T3i not focusing when in live view on auto modes

[witcheries]

I just bought a gently used T3i for my first DSLR - I have some basic photography know-how thanks to film photography classes in high school, but I'm still trying to figure out digital photography beyond the point-and-shoot, so apologies if this question is dumb. I can't figure out if I'm doing something wrong or if it's an issue with the camera. 

When shooting in one of the auto/creative modes (landscape, for example) and switching to live view, the camera won't focus. I hold the shutter release down partway through and the lens adjusts and adjusts but can't focus and ultimately pressing the shutter release down all the way does not take the photo. The camera focuses fine when I'm just using the viewfinder, but I'm having trouble getting it to consistently focus and fire in live view. What am I missing? 

[jrhoffman75]

Welcome to the forum.

If you set the camera to green square auto does it work properly?

[witcheries]

Hi John - thanks for your response!

I've just tested it on the green square auto setting and it worked fine. Additionally, I tested it on all of the other auto settings indoors, and it worked as expected with live view. When I was using it outdoors on landscape mode with live view, it was unable to focus - yet was able to focus with live view disabled. It seems like it's having trouble focusing when there is more depth of field, which is troublesome since I'm intending to use it mainly for outdoor photography. I'll try to reproduce the issue outdoors again tomorrow. 

[Waddizzle]

The only time I use Live View to shoot is when I use a tripod to manually focus a lens, or to check the composition.

[BurnUnit]

The active focus zone needs to be in an area that contain some contrast. When you mention shooting landscapes I'm wondering if you're trying focus on clear sky or clouds or some other low-contrast subject. Aim the camera at something closer with more contrast (tree trunk, branches, brick wall, etc.) and see if the camera can lock on focus that way. Also, expect the auto-focus in Live View mode to seem a little sluggish compared to focusing thru the viewfinder.