Camera, Nikon z50, refuse to shoot

Yes it’s the Nikon VR II and the VR was on on the lens, also the Z50 indicates the VR is on. I had the impression it was working because of the good results at slow shutter speeds, but I’m going to test it tomorrow again though to be sure.

In the custom setting menu, under autofocus, a1 is AF-C priority selection. When you click on that you get focus or release. The tech said that the camera refused to fire because it couldn't focus, by choosing release, it shout function fine, but will release the shutter even if the image is not in focus. I tried this out inside. I set the priority to release, focused on something close, then moved the camera so that the object in the center was obviously out of focus, and the camera took the photo. I then reversed the technique, set the AFc priority to focus, and then tried to take the photo. No dice, the camera would not fire. There was a flashing question mark in the bottom left corner of the viewfinder. Interestingly, if I held the release button down long enough, the shutter did, eventually fire. That is exactly what happened at the zoo! Problem solved!

I will have to try it again some night, this time, hopefully, when it isn't as cold outside.

Toxdox42 said:

In the custom setting menu, under autofocus, a1 is AF-C priority selection. When you click on that you get focus or release. The tech said that the camera refused to fire because it couldn't focus, by choosing release, it shout function fine, but will release the shutter even if the image is not in focus. I tried this out inside. I set the priority to release, focused on something close, then moved the camera so that the object in the center was obviously out of focus, and the camera took the photo. I then reversed the technique, set the AFc priority to focus, and then tried to take the photo. No dice, the camera would not fire. There was a flashing question mark in the bottom left corner of the viewfinder. Interestingly, if I held the release button down long enough, the shutter did, eventually fire. That is exactly what happened at the zoo! Problem solved!

I will have to try it again some night, this time, hopefully, when it isn't as cold outside.

Click to expand...

Interesting. The manual says nothing about a question mark in the position where the manual focus indicator normally is. Sounds like there is a time-out on the shutter disable with focus priority set. Either that or it switched to CDAF mode for a last attempt. With the question mark, did you get an in-focus picture?

Toxdox42 said:

In the custom setting menu, under autofocus, a1 is AF-C priority selection. When you click on that you get focus or release. The tech said that the camera refused to fire because it couldn't focus, by choosing release, it shout function fine, but will release the shutter even if the image is not in focus. I tried this out inside. I set the priority to release, focused on something close, then moved the camera so that the object in the center was obviously out of focus, and the camera took the photo. I then reversed the technique, set the AFc priority to focus, and then tried to take the photo. No dice, the camera would not fire. There was a flashing question mark in the bottom left corner of the viewfinder. Interestingly, if I held the release button down long enough, the shutter did, eventually fire. That is exactly what happened at the zoo! Problem solved!

I will have to try it again some night, this time, hopefully, when it isn't as cold outside.

Click to expand...

But the question remains why your camera couldn’t focus! I have the Z also in focus priority, (dynamic, high continuous) and even in very dark the camera locked focus without a problem. Which lens were you using? I have some pictures in proces of uploading to my gallery. When it’s ready I upload some in the forum.

In my gallery some pics from my first day with the Z50.







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D90, D7000, D750, Nikon 200-500 5.6, Nikon 80-400mm 4,5-5.6, Tokina 50-135mm 2.8, Sigma 17-70mm 2.8-4.0, Nikon 35mm 2.0, nikon 55 mm macro 2.0

Use the 'link', 4th symbol in from right at the top of thread reply/quote.

Photo insert is the 2nd symbol from the right (looks a bit like a mountain scene).

in the test that I did, I purposely left the image out of focus, so no the result was an out of focus image. The "release" over rides the camera's innate effort to prevent the photographer from producing an out of focus image. That is sort of a good idea, I suppose, but I had no idea that it was there, nor that it could be over ridden. I assumed that when shooting in manual, I had made everything manual, didn't really think about focusing though. I "film days" you could intentionally produce an out of focus image, apparently that must have been a problem to some, so Nikon decided to protect against it. Go to page 265 in the reference manual it describes this function, briefly.

Toxdox42 said:

in the test that I did, I purposely left the image out of focus, so no the result was an out of focus image. The "release" over rides the camera's innate effort to prevent the photographer from producing an out of focus image. That is sort of a good idea, I suppose, but I had no idea that it was there, nor that it could be over ridden. I assumed that when shooting in manual, I had made everything manual, didn't really think about focusing though. I "film days" you could intentionally produce an out of focus image, apparently that must have been a problem to some, so Nikon decided to protect against it. Go to page 265 in the reference manual it describes this function, briefly.

Click to expand...

I'm well aware of the Priority Selection custom function. I've used it often on my D7100. Typically, AF-S defaults to Focus, and AF-C to Release. On the Z 50 you only have AF-C Focus Priority; on higher end cameras, you have more complicated options that affect the behavior of the shutter during burst shooting to maximize the number of good shots after the first in the burst.



Since the introduction of Autofocus cameras, Autofocus has always been treated separately than the Exposure settings Shutter Speed and Aperture. A, S, P, and M really control only these, but the AUTO mode may control more. On Nikon DSLRs Autofocus is enabled by a completely separate switch elsewhere on the body - but it is always on by default. This is an industry standard. You must manually switch it off or change the shutter priority to get totally manual operation. There is no separate AF control on the Z 50 - AF is controlled via the menus - MF on the AF-mode switch. In this mode the shutter will always fire when you command. The shutter priority custom functions are only for autofocus mode.

What I was referring to was the In-focus indicator that appears when you are in MF. This is covered on page 61 and is also known as the electronic rangefinder. It's always on in Nikon's DSLRs, but apparently not in the Z 50. Take a look at the display. I'm wondering if it's what you saw. as it is placed in the far lower left corner of the EVF. Since there's no indication of a question mark icon in the viewfinder display, I'm curious why that would appear and not be mentioned anywhere.

mosswings said:

Toxdox42 said:

in the test that I did, I purposely left the image out of focus, so no the result was an out of focus image. The "release" over rides the camera's innate effort to prevent the photographer from producing an out of focus image. That is sort of a good idea, I suppose, but I had no idea that it was there, nor that it could be over ridden. I assumed that when shooting in manual, I had made everything manual, didn't really think about focusing though. I "film days" you could intentionally produce an out of focus image, apparently that must have been a problem to some, so Nikon decided to protect against it. Go to page 265 in the reference manual it describes this function, briefly.

Click to expand...

I'm well aware of the Priority Selection custom function. I've used it often on my D7100. Typically, AF-S defaults to Focus, and AF-C to Release. On the Z 50 you only have AF-C Focus Priority; on higher end cameras, you have more complicated options that affect the behavior of the shutter during burst shooting to maximize the number of good shots after the first in the burst.

Since the introduction of Autofocus cameras, Autofocus has always been treated separately than the Exposure settings Shutter Speed and Aperture. A, S, P, and M really control only these, but the AUTO mode may control more. On Nikon DSLRs Autofocus is enabled by a completely separate switch elsewhere on the body - but it is always on by default. This is an industry standard. You must manually switch it off or change the shutter priority to get totally manual operation. There is no separate AF control on the Z 50 - AF is controlled via the menus - MF on the AF-mode switch. In this mode the shutter will always fire when you command. The shutter priority custom functions are only for autofocus mode.

Click to expand...

You are quite r=correct, but to an older mind, I do get confused by which manual and which automatic is which. I do wish there was a way to change the nomenclature. My D3400 does not have an on-off switch for focusing as does my 50 mm prime lens, and my 55-200 mm DX VR lens. The 18-55 mm lens has neither an on off for AF or VR on the lens. The optical VR with the shorter zoom is turned on or off through the menus, as is the form of AF. The paradigm is slightly different on the Z50. I have been lucky so far, when I can't figure out what is happening with the Z50, and neither the reference or camera manual helps, I have been able to call Nikon support and they have been totally aweson.

mosswings said:

What I was referring to was the In-focus indicator that appears when you are in MF. This is covered on page 61 and is also known as the electronic rangefinder. It's always on in Nikon's DSLRs, but apparently not in the Z 50. Take a look at the display. I'm wondering if it's what you saw. as it is placed in the far lower left corner of the EVF. Since there's no indication of a question mark icon in the viewfinder display, I'm curious why that would appear and not be mentioned anywhere.

Click to expand...

I am not familiar with the focusing aids in the higher level Nikon DSLRs, or the other Z cameras. The Z50 has something that is called "focus peaking," and is available via the menus and usable in manual focus, and might have worked for me had I thought of it in the cold. You focus on an object, etc., and the focus peaking highlights with a color the area which is focused at its peak. I used it in some "macro" work. I was able to set my focus then move the camera in and out from the object and shoot at the peak image I wanted. That is sort of a cool feather.

I just took a look and fooled around a bit with the camera. There is a circle with a question mark in it, it blinks at the same time as a red flash mark appears on the right hand side. this suggests to me that camera is suggesting I use a flash. These symbols are not mentioned in the User's Manual or in the reference manual. There are there are pictures of the viewfinder and the screen, neither ever even hints at the flashing lightning strike meaning to use the flash, or the flashing question mark.

Clearly, the freezing of the camera was due to its not finding an object to focus on, even when I switched to point focus.

Toxdox42 said:

In the custom setting menu, under autofocus, a1 is AF-C priority selection. When you click on that you get focus or release. The tech said that the camera refused to fire because it couldn't focus, by choosing release, it shout function fine, but will release the shutter even if the image is not in focus. I tried this out inside. I set the priority to release, focused on something close, then moved the camera so that the object in the center was obviously out of focus, and the camera took the photo. I then reversed the technique, set the AFc priority to focus, and then tried to take the photo. No dice, the camera would not fire. There was a flashing question mark in the bottom left corner of the viewfinder. Interestingly, if I held the release button down long enough, the shutter did, eventually fire. That is exactly what happened at the zoo! Problem solved!

I will have to try it again some night, this time, hopefully, when it isn't as cold outside.

Click to expand...

And that was the exact same suggestion from your very first reply from sunnycal right at the beginning of this thread:

sunnycal said:

Switch to af-c and make sure that it is set on release priority (custom setting a1 or a2).

Click to expand...

Either way, glad you finally tried and applied this setting on your camera.

Jos12 said:

Jos12 said:

What I did notice as well is that the VR on the 80-400 is silent now, very weird as it is kind of loud on DSLR, but it is working!

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Click to expand...

On the Z camera’s, the VR is constantly “ON” when the camera is on (but will turn “OFF” when you switch over to viewing the MENU or if you turn camera off). This is unlike the characteristics of operating the same lens on a DSLR where VR only turns “ON” when you press the shutter button/focus button. When the VR engages/disengages, it makes noises ... I wonder if this is the noise you’re hearing when compared to your Z camera (which won’t have the engage/disengaging noise)?

2yota said:

Jos12 said:

2yota said:

What I did notice as well is that the VR on the 80-400 is silent now, very weird as it is kind of loud on DSLR, but it is working!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

On the Z camera’s, the VR is constantly “ON” when the camera is on (but will turn “OFF” when you switch over to viewing the MENU or if you turn camera off). This is unlike the characteristics of operating the same lens on a DSLR where VR only turns “ON” when you press the shutter button/focus button. When the VR engages/disengages, it makes noises ... I wonder if this is the noise you’re hearing when compared to your Z camera (which won’t have the engage/disengaging noise)?

Click to expand...

I think you’re right, on the DSLR you hear the noise when engaging by pressing the shutter en disengaging after releasing the shutter, I understand now it’s always on on the Z50. I tried the 200-500mm also and the same. Thanks!

I have the same issue. I hate when cameras try to "think for me." How can we override this stupid locking the shutter release issue?

Look into the choice in focus. Somewhere in this thread is the instruction. The deafault is to only allow the shutter to function if the camera is on focus.

This happened to me when I was trying to photograph the Jupiter and Saturn conjunction using an adapted mirror lens. The warning was so bright it affected my night vision, plus it covered up the planets in the viewfinder when I was trying to focus. Very annoying. I don't actually know how I made it stop long enough to take a couple of shots. Spunky little thing though, thinking it could light up Jupiter.