Why doesn’t the Nikon D5000 AF-assist lamp work in Manual, Aperture Priority, or Shutter Priority?
Asked 1/6/2012
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On my Nikon D5000 with an AF 50mm f/1.4 lens, the AF-assist lamp comes on in some automatic scene modes, but not when I shoot in Manual, Aperture Priority, or Shutter Priority. I’d like to use autofocus in low light without being forced into auto modes. Is there a setting I need to change, or are there specific conditions required for the AF-assist lamp to work in these modes?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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The D5000 has a quite specific set of requirements for using the AF assist illuminator outside of the pre-defined scene modes.
- The lens has to be in autofocus mode (obviously).
- The autofocus mode must be set to single (AF-S) or using AF-S in AF-A mode.
- The autofocus area mode must be set to Auto, or if it's set to any of the other modes (Single point, Dynamic or 3D tracking), the centre focus point must be selected.
And of course, the illuminator has to be turned on in the menu system, which is option a2 in the Custom Setting Menu (it's on by default, but it's worth checking).
Originally by user3205. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user3205
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes — on the D5000, the AF-assist lamp only works when several conditions are met. Check the following:
- The lens must be set to autofocus.
- AF mode must be AF-S, or AF-A when the camera chooses AF-S.
- The AF-area mode must be Auto-area, or if using Single-point, Dynamic-area, or 3D-tracking, the center focus point must be selected.
- The AF-assist illuminator must be enabled in the menu (Custom Setting a2).
- If you are using Live View, behavior can differ; test through the optical viewfinder as well.
So the lamp is not limited only to full auto modes, but it won’t fire in every focus setup. If you’re in Manual, A, or S mode and it still doesn’t light, the most likely causes are AF-C being selected, a non-center focus point, or the AF-assist option being turned off.
In very dark conditions, switching to the center point and AF-S is usually the key step.
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