Question about switching from Ai manual focus lens back to Auto focus lens.

[No Regrets]

Can someone help me out. I'm out shooting with my Df. I was using a manual focus Ai lens that I just recently got and want to switch over to one of my Autofocus lenses.

I mounted the autofocus lens, moved the switch on the body from manual to auto focus, but nothing happens.

Do I need to go into the menu to do something? When I mounted the Ai lens I had to go into the menu to enter the focal length and max aperture.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much,

No Regrets

 

[T O Shooter]

Can someone help me out. I'm out shooting with my Df. I was using a manual focus Ai lens that I just recently got and want to switch over to one of my Autofocus lenses.

I mounted the autofocus lens, moved the switch on the body from manual to auto focus, but nothing happens.

Do I need to go into the menu to do something? When I mounted the Ai lens I had to go into the menu to enter the focal length and max aperture.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much,

No Regrets

Do you have the lens switched to manual?

 

[No Regrets]

Can someone help me out. I'm out shooting with my Df. I was using a manual focus Ai lens that I just recently got and want to switch over to one of my Autofocus lenses.

I mounted the autofocus lens, moved the switch on the body from manual to auto focus, but nothing happens.

Do I need to go into the menu to do something? When I mounted the Ai lens I had to go into the menu to enter the focal length and max aperture.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much,

No Regrets

Do you have the lens switched to manual?

 

[T O Shooter]

Can someone help me out. I'm out shooting with my Df. I was using a manual focus Ai lens that I just recently got and want to switch over to one of my Autofocus lenses.

I mounted the autofocus lens, moved the switch on the body from manual to auto focus, but nothing happens.

Do I need to go into the menu to do something? When I mounted the Ai lens I had to go into the menu to enter the focal length and max aperture.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much,

No Regrets

Do you have the lens switched to manual?

 

[No Regrets]

Can someone help me out. I'm out shooting with my Df. I was using a manual focus Ai lens that I just recently got and want to switch over to one of my Autofocus lenses.

I mounted the autofocus lens, moved the switch on the body from manual to auto focus, but nothing happens.

Do I need to go into the menu to do something? When I mounted the Ai lens I had to go into the menu to enter the focal length and max aperture.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much,

No Regrets

Do you have the lens switched to manual?

 

[Kitacanon]

Assuming that it's not a "g" lens...make sure that the aperture is physically set to the smallest aperture setting.

 

[No Regrets]

Assuming that it's not a "g" lens...make sure that the aperture is physically set to the smallest aperture setting.

Hi and thank you for your reply.

The lens that I am trying to use is my Sigma Art 50mm 1.4

So do you think I need to go into the menu system and reset something there. It almost seems as if it still thinks my manual focus Ai lens is still on the camera.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for trying to help me with this.

No Regrets

 

[erichalelund]

Assuming that it's not a "g" lens...make sure that the aperture is physically set to the smallest aperture setting.

Hi and thank you for your reply.

The lens that I am trying to use is my Sigma Art 50mm 1.4

So do you think I need to go into the menu system and reset something there. It almost seems as if it still thinks my manual focus Ai lens is still on the camera.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for trying to help me with this.

No Regrets

Not to sound anti-Sigma, but try putting a Nikkor autofocus lens on there. Before you make the switch, make sure the camera power is off. I don't know if that little issue is still a problem, but it was back in my D200 days. If this works, then you should be able to switch to the Sigma once your back in AF mode.

 

[AM4L]

check to see if the little lever on the lens mount is up, using the AI lens may have pushed it. If this seems confusing check the manual on using manual lenses. there a little metal lever on the lens mount near the top.

Half way down this page you'll see a Df and there is a small red circle around the lever I am talkimg about.. the page it explains the lever a d lens types.

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Learn-An...g-legacy-nikkor-lenses-with-the-nikon-df.html

This is one hazard of using manual lenes, have to keep track of the lever when moving back and forth between lens types or that it doesnt get moved by accident.

--
Gallery BLOLG - www.roaringstar.com
Book - www.AM4L.com
Mark

 

[No Regrets]

check to see if the little lever on the lens mount is up, using the AI lens may have pushed it. If this seems confusing check the manual on using manual lenses. there a little metal lever on the lens mount near the top.

Half way down this page you'll see a Df and there is a small red circle around the lever I am talkimg about.. the page it explains the lever a d lens types.

http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Learn-An...g-legacy-nikkor-lenses-with-the-nikon-df.html

This is one hazard of using manual lenes, have to keep track of the lever when moving back and forth between lens types or that it doesnt get moved by accident.

 

[leorimkus]

Try resetting camera's settings. Had similar issue with D700 once, resetting helped.

Check Your manual for this - full resetting isn't that simple with Nikons.

Normally You don't need to change any settings when putting back an AF lens. Actually You don't need to switch to MF with Ai lens - camera will recognize it as manual and won't do focusing.

--
http://www.leonardas.net

 

[AM4L]

For my AIS lenses I enter in the CPU data for each amd try to remember to switch when using that lens. I have 5 manual lenses right now so it gets hard to remember.

Ironically I sort of was out for 30 minutes playing with them all and ran into this problem between switch and had noticed my lever changed.

I believe I put the last lens I was working with, carfefully flipped the lever and then changed lenses again and it cleared.

 

[No Regrets]

For my AIS lenses I enter in the CPU data for each amd try to remember to switch when using that lens. I have 5 manual lenses right now so it gets hard to remember.

Ironically I sort of was out for 30 minutes playing with them all and ran into this problem between switch and had noticed my lever changed.

I believe I put the last lens I was working with, carfefully flipped the lever and then changed lenses again and it cleared.

 

[No Regrets]

Assuming that it's not a "g" lens...make sure that the aperture is physically set to the smallest aperture setting.

Hi and thank you for your reply.

The lens that I am trying to use is my Sigma Art 50mm 1.4

So do you think I need to go into the menu system and reset something there. It almost seems as if it still thinks my manual focus Ai lens is still on the camera.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for trying to help me with this.

No Regrets

Not to sound anti-Sigma, but try putting a Nikkor autofocus lens on there. Before you make the switch, make sure the camera power is off. I don't know if that little issue is still a problem, but it was back in my D200 days. If this works, then you should be able to switch to the Sigma once your back in AF mode.

Thank you erichalelund for a great suggestion. As I am new to Nikon, I don't have any of their AF lenses yet....but I will go to the camera store for a visit today and give this a try! I'll report back to let you know if this did the trick.

Thanks much,

No Regrets

 

[No Regrets]

Try resetting camera's settings. Had similar issue with D700 once, resetting helped.

Check Your manual for this - full resetting isn't that simple with Nikons.

Normally You don't need to change any settings when putting back an AF lens. Actually You don't need to switch to MF with Ai lens - camera will recognize it as manual and won't do focusing.

 

[Westmill]

Just flip up the tab on the camera lens throat ! It should then just work

 

[ravduc]

First of all you can leave that small AF switch on the camera to auto focus even if you use MF lenses. I leave mine on AF all the time no matter what type of lens I use. The camera should automatically recognize any auto focus lens. Have you tried cleaning the contacts on the lens? Your camera doesn't seem to know that you have switched to an auto focus lens. The tab on the lens mount should not make any difference for focusing because this only controls apertures with non cpu lenses and autofocus lenses with aperture rings (ex, AFD lenses). For example, when I purchased my camera with the kit lens (G lens has no aperture ring) the tab was down and it made no difference at all with the autofocusing, nor did it make any difference with changing apertures with the command dial. I think, as mentioned previously, that you should drop into a store and try out another autofocus lens such as a G lens. It this lens works, then you will know that the Sigma lens is at fault.

 

[No Regrets]

Although I am embarrassed to say this, I owe it to all of you for so graciously trying to help me figure this all out. The problem was my own lack of experience at fault. I've had this Nikon for several months now, but have only used my Sigma Art 50 with the camera for all that time. Never having a need to change lenses with only having one lens. The other day I purchased two vintage manual only focus lenses and one of them finally came in the mail, so of course I had to try it out right away.

From my lack of experience in changing lenses, when I removed the vintage lens...I pressed and held the lens release button in while removing the lens. When I was remounting the Sigma lens, I ALSO pressed and held in the lens release button....thereby not allowing the Sigma lens to "click" into position fully.

I'm thankful that it was something so simple as this, but I feel like a complete idiot. I was out shooting at a jazz club last night, enjoying some fine spirits of course and trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Now after getting up after a good night's sleep...I figured it out as I tried remounting the lens.

Drinking and probably more so, a lack of experience on my part is fully to blame for this frustrating situation that I found myself in. Nothing wrong with the Nikon camera or the Sigma lens....purely operator error.

Many, many thanks to everyone who so willingly took the time to offer their help and suggestions as they were all very valid and will be useful things to know in the future.

I feel silly that this happened to me....but at least I figured it out before going into the local camera store and looking like a complete idiot.

Life is good again! Thank you!

No Regrets

 

[ravduc]

I believe that you only need to this for cameras without the tab on the lens throat. For example, with AFD lenses you need to go in menu and set the camera for 'use aperure ring' and then lower the tab on the front of the camera so that the lens aperture ring will work. No need to lock the lens on the smallest aperture and use the command dial to set apertures.

 

[No Regrets]

First of all you can leave that small AF switch on the camera to auto focus even if you use MF lenses. I leave mine on AF all the time no matter what type of lens I use. The camera should automatically recognize any auto focus lens. Have you tried cleaning the contacts on the lens? Your camera doesn't seem to know that you have switched to an auto focus lens. The tab on the lens mount should not make any difference for focusing because this only controls apertures with non cpu lenses and autofocus lenses with aperture rings (ex, AFD lenses). For example, when I purchased my camera with the kit lens (G lens has no aperture ring) the tab was down and it made no difference at all with the autofocusing, nor did it make any difference with changing apertures with the command dial. I think, as mentioned previously, that you should drop into a store and try out another autofocus lens such as a G lens. It this lens works, then you will know that the Sigma lens is at fault.

Hi ravduc,

Thank you for your post. A lot of valuable information you have given me and to others that may be reading this.

The camera is clean. It turned out to be my inexperience with changing lenses. When trying to remount the AF lens I was still holding in the lens release button and thereby not allowing the lens to "click" fully into place. Purely my fault, but thankfully something that was an easy fix.

Thank you for all of your suggestions.

No Regrets