Canon Rebel T7 Autofocus Not Working: 6 Reasons & Solutions

The canon rebel t7 camera is known for its amazing image quality. This is made possible by a working autofocus feature. However, you may notice that sometimes the autofocus is not working as it should. 

This can be attributed to a number of reasons. For instance, you could be dealing with dirty contacts. Also, if the camera is too close to the object, to the minimum focusing distance, the camera will have an issue focusing. Other reasons include inadequate lighting or the subject is too close.

The reason why your T7 camera may not be focusing could be a result of one of the above problems or a combination of them. This article aims to give the common causes and possible solutions to each. 

Canon Rebel T7 Autofocus Not Working

Normally, the canon rebel t7 is designed to autofocus on an object when you half-press the shutter button. After that, you can go ahead and fully press the shutter button to take the shot.

For most people, there are never any problems with this procedure. However, in rare circumstances, the Canon rebel t7 may not autofocus how you want it to. There are a few reasons that can be attributed to this. While some of these reasons can be easily fixed, other may call for professionals and costly financial outlay. 

Check That the AF/MF Switch Is Set to Auto Focus

Located on the lens or the camera body is a button that allows you to switch between AF and MF. If the switch is set to MF, it means that the camera is set to manual focus and hence the camera will not utilize autofocus to focus on the subject.

Switching the camera back to AF will ensure that autofocus is now enabled. Note that this has nothing to do with auto vs manual exposure, it is just auto vs manual mode for focusing. 

The Camera May Be Too Close to the Subject

All cameras and lenses are designed with a limited focusing distance. This means that to successfully focus on something, the subject has to be at a certain distance away from the focal plane mark on the camera. The focal plane mark is located on the camera body and it also referred to as the film plane indicator.

For instance, for the canon rebel T7, the minimum focus distance is 25 cm with the EF-S 18-55mm kit lens. This means that if you are trying to take a picture of something closer than 25cm to the focal plane mark, the camera will struggle to focus. Moving the subject or the camera farther away should help. If not, there could be another reason. 

The Lens Is Not Attached Correctly

Typically, the camera body and lens have contacts that facilitate their communication with each other. That is how the autofocus can work. In a case where the lens and camera body are not properly attached, then the contacts may be misaligned.

This prevents any communication between the lens and the camera body. This communication is vital for the working of the autofocus. If it is not there, autofocus becomes impossible. You can try removing the lens and have it correctly reattached. 

For proper alignment, locate the white square or red circle on the lens to match the same square or circle on the camera body assigned for lens mounting. Attach the lens and rotate it in a clockwise direction until it locks into place. 

Dirty Contacts 

The case is almost similar to the one regarding communication between the camera body and lens. The communication is made possible through the metal contacts. Even though the lens and camera may be attached correctly and securely, the contacts may need addressing.

If they are dirty or damaged, there is no way the information will be passed on accurately. Hence, it is unlikely for the autofocus to work. 

To solve this, you can take your camera to a repair shop to have the contacts cleaned, or try it yourself. However, if you take on the DIY project, it is important to note that the contacts are very delicate. If you do not exercise caution, you could damage them and they can get very costly. 

Inadequate Light 

In low-light scenes, the cameras tend to struggle to autofocus due to lack of contrast between darks and lights. To go about this, you can allow more light into the camera. This can be achieved by using a wider aperture. Moreover, you can slow down the shutter speed. Other ways to solve this is by introducing artificial lighting to the scene. 

The Subject Is Moving

In some circumstances, you may find that it is impossible for you to focus since the subject is moving too fast for the camera to react. This could be an issue if the subject is moving between different focal planes—like if the subject is moving towards or away from the camera.

By the time your rebel t7 focuses on such a subject, it will have moved to a different focal place, hence autofocus cannot effectively work. 

To fix this, you need to ensure that you are using the correct autofocus mode. 

FAQs

Conclusion 

Hopefully, this article gives you an idea of what is wrong with your autofocus. With that, you can correct some of the issues and have a professional fix the rest. If there are still issues, then you may have to take the camera to a camera repair shop. 

You Can Also Read:

• Canon Rebel T7 Display Not Working
• Is the Canon Rebel T7 a Good Camera
• How to Turn off Flash on Canon Rebel T7
• How to Turn off Autofocus on Canon Rebel T7
• How to Turn off Shutter Sound on Canon Rebel T7

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Javed Ahmad

My name is Javed. I'm passionate about photography and I want to help people capture their memories in the best possible way. When I started this site, I wanted to create a resource that would make it easy for people to learn about photography and find the right gear for their needs.

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