03-27-2021

You might be accepting the BUSY message in light of the fact that the camera can't accomplish a center lock. The camera may not deliver the screen to snap a photo in the event that it can't zero in on anything. At the point when you are shooting in Live View with the LCD, the camera utilizes an alternate strategy to the center than it does when you utilize the viewfinder.

You may take a stab at changing the centering strategy in the menu by following these means:

Press MENU.

Select the [Camera #4] tab.

Select [AF Mode].

Select [Quick Mode].

Bazoocam

This will drop the mirror and dark over the edge momentarily to utilize the AF sensor to concentrate actually like you were utilizing the viewfinder rather than the LCD. At the point when a center lock is accomplished, the camera will raise the mirror and the LCD will show a picture again so you can snap the photo.

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