Nikon lens is hunting for AF?
I have an 18-55 nikon lens that won't 'lock on' the AF unless in good daylight ie it hunts for focus indoors and at night. Is it fit for the rubbish bin?
Added (1). Er, thanks guys. I have been using SLRs for 15 years and and used to be in the profession. If anyone who fixes lens or has had the same problem please comment thanks.
Added (2). Thanks for your answers. As I mentioned, I'm not a newbie, I know about AF in low light. This lens has a problem and I was hoping someone could tell me if this problem can be easily fixed, or just dump the lens.
It is common for a lens to hunt for AF during the night and in darker areas- any lens.
of course, if it takes more than a few seconds (i'd say above 5) indoors (not in the dark- because that will take longer), call Nikon and have them fix/replace the lens
There's nothing wrong with your lens. It hunts for something to focus on when there's not enough light, because the F number (F3.5-6.3) means it is a slow entry level lens. It just will not let in enough light for your camera to work. It is time to upgrade to something like the Tamron 17-50 F2.8 XR DI2 lens. I have this lens and it lives on my Sony A330 DSLR.
Link to the lens below
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/...Di_II.html
Link to the same lens with vibration compensation
It is normal… Low light probs are normal with canon also… Its the Fstop… Like the other guy befoe me said
Auto-focus will hunt for good focus when shooting in the dark.
Depending upon the Nikon dSLR you have, there may be a auto-focus assist light on it. You will have to activate it for it to work in low light.
Also make sure that the "focus points" are on your subject or auto-focus area mode is set to what works best in low light
Autofocus is controlled by the camera body, not the lens. If a particular lens produces hunting behavior, there may be something about it that interferes with the AF system on the body. Some lenses have issues with the way they project the image onto the AF sensors, causing erratic AF behavior. When this occurs, it's often inherent in the lens design, so there's no workaround other than manual focus. Sometimes very slow lenses have issues as well, because the AF sensors may only work with the lens wide open, and if the largest aperture is too small, the AF won't work properly.