My Rebel t2i will not take pictures.

[AMP22]

My Rebel t2i won't take pictures.  When I press the shutter, it tries to focus I guess, but that's it.  There is no error message on the screen at all.  I wanted to see if there were any troubleshooting steps I could take before calling Canon for help. 

[jrhoffman75]

What conditions are you in?  Is there enough light for focusing? Does your subject have enough contrast?

[Waddizzle]

Tell us everything you can about your circumstances, enough so that someone else can try to reproduce the problem.

[ebiggs1]

It will not shoot if it can't achieve focus.  Go out side in good daylight with the camera on the "P" and try.  If it works, you probably have a 'no focus' issue.

[TCampbell]

If auto-focus is enabled AND if the camera is in "One Shot" mode, then the camera uses a feature called "Focus Priority" which requires that it be able to lock focus before it will take the shot.

If you switch off the auto-focus (the switch on the side of the lens) or if you change the camera to "AI Servo" mode, then the camera uses something called "Release Priority" which means it WILL take the shot as soon as you press the shutter button ... even if the subject is not focused.

Usually when you want auto-focus but the camera wont take a shot it's because there simply isn't enough light or contrast for the camera to be able to lock focus.  If this happens in bright lighting conditions (when there's definitely enough light -- such as mid-afternoon outdoors on a sunny day) then it usually means the lens has a problem with the auto-focus system (lens needs to be serviced) and trying a different lens will usually work fine.

[RobertTheFat]

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@TCampbell wrote:

Usually when you want auto-focus but the camera wont take a shot it's because there simply isn't enough light or contrast for the camera to be able to lock focus.  If this happens in bright lighting conditions (when there's definitely enough light -- such as mid-afternoon outdoors on a sunny day) then it usually means the lens has a problem with the auto-focus system (lens needs to be serviced) and trying a different lens will usually work fine.

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I've also seen it happen when the object on which the lens is trying to focus is outside the range of distances at which focus can be achieved.

[Waddizzle]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

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@TCampbell wrote:

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I've also seen it happen when the object on which the lens is trying to focus is outside the range of distances at which focus can be achieved.

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In other words, Robert is saying that it is possible to be too close to a subject for the lens to focus properly. 

Most lenses have their focal length and an aperture setting printed on them, usually it is part of the model number.  Lenses may also have another  performance specification printed on them, their minimum focusing distance.  Some lenses may refer to this as a "macro" distance, but the distance is usually written as a pair of numbers, one is the minimum distance in feet, and the other is the equivalent distance in meters. 

Lenses cannot achieve full focus if you get closer to your subject than those distances.  This is not an issue with shorter focal lengths under 70mm, because most of these lenses have minimum distances of just over a foot or so.  Longer focal lengths can have minimum distance of a about a meter or so, which is just over 3 feet.  Telephoto lenses can have minimum focal lengths well over 10-15 feet.  The longer the focal length, the longer the minimum distance can become.