Autofocus Fault

[Mr Darcy]

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.

[gstark]

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.

[Mr Darcy]

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.

[Reschsmooth]

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

[Glen]

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.

[Oz_Beachside]

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

[moggy]

 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.

[Mr Darcy]

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