Autofocus not working. Older lens new Nikon d3100

7Reefer · Jan 12, 2012

I bought a used tamron 90 mm off eBay. It is the previous model, not the new one. The autofocus does not work. Is it because the lens is not compatable with the d3100, or is the lens not functioning properly?

Thn
Thanks

m and m · Jan 12, 2012

What do you mean a old 90mm link? It could be broke or it could not be comparable.

CJO · Jan 13, 2012

The D3100 doesn't have a built-in motor, so if the lens does not have a motor, it will not autofocus. I'm not sure on that particular lens without a link.

CJ

7Reefer · Jan 13, 2012

CJO said:
The D3100 doesn't have a built-in motor, so if the lens does not have a motor, it will not autofocus. I'm not sure on that particular lens without a link.

CJ

This is the listing description, "Nikon Tamron SP AF-D 90mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1 Auto Focus Lens D70 80 D90 D200 D300 " In my haste I did not research the diff. in camera bodies. I could not find any info on this particular lens. I emailed the seller and he did not know if it would work on my camera. Not sure if I should send it back. A brand new one is out of my price range. However, $300 for this one not to function fully seems like a waste. Ugh!

Thanks

CJO · Jan 16, 2012

All of those camera bodies have the built-in motor. Sounds like this is the older version of the lens that will not autofocus with your camera body.

CJ

Sahin · Jan 16, 2012

Nikon does not share its technologies with lens manufacturers (so Sigma, Tamron et al have to reverse engineer their lens to get them to work with current Nikon bodies to get the lens to work). This is why on future Nikon bodies, the lens may not work. Nikon has not licensed their technology to Sigma etc

Hence even if the lens is an autofocus, it is very possible that it wont work on a newer body. I have the Tamron 90mm AF macro 1:1 (ie the gold graphics and Blue line around the barrell). I use it on a D70, and havent bothered to buy a newer body because it will probably not work. In a way, this is Nikon saying, buy our lens or risk not being able to use it on a future body.

CJO · Jan 17, 2012

What? Not sure where you have heard that. Nikon hasn't changed its mount design since the AI came out in the 1970s. It did stop putting in motors on some of the lower-end cameras to lower costs. These cameras don't focus non AF-S Nikon lenses either. The motors for the Nikon cameras that do have them have never changed and work the same between bodies and lenses as it always have. You can upgrade with no issue.

CJ

Sahin said:
Nikon does not share its technologies with lens manufacturers (so Sigma, Tamron et al have to reverse engineer their lens to get them to work with current Nikon bodies to get the lens to work). This is why on future Nikon bodies, the lens may not work. Nikon has not licensed their technology to Sigma etc

Hence even if the lens is an autofocus, it is very possible that it wont work on a newer body. I have the Tamron 90mm AF macro 1:1 (ie the gold graphics and Blue line around the barrell). I use it on a D70, and havent bothered to buy a newer body because it will probably not work. In a way, this is Nikon saying, buy our lens or risk not being able to use it on a future body.

7Reefer · Jan 18, 2012

My other lens is a Tamron 18-270 and works perfectly.

clockwurk · Jan 18, 2012

CJO is correct. Only models like the D70-90, D7000, D200-D300s and up have an internal motor. So unless you purchase a newly made lens ( mostly DX lenses for nikon brand ) it wont auto focus.

This is one of the main things I look for on a camera. Since I own many great AF lenses that are decades old, I make sure to only get bodies that has a built in AF motor.

CJO said:
The D3100 doesn't have a built-in motor, so if the lens does not have a motor, it will not autofocus. I'm not sure on that particular lens without a link.

CJ