AF not working on Digital Rebel (1st gen)

[gduncan63]

I have a first gen EOS Digital Rebel that I allowed my daughter to use as she attended design school. It was working perfectly when I handed over to her and when she returned it after several years she informed me that the AF was no longer functioning. 

She caimed that the camera and lenses were not damaged or misused in any way. My inspection of the equipment supports her claim as I did not find any evidence of damage. Every other camera function appears to work normally but not AF. 

I tested the lenses with my EOS T6i and they work as expected. But they don't work with original camera, nor does the lens that came with the T6i. 

With lens attached, when I press the shutter release the camera attempts to focus with lens moving in and out but cannot obtain AF lock. With all this it appears that the problem is with the AF sensor in the camera. 

Any thoughts?

• this posted was later edited for spelling and grammar errors

[RobertTheFat]

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@gduncan63 wrote:

I have a first gen EOS Digital Rebel that I allowed my daughter to use as she attended design school. It was working perfectly when I handed over to her and when she returned it after several years she informed me that the AF was no longer functioning. 

She he claimed that the camera and lenses were not damaged or misused in any way. My inspection of the equipment supports her claim as I did not find any evidence of damage. Every other camera function appear to work normally but not AF. 

I teted the lines with my EOS T6i and they work as expected. But they don't work with original camera, nor does the lens that came with the T6i. 

With lens attached, when I press the shutter release the camera attempts to focus moving in and out but cannot obtain AF lock. With all this it appears that the problem is with the AF sensor in the camera. 

Any thoughts?

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My thought is that you've already gotten your money's worth out of that camera.

[TTMartin]

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@gduncan63 wrote:

Any thoughts?

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I agree you certainly got your money's worth out of the camera.

As for the AF problem, there is a good chance that it is dust on the AF sensor.

The AF sensor is located at the bottom of mirror box below the holes you see when the mirror is locked up.

You can use a bulb blower (with a bendy straw extension if needed) to blow out the dust from that area. 

There is a good chance that will improve the AF.

And your daughter didn't abuse the camera, normal use (lens changes) can introduce dust to both the AF sensor and the image sensor. 

[ScottyP]

Blow it out, brush the sensor with the mirror up. The body is so old you have nothing to fear. Would not spend a penny on service on a body so old though. No way you make out. 

[ebiggs1]

You really don't have much to lose so why not try cleaning it?  It probably won't work but, hey, give it a go.

One thing hold it upside down and the lens opening pointed down so if any dust is there, it can fall out.