A new Nikon V. Canon question. But not what you think.

[Soocom1]

OK for those who have seen me post regularly, you know I shoot Canon.

I won't rehash the whole story of how I came into Canon, only that my Minolta was stolen and it was the new option for me at the time.

I have stuck doggedly to Canon not for some fan-boy reason, but because when you sink $1600 into an outfit, you usually want it to last.

But recently I finished up a set of photos for my niece and toward the end of the shoot (the reception of her wedding done in a dimly lit area) some of the final photos were total garbage. Out of focus, focused in the wrong spot, etc.

But while doing this I remembered a specific issue I have always had with the Canon line from the 1Ds to the 70D.
There are times when in any mode, from full on auto to full manual, the friggin thing simply wont fire. Push the shutter all I want. Slam it, hit it, yell at it, threaten it with a shotgun, nothing works.
it simply won't shoot.
I missed quite a few shots because of this issue.

I have tried every setting, changing settings, reset the camera, pull all batteries, blah blah blah.


Does Nikon have this issue? is there some mysterious "we know better than you" programming in the Nikon that keeps the camera from firing if it simply doesn't like the settings?
or is this simply a Canon thing?

I have noticed that the Fuji isn't susceptible to this. Hence why I think I may have to re-consider Canon overall.

 

[Braineack]

what were you using? Even with my D610 I have a helluva time acquiring focus in poorly lit situations due to the AF module, where my D800 is worlds better [and not even that great to today's standards].

-1EV vs. -2EV.

the new D6 has a -4.5EV rating.

 

[Soocom1]

The shoot I was using the 5D and 70D.
Kit lenses on both.


But keep in mind, this also happened outside in daylight.

Not as bad, but sometimes it simply wont shoot.

 

[Braineack]

My dad needed help with his D5100 the other day, for the love of him he couldn't get AF to work. in MF everything was fine -- i went through all the menu and couldn't see why it wouldn't run AF and fire. Did a hard reset and all was well.

 

[Designer]

Does Nikon have this issue?

I can choose which function takes priority. Shutter button or achieve focus. In focus priority, the shutter will not release unless the camera has found focus. Shutter priority means it will fire even if the lens is not in focus.

 

[Derrel]

I never (and i mean NEVER USE) use AFS focusing, which requires that the camera determine what is under the focus squares in use be in focus before the shutter will fire... I always leave the camera in AFC mode so for each press of the shutter the camera focuses and it fires when you firmly press the shutter button. I have the priority set to release,not to focus. I have never had my camera fail to fire when I wanted to. I have been shooting Nikon since 1982, but back in 2005-2007 I was actively shooting the Canon 20D and the Canon 5D, alongside my Nikon outfit which at that time was a D2x. I have owned about eleven different digital single-lens reflex cameras since 2001.

The only time when I have had difficulty has been when I have accidentally forgotten to turn off the self timer.

 

[malling]

When using manual focus = the problem should not be there or something is wrong. The earlier two A7 where also reluctantly to shoot in dim lit conditions with AFS, but could always solve it with manual focus.

I always found Nikon better under such conditions, never had issues with auto focus, sony on the other hand where rubbish.

Have only played a bit with cannon so not much personal experience with that system, but have heard it from cannon users before.

 

[Soocom1]

The 1Ds only had that problem with a specific function on (I don't remember which).
As stated before though, the 5D, 70D, 10D and even the little rebel all seem to have their own minds on specific shots.
Including when in full manual.

Now here is where I am wondering.

does Nikon have the same issue?

Is there some kind of overriding aspect in the Nikon system that can cause this issue, or is all the Canon world of "we know better" programming?

 

[zombiesniper]

There are times when in any mode, from full on auto to full manual, the friggin thing simply wont fire. Push the shutter all I want. Slam it, hit it, yell at it, threaten it with a shotgun, nothing works.
it simply won't shoot.

I can choose which function takes priority. Shutter button or achieve focus. In focus priority, the shutter will not release unless the camera has found focus. Shutter priority means it will fire even if the lens is not in focus.

Canon has the same type of shutter vs focus priority and in some Canon models a factory reset won't help since it is on from the factory. Look at your menu and see if it is enabled.

 

[Derrel]

There might be an AF Assist function you could turn on, which might emit either a white light or an infrared beam in horrible lighting conditions. This function usualy requires that the camera be in single- shot focus priority. In some cameras the light emanates from the camera's body itself, and in other cases the light comes only from an external speedlight.

 

[petrochemist]

There might be an AF Assist function you could turn on, which might emit either a white light or an infrared beam in horrible lighting conditions. This function usualy requires that the camera be in single- shot focus priority. In some cameras the light emanates from the camera's body itself, and in other cases the light comes only from an external speedlight.

I HATE those things.
Frequently, when shooting low light shots at our workshop, someone's AF light comes on a ruins the shot! MF is a much preferable solution in low light...

 

[Original katomi]

I have issues like mentioned
In low light using auto focus, the lens just hunts, and the camera will not work until I switch to m
if the f stop req is lower than the lens is able to go.
When using save jpg and raw, the buffer fills after 5 shots and nothing will happen until buffer clears
Some of the SD cards are not compatible with my camera and it just throws a wobble. There is a card in the camera so the no card error does not show but the camera can not read card I can focus but shutter will not fire
Lens compatibility issues have the same effect for me
I had a early sigma that just would not talk to the camera so nothing would work.
Have you looked at the contacts between lens and camera

 

[JBPhotog]

As @Designer mentioned, check the Menu setting for Autofocus, I'm sure Canon have this feature.

With Nikon's it is under the Custom Setting Menu -> a)Autofocus -> a1) AF-C priority selection or a2) AF-S priority selection. In both a1 and a2 there are options for Release, Release+Focus and Focus for most cameras. If the camera is set to 'Focus' the shutter button will not fire if the focus point has been lost.

 

[JBPhotog]

I HATE those things.
Frequently, when shooting low light shots at our workshop, someone's AF light comes on a ruins the shot! MF is a much preferable solution in low light...

The AF assist light can be shut off, in fact in AF-C mode it doesn't come on. This feature is customizable and lets you still use AF which can actually do a better job in very low light than manual focusing since the low EV ability of modern cameras is quite remarkable.

 

[Derrel]

MF is preferrable in low light? Only in the sense that with manual focus there is absolutely no chance of an autofocus focus light coming on, but in terms of achieving dead-on accurate Focus, the autofocus assist beam is almost without parallel. It can in fact work in pitch black darkness such as Outdoors when photographing raccoons raiding a trash can etc..