My Nikon D40 won't take close up pictures with a 18-55mm lens? - 1
It won't take close up pictures it just focuses on the background not the foreground. I'm currently using a 18-55 mm lens. I don't know if it's a setting I put it on or that the lens is broken- It's been broken in the past and I had to pay to have it fixed.
The kit lens you're using has a minimum focus distance of 11 inches as measured from the subject to the sensor plane (fairly close to the back of the camera). If you're any closer than 11 inches, the camera will not focus on your subject and may end up focusing on the background. At 11 inches and zoomed all the way in, you can get pretty good close up shots of flowers, bugs, jewelery, …
I find it handy to put the camera in single area focus mode (see page 24 in your manual) and select the appropriate focus area (usually the center) (see page 25). Pre focus on your subject by pressing the shutter release half way, compose, then take the shot (see page 17 and 26).
If the lens is "broken", it would probably be less expensive ---
or at least a better deal and much faster ---
to replace than to repair.
You said you don't know if you changed a setting.
Why DON'T you know?
You should Check all the settings and Find Out.
One thing I'm certain about is that
you have not yet done The One Most Important Thing
there's to do about any decent camera:
Read
The
Owner's
Manual.
For a camera, reading the manual Once is Never Enough.
You Have To Read It again and again and again and again and again…
Define "close up". Every lens has a minimum focus distance, the closest distance you can be from an object and still obtain focus. It is probably marked on the lens itself if you look. With that lens, I believe it is something like 9-12 inches. That is measured from the sensor plane, not the front of the lens. Any closer than that and the lens won't focus, no matter what settings you use.
Yes, perfectly normal. Any dSLR won't take macro shots with the kit lens. The minimum focusing distance of that lens is around one foot. Nearer than that, the picture is blurred.
To shoot at very close distances, use a macro lens, one that has macro etched on the barrel.
If you want close-up photos that are closer than 0.25 m (9.84 ³) the closest focus point using your 18-55 mm lens, you need go purchase either a macro lens, like the Nikkor 40 mm macro ($280), some autofocus macro extension tube ($42) or the worst choice, a diopter filter kit (55 mm thread for that lens - $10) with +1+2+4+10 power filters.
You need to look at the manual to see how to change the focus point in the viewfinder so that you can put the focus point over the close object you want to photograph.
Of course, the kit zoom 18mm to 55mm is not built to photograph very small objects very close, check the "minimum focus distance", which is probably around 2 feet (60 centimetres), maybe a little closer. If you want to photograph very small objects (e.g.Postage stamps, insects) with any DSLR you need to buy a "macro lens" which will cost you around £300/$400.
Every lens has a minimum focus distance. Yours should be about 11 inches from the camera's sensor. In reality, the distance from the lens should be about 3 or 4 inches, maybe. If what you're getting with the lens set at 55mm and the focus ring fully extended, isn't close enough, then you need to look at either
A. A macro lens
B. Extension tubes
C. A diopter lens that screws into the filter thread of the lens
D. Reversing the lens which requires a special mounting ring that screws into the filter thread.
The cheapest way is the reversing ring but is also the hardest since everything will have to be done manually.