when i press the shutter button the lens stays closed for a long period, or until i push the button again. i have read the instruction book and have tried every thing i can think of. new batteries,etc. i am using i.s.o. 400 film.

-- jim adcock (jmidnight4@aol.com), July 06, 2000

Answers

Not sure I understand...if you push the shutter button the lens shutter should open (actually the focal plane curtain on an SLR), but if it doesn't open, or stays closed, then it's not working. Do you want to give a few more details, if this is a serious question...like type of camera, what in the lens stays closed, does it open at all, what happens when you push the button the second time, etc.?

-- Todd Frederick (fredrick@hotcity.com), July 06, 2000.

We really need to know what camera model you are using.

By "the lens stays closed for a long period," do you mean the viewfinder goes black/dark?

How light or dark is the lighting when this happens? Does it happen all the time or just when it's dark?

-- Jim Strutz (jimstrutz@juno.com), July 06, 2000.

Offhand, such camera behavior MIGHT be due to unknowingly having a "mirror lock-up" (MLU) feature engaged (if the camera in fact has this feature). For example, with an EOS 1n or 1V, selecting MLU from the designated custom function setting will (depending on which drive mode is also selected) result in the mirror flipping up with the first press of the shutter button; at this point, the viewfinder will be black, since the mirror is up; the shutter button must then be fully depressed again before the shutter will trip, after which the mirror comes back down and the image is then once again visible through the viewfinder. Just a guess :)

-- kurt heintzelman (heintzelman.1@osu.edu), July 07, 2000.

Are you using a non-Canon lens? I've heard of this type of thing happening to aftermarket lenses (especially Sigma).

-- Steven Fisher (srf@srf.com), July 12, 2000.