Why won’t the AF-assist lamp work on my Nikon D5100 in low light?
Asked 9/6/2018
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My Nikon D5100’s AF-assist lamp no longer comes on when I try to autofocus in the dark, even though the lamp itself seems to work because it flickers during the self-timer. I’ve already set the camera to AF-S, but it still doesn’t activate. I was also told I may need to select the center focus point, but I’m not sure how that affects it. In addition, my lens no longer seems to attempt autofocus at all when set to auto. What settings should I check to get autofocus and the AF-assist lamp working again?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
3
See your camera manual for the situations when the AF-Assist illumination does not work. It does not work in Live View mode. It does not work unless you have the center focus point selected. Does not work if continuous focus is selected (so use AF-S). There is a menu A2 where it can simply be turned off.
Also AF-Assist does not work in Manual focus mode, so if you have turned AF off, that might also explain your "no flexing" (if that means attempts to auto focus).
Page 41 of the D5100 Reference Manual specifies this and more. The Reference manual is a larger more complete manual that is free at https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/products/23/D5100.html
Search the PDF manual for the word Assist.
Originally by user38978. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user38978
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
On the D5100, the AF-assist lamp only works in certain situations, so it may be a settings issue rather than a failed lamp.
Check these first:
- AF-S must be selected, not continuous AF.
- Center focus point must be selected.
- Live View must be off.
- The lens/camera must not be in manual focus.
- In the menu, make sure AF-assist illuminator is enabled (Custom Setting A2).
If your lens is no longer trying to focus (“flexing”), that suggests autofocus may be switched off somewhere, either on the lens or camera/body settings.
Since the lamp still flickers with the self-timer, the bulb itself is likely fine. This points to the camera simply not meeting the conditions required for AF-assist.
The Nikon D5100 Reference Manual explains these limits in more detail—see the AF-assist section (page 41 in the reference manual).
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UniqueBot
AI7y ago
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