3 out of 4 lenses not working

[Hetzer]

For no reason at all 3 out of my 4 lenses can't autofocus anymore!

I'm using a SLT-A37.

Even if they focus, I can't make the photo; the shutter is blocked (green little dot in down left corner is blinking.

Strange thing is, the 35mm F1,8 SAM works fine, but the KIT 18-55, the 85mm F2,8 and the 55-200 SAM (all SONY) have this problem.

Would could be the cause?

 

[Chris Malcolm]

For no reason at all 3 out of my 4 lenses can't autofocus anymore!

I'm using a SLT-A37.

Even if they focus, I can't make the photo; the shutter is blocked (green little dot in down left corner is blinking.

Strange thing is, the 35mm F1,8 SAM works fine, but the KIT 18-55, the 85mm F2,8 and the 55-200 SAM (all SONY) have this problem.

Would could be the cause?

 

[EXX]

Look at the Aperture indication. If it says F-- instead of e.g. F4, then you have a bad contact between the lens and the camera. Clean the contacts on the camera and the affected lenses.

 

[Hetzer]

Look at the Aperture indication. If it says F-- instead of e.g. F4, then you have a bad contact between the lens and the camera. Clean the contacts on the camera and the affected lenses.

The aperture works fine. I'll clean the contacts, but the 35 prime works OK, so I don't expect much improvement. Cleaning with alcohol or the mentioned pencil eraser?

 

[Jeadm]

Try the eraser first (I prefer white ones, but any will do). I wouldn't use the alcohol, but if you do, be sure to remove the battery before doing the body.

 

[Hetzer]

OK, no alcohol, just the white eraser, thanks.

 

[tbcass]

Try the eraser first (I prefer white ones, but any will do). I wouldn't use the alcohol, but if you do, be sure to remove the battery before doing the body.

Laboratory grade ethyl alcohol with no additives will work fine because it evaporates quickly and leaves no residue.

 

[39 Steps]

Look at the Aperture indication. If it says F-- instead of e.g. F4, then you have a bad contact between the lens and the camera. Clean the contacts on the camera and the affected lenses.

The aperture works fine. I'll clean the contacts, but the 35 prime works OK, so I don't expect much improvement. Cleaning with alcohol or the mentioned pencil eraser?

Have you looked at the operation of the aperture control lever on the camera body? Only your brightest f/1.8 prime lens is focusing adequately, so perhaps the other lenses are not mechanically defaulting to wide open aperture for focusing.

Check out the Depth Of Field preview button (near the lens mount) to see if all the lenses open and stop down properly. Also check the menu options to see if it is possible to change the function of the DOF button to some conflicting purpose. Good luck, and do note that the aperture mechanical lever may rotate a different amount for the same f stop with different lenses.

 

[Hetzer]

Look at the Aperture indication. If it says F-- instead of e.g. F4, then you have a bad contact between the lens and the camera. Clean the contacts on the camera and the affected lenses.

The aperture works fine. I'll clean the contacts, but the 35 prime works OK, so I don't expect much improvement. Cleaning with alcohol or the mentioned pencil eraser?

Have you looked at the operation of the aperture control lever on the camera body? Only your brightest f/1.8 prime lens is focusing adequately, so perhaps the other lenses are not mechanically defaulting to wide open aperture for focusing.

Check out the Depth Of Field preview button (near the lens mount) to see if all the lenses open and stop down properly. Also check the menu options to see if it is possible to change the function of the DOF button to some conflicting purpose. Good luck, and do note that the aperture mechanical lever may rotate a different amount for the same f stop with different lenses.

Good point: if the camera's broken, why would the 35mm still function?

I'll fiddle around with the aperture control this afternoon (I'm at the office right now) and I'll let you know about the results.

By the way; cleaning the contacts didn't help, but I did that only pro forma.

 

[Jeadm]

Good point: if the camera's broken, why would the 35mm still function?

I'll fiddle around with the aperture control this afternoon (I'm at the office right now) and I'll let you know about the results.

By the way; cleaning the contacts didn't help, but I did that only pro forma.

Seems more likely a camera issue than a lens one. Much less likely all those lenses would just stop working all at once. Are you still able to take photos with the lenses in question on manual focus?

Might try resetting to default factory state, this sometimes fixes strange behavior. Last menu item / Initialize / Reset Default.

 

[Hetzer]

I'll try resetting one more time. Think I did it already, but just to be sure.

Yep, the manual mode is still working with all lenses.

The manual photo's are OK.

 

[39 Steps]

I'll try resetting one more time. Think I did it already, but just to be sure.

Yep, the manual mode is still working with all lenses.

The manual photo's are OK.

--

Is this possibly a firmware upgrade issue related to movie mode aperture on the A37? The original firmware on the A57 could be tricked into movie auto-focus at wide apertures (i.e. f/2.0) with lenses brighter than the f/3.5 18-55mm kit lens. However the first firmware upgrade for the A57, but not necessarily the A37, was designed to prohibit any auto focusing with apertures wider than F/3.5.

Grasping at straws here, is it possible to cycle through the movie menu, and perhaps the Distance related flash algorithms as well to see if either lens distance setting or movie mode auto focus as a function of aperture have an effect. Try cycling from spot auto exposure to the wider zone settings as well.

 

[Hetzer]

I'll try resetting one more time. Think I did it already, but just to be sure.

Yep, the manual mode is still working with all lenses.

The manual photo's are OK.

--

Is this possibly a firmware upgrade issue related to movie mode aperture on the A37? The original firmware on the A57 could be tricked into movie auto-focus at wide apertures (i.e. f/2.0) with lenses brighter than the f/3.5 18-55mm kit lens. However the first firmware upgrade for the A57, but not necessarily the A37, was designed to prohibit any auto focusing with apertures wider than F/3.5.

Grasping at straws here, is it possible to cycle through the movie menu, and perhaps the Distance related flash algorithms as well to see if either lens distance setting or movie mode auto focus as a function of aperture have an effect. Try cycling from spot auto exposure to the wider zone settings as well.

OK, as a last straw, I'll give it a try, before sending my equipment to a service center.