DSLRUsers.com

I have a DF70s + 18-200VR. Yesterday, it decided to quit autofocussing. Checked (& rechecked!) AF switch on camera and lens. Tried it in Auto. Figured that would over-ride any spurious setting in CSM that might be causing it. No Joy.

I guess it means a trip to the doctor, but is there something I might be overlooking first?

It is still under warranty (Uncle Ted Canberra) Do I need to return it to him, or can I take it elsewhere, if so, any suggestions. I am currently in Wentworth Falls (Blue Mountains) and won't be back in Canberra for a week or two.

Also, is it likely to be Lens or Camera? It is the only AF lens I own, so can't check myself.

Greg,

Do you have any other lenses at all?

I remember that when I tried the 18-200 on my D70, I encountered some "strange" issues, including seeing the shutter mechanism freeze, but these only happenned with that lens.

I suspect that the lens isn't fully compatible with the body - what firmware do you have installed? Nikon say you need the latest revision, but I do have that installed, and the problems I saw still occurred.

I have 28, 50, 100 E-Series (from F3)and
35-105 and 100-300 Zoom Nikkors (from FM2)
However, these are all non-CPU lenses so I can't see how they will help diagnose the problem. If possible, please explain.

I also tried the 2 button reset. No joy.

The 18-200 will fire if I manually focus. The greeen light in the viewfinder also indicates correct focus.

The camera reports Firmware: Current A 1.00 B 1.00. Note that this is a D70s not a D70.

The lens worked fine till I got it out of the case yesterday to do some more bottles.

Does the zoom move freely from 18 to 200?

My 17-35 had significant zooming problems at the wider end (from about 17-24) and I thought it was just sand or something there. It turned out that it was the AF motor that was going, going, almost gone. It was going to cost $1000+ to have it replaced. I decided not to, and the AF works generally well at the 24-35 end, but not at the wider end.

Anyway, that's may tale which may help diagnostically.

Cheers

P

Greg, try cleaning the AFS connections on both the lens and camera (the electrical connections between the two) they can sometimes cause a problem. I have no idea if you have the latest firmware or not but based on those releases I would at least go to the Nikon site and check.

hope this doesnt sound offensive, but just in case...

have you checked the AF settings, to make sure its not switched to using the AE-L/AF-L button to focus instead of the shutter release button?

just a thought

 AFAIK there is only the one firmware version for the D70s, if you've done all the resets, battery removal etc it sounds like time to get professional help. It's a shame you haven't got any other AF lenses to try.

Thank you all.
Unfortunately, despite suggestions - I tried them all., AF is still stubbornly dead. I guess its time to dig out the receipts and go visit Uncle Ted.
I guess I'll get them to try another lens/body before they send it off. That way I may be able to continue shooting even if I have to guess exposure as my gut feel is that it is the AF motor in the lens at fault. BTW
FWIW Nikon reports no firmware updates to the D70s