Nikon 500mm PF Autofocus Broken!

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Keegan007

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Hi Members,

This morning I took my 500mm PF out with my D500 & D4s, I quickly discovered that something is not right with the lens, it will not lock focus on anything. It moves the focus to intended target but then just jitters fairly aggressively before giving up. Tried it on both bodies with the same result, I have check all the switches to ensure nothing is restricting focus.

The lens was working fine the day before, so I'm a bit puzzled as to what the problem could be. It's less than a year old so still under warranty but I'd be very disappointed if this turns out to be a major repair.

Any help you can offer would be appreciated.
 
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I had exactly the same issue with my Canon 100-400 series1 lens some years ago. Worked one day not the next. Repair was not worth it due to the cost and it was out of warranty. Repairer said the AF motor needed replacing. I hope you get it sorted. I now use the 500PF, so hope this doesn't happen to me. Good luck.
 
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Unfortunately electronics are like that..... like light bulbs, it was working the last time you turned it off.
Failures most commonly occur near the beginning and near the ending of the lifetime of the parts.
 
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Keegan007 said:
Hi Members,

This morning I took my 500mm PF out with my D500 & D4s, I quickly discovered that something is not right with the lens, it will not lock focus on anything. It moves the focus to intended target but then just jitters fairly aggressively before giving up. Tried it on both bodies with the same result, I have check all the switches to ensure nothing is restricting focus.

The lens was working fine the day before, so I'm a bit puzzled as to what the problem could be. It's less than a year old so still under warranty but I'd be very disappointed if this turns out to be a major repair.

Any help you can offer would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
I had something similar to that last year. It would attempt to focus but not lock onto the subject. You could hear it chatter. I thought there was a problem with the lens. When I got home, I took it into the backyard and everything seemed fine. What I discovered was heat shimmer. If the air temperature is really cold but the ground starts to heat up , the difference in air densities will create a heat haze that confuses the autofocus. I’m not saying that’s what you experienced but it sounds like it could be. Try focusing on something in the house like a doorknob or whatever and see if you still have an issue. If it works fine inside than it was heat haze.
 
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Exacatly the same problem as me see my post 23 December. New autofocus motor required, just out of warranty and Nikon UK not interested in helping, waiting for parts since mid-December, invoice for £950 when it is ready.
 
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Keegan007 said:
Hi Members,

This morning I took my 500mm PF out with my D500 & D4s, I quickly discovered that something is not right with the lens, it will not lock focus on anything. It moves the focus to intended target but then just jitters fairly aggressively before giving up. Tried it on both bodies with the same result, I have check all the switches to ensure nothing is restricting focus.

The lens was working fine the day before, so I'm a bit puzzled as to what the problem could be. It's less than a year old so still under warranty but I'd be very disappointed if this turns out to be a major repair.

Any help you can offer would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Since you've tried it on two cameras and have the same issue, it sounds like a lens problem.

Give it one more try with great light and a good AF target. Be sure the subject is not too close and the focus limiter switch is set correctly.

Try an easy solution - click the AF controls on the lens to different settings and return. It's possible you are "between settings" or not fully engaged. IT's also possible you have a faulty switch.

If that does not resolve the issue, it is most likely an AF motor or the AF Track - either of which requires repair by Nikon.
 
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The MR Encoder Unit has failed. It is the focus locking switch (switch devise or better word) within the lens. Quick repair, should be free.
The lens quivers but will not snap locked on subject.
 
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Keegan007 said:
Hi Members,

This morning I took my 500mm PF out with my D500 & D4s, I quickly discovered that something is not right with the lens, it will not lock focus on anything. It moves the focus to intended target but then just jitters fairly aggressively before giving up. Tried it on both bodies with the same result, I have check all the switches to ensure nothing is restricting focus.

The lens was working fine the day before, so I'm a bit puzzled as to what the problem could be. It's less than a year old so still under warranty but I'd be very disappointed if this turns out to be a major repair.

Any help you can offer would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I've had lens do some strange things with the auto focus due to dirty contacts between the body and lens. I would start there and hopefully you're a winner. Best of luck!
 
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Sometimes atmospheric conditions like what would occur when there are excessive heat waves or when the sun strikes the frozen landscape will cause that chattering you describe. Other than that as someone mentioned, clean all of the contacts but also check that no lens mount screws need to be tightened. Good luck with it.
 
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Mine was the same, straight out of the box.

Cleaning the AF sensor has fixed it I think because I haven’t noticed it recently.

I know someone rightly pointed out that two bodies V one lens probably means the lens, but what if your two bodies have the same issue?


MikeS said:
Sometimes atmospheric conditions like what would occur when there are excessive heat waves or when the sun strikes the frozen landscape will cause that chattering you describe. Other than that as someone mentioned, clean all of the contacts but also check that no lens mount screws need to be tightened. Good luck with it.
Click to expand...
 
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Thanks for all the replies, appreciate the support offered. I did manage to get it working again for a short while late yesterday afternoon but alas today it is not working again :-(

Called the Australian Nikon service centre and tomorrow it will start it's repair journey, fingers crossed it won't take to long but I'm not going to hold my breath.
 
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300 F2.8 VRII was no longer autofocusing. The repair was worth it. The lens is too nice to use not to repair. It depends how much you like the lens. The good news was that when it came back, lens fine tuning was totally unnecessary.
 
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I just received my 200-500 back from Nikon because it started racking focus back and forth. Then it would stop at optimal focus for a split second and then run itself to infinity and stop. It was under warranty so they give a generalization of what they did. They did adjust something with the auto focus motor. Also Something with resolution. Cleaned and calibrated and "other" adjustments. It doesn't hunt but I have to calibrate it because it is "way: out from what it was for the first year I've had it. It took them a month. I had to send it to Nikon New York.
 
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I have fixed my lenses for people by cleaning the contacts on the lens and camera with BD alcohols swabs squeeze out the excess alch and wipe just one way.
I had a Sigma 60-600 work beautifully for a month and then one day it would not focus at all as soon as I turned the camera on and cleaning contacts did not work ... turned out to be the "mother board" there is a different term and Sigma could not get the part so replaced the lens.
 
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I am experiencing the same thing (jitter, won't lock focus, noise) and my lens is now with Nikon Canada for repair. I'm hoping it's the same issue as what you experienced, a simple fix and hopefully well under the estimated cost! Guess I'll know more in a day or two.
 
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