Problems with autofocus

[leanne0333]

Hi I have had some problems with my new lens and wondered if anyone had similar problems and any solutions?

I recently bought the Tokina 11-16 pro II after much discussion on here. A few test shots at home and it performed pretty well.
My 1st outing was for some UWA shots at my local beach at sunset. The weather is pretty unpredictable where I live and one minute it was calm, the next minute gail force winds so i packed up and went home. However since then i have had problems.

Initially I couldn't get the camera to fire (You may have read an earlier post on here) but having taken it into a camera shop and showed it to them I realised it works in manual focus mode, just not autofocus. I hadn't worked out you need to push it back to get into manual mode! Having barely used it before I am not sure if the autofocus ever worked or if I got sand into it on that windy day. The manual focus adjuster did feel a bit gritty until I used my sand/dust blower. However the autofocus problem persists.

I got the pro II version specifically because its newer design is compatible with autofocus for the Nikon D5100. Yes I can still use it in manual mode but I find this difficult for landscape photos - much easier for close ups when you can see easily you are in focus! I have taken several blurry photos now and its pretty frustrating!

If it is the sand, can it be fixed? Do I have to send it back to the company I bought it from or are there any independent companies that fix cameras? I would have sent it back already but they quoted at least 4 weeks and I am off to New Zealand in 4 weeks - the main reason for buying the lens! Also if it is sand then Im worried they will refuse to fix it and I will have sent the camera away for >1 month and paid for international shipping for no reason! Eglobal have not been particularly helpful so far!

Also is there anything I can do to help it? Or any tips for manually focussing for landscapes?

Thanks!

[Wobbles]

Hi, as far as I know that lens should autofocus on the D5100. I was going to ask if you were aware of the 'push-pull' autofocus switching but you seem to have worked that out! Is it just autofocus, can you control aperture and get feedback to the camera? Do you have any other lenses, do they work OK? Have you tried cleaning the contacts (the little shiny gold squares where lens & camera connect) on the lens and/or the camera? If all else fails and you can't fix it, I suggest you use Live View (zoom in for better accuracy) to focus manually for your landscape shots.

Hope that helps.
John

[leanne0333]

Thanks John,

Yes my other lenses work fine. And I have taken them to the beach many a time! I can control aperture etc, it is just the autofocus. Mostly it doesn't even fire a shot in autofocus mode, occasionally it does but its blurry. I've cleaned the contacts. Also the guy in the shop put it on and off several times to loosen the stiff connections? Seemed to work to kickstart manual mode just not autofocus.

I'll give the live view a go. But if I zoom in to focus and zoom out again surely I will be out of focus again?

Do you think sand is the likely culprit? Im really worried it will be a waste sending it back for them to do nothing! I definitely will wait until after my holiday though! No autofocus is better than no landscape lens in NZ!

[unistudent1962]

Sand may be the culprit, but I'd think if there was sand in the mechanism stopping it from auto-focusing, you'd feel something when you were manually focusing.

I'd simply return it and ask them to check it out.
If you bought it locally, I doubt you'll have a problem.
If you bought it grey, good luck and let us know how you fare with a grey warranty claim!

[leanne0333]

It was gritty to begin with but its pretty smooth now after i cleaned my lens?

[Wobbles]

Thanks John,

I'll give the live view a go. But if I zoom in to focus and zoom out again surely I will be out of focus again?

No, don't zoom the lens, leave it at whatever focal length you want. Zoom in on a focal point with Live View, that will make it easier to focus manually.

John