NIKKOR 60mm F2.8G ED - autofocus gets stuck

[Silvana]

I have been using NIKKOR 60mm F2.8G ED with my Nikon D850 for about 2 years with no issues but on a very recent dive trip, the autofocus stopped working suddenly in the middle of the dive. This happened on two separate dives. I tried to autofocus on some contrast points, tried different F but to no avail. I do not have a manual focus ring for this lens (although I just ordered one now, in the light of the events). That made the camera useless for rest of the dive, which is of course frustrating. Once I ended the dive, I removed the camera and the lens autofocus came back to working normal once I rotated the focus barrel a little (as in manual mode).

Wonder if anyone has experience something similar or have any thoughts. Thanks!

[Dave_Hicks]

I had the exact same problem with my Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm F/2.8G IF-ED. I was diving in Fiji and had this happen on several occasions. Including a night dive with ripping current. It was super annoying and frustrating. Out of the water and housing I could never replicate it. I tried multiple times and it always worked perfectly. I cleaned the contacts on the lens, body, etc. I don't recall if I tried a factory reset on the body, but that could not hurt too much to try.

I just bought another copy of the lens and sold the old one. The problem was not worth the gray hairs.

[Silvana]

3 minutes ago, Dave_Hicks said:

I had the exact same problem with my Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm F/2.8G IF-ED. I was diving in Fiji and had this happen on several occasions. Including a night dive with ripping current. It was super annoying and frustrating. Out of the water and housing I could never replicate it. I tried multiple times and it always worked perfectly. I cleaned the contacts on the lens, body, etc. I don't recall if I tried a factory reset on the body, but that could not hurt too much to try.

I just bought another copy of the lens and sold the old one. The problem was not worth the gray hairs.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have the 105mm lens and use it occasionally, it is scary that it can happen with difference lens too. I don't want to buy another manual focus ring for this lens too 😞 I'll clean contacts and look into factory reset, these are great suggestions. Thanks!

[Sokrates]

I was buying secondhand Nikkor 60mm ED for my Sony and noticed numerous classifieds in Finland saying lens has autofocus problems.

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by Sokrates

[Dave_Hicks]

It's an extremely popular and commonly used lens in UW photography on Nikon. It is not known to have issues. I have a dozen friends that have put 1000's of hours on the 60mm, and it's generally not a trouble spot. I didn't blink an eye at buying another 105mm after mine started acting up. Sh@t happens.

That said, individual lenses are going to fail over time, regardless of brand.

[Silvana]

4 hours ago, Dave_Hicks said:

It's an extremely popular and commonly used lens in UW photography on Nikon. It is not known to have issues. I have a dozen friends that have put 1000's of hours on the 60mm, and it's generally not a trouble spot. I didn't blink an eye at buying another 105mm after mine started acting up. Sh@t happens.

That said, individual lenses are going to fail over time, regardless of brand.

Like I said, I used the 60mm extensively for two years with zero issues, up until one day...

[Silvana]

Upon some more Google search, I am not the only one with this problem. Here is an older (2013?) review of the lens. Fasforward to 2023, same problem on other comeras like mine (D850).

https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/60mm-afs.htm

"Autofocus

AF is fast and reasonably solid on all compatible Nikon AF cameras, film and digital, except on Nikon's newest and smartest D3 and D300.

F4 fans: The F4 focuses faster than the D3 or D300 with this lens!

Problem: Autofocus on Nikon's newest D3 and D300, can get confused and not focus or act stupid if you're way out of focus when you start. It won't hunt; it will often not bother to start to look!

In other words, if focus is way off when you tap the shutter or AF button on the D3 and D300, often it won't even bother to try to focus. If any of the other cameras, including the D70, D200, F4, F6, or even the N75 can't find focus, they will run lock-to-lock trying to find focus anytime I tap the button.

AF is fine if you're reasonably in-focus when you hit the shutter button to start AF, but if you're way off, it's common that the D3 or D300 won't even bother to try to focus.

There is no focus range limiter to prevent this. If you have the lens set to 1:1 and focus on something at a distance, expect to be disappointed on the D3 and D300.

A work-around is to move the focus ring manually to roughly correct focus, and any camera will fine tune it from there with AF. This isn't acceptable: having to move the focus ring to get AF to work is one more step between you and your photo, and that lost time can lose you a decisive photo. Why buy a lens if it might lose a photo for you?"

 

 

 

[TimG]

4 hours ago, Dave_Hicks said:

It's an extremely popular and commonly used lens in UW photography on Nikon. It is not known to have issues. I have a dozen friends that have put 1000's of hours on the 60mm, and it's generally not a trouble spot. I didn't blink an eye at buying another 105mm after mine started acting up. Sh@t happens.

That said, individual lenses are going to fail over time, regardless of brand.

Same experience for me, Dave. Never the slightest issue, and no hesitation in recommending the 60mm and the 105mm. Great lenses

[Tom Kline]

The AF of my 60 AFS simply stopped working one day so I simply bought a replacement. It was then several years old - bought it right after it came out. My even older 105 AFS still works as new. I do not have an F4 to do the Rockwell test described above but am a bit surprised as the F4 has a very old AF system. I have used both AFS lenses housed under water without major issues for years. Though I have used a D3X and not a D3 per Rockwell.

[johnvila]

On 12/14/2023 at 5:52 PM, TimG said:

Same experience for me, Dave. Never the slightest issue, and no hesitation in recommending the 60mm and the 105mm. Great lenses

Mine has never let me down on D500 or D850

[Tinman]

I had a couple of issues where the autofocus on my Nikon 60mm Micro quit working during dives. My autofocus issues resolved both times immediately by simply switching the camera off and turning it back on. I'm not sure why the lens did that.

-Tinman 

[Mathieu Cornillon]

I experienced a similar issue with my Nikon D7000 body and my two 105 lenses :

- the AFD (old) one

- the AFS (newest) one

Sometimes, it gets stuck at minimal focus, 1:1, not any possibility to recover focus. Didn't try to switch off then on, will try next time.

My solution was :

- to stop using my old AFD and instead I bought the AFS : it is slightly better, but can still occur sometimes

- to buy an extension port that allows manual focus : as the AFS has a "M/A" focus, I can turn the ring a few turns to "unlock" it from its extreme focus position, and then it gets fine again

 

[Tom Kline]

I think we might be discussing two different phenomena here, one when the AF goes to sleep, as it were, and the other when it is totally kaput. When the AF of my 60 AFS died, AF never worked again but the rest of the lens functions were OK so it works as a MF lens.

Edited December 18, 2023 by Tom Kline