60D in the doctors

Been having trouble with AF with all lens. The camera fails to AF until I near manual focus then AF will take over.
Searched all over for a reset of some kind. If it's a board error so be it but if it could be fixed with removal of the system battery I say thank Canon for making it non user replaceable.
Repair better be less than the cost of a 2nd hand 60D

I see by your profile you have a 60D, a 40D, 10-22mm f2.8, 50mm f 1.8, 100mm f2.8 Macro,
100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L, 70-200mm f4 L, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 and a 430EX II.

Can you narrow down what combination is giving you the problem and perhaps attach an image with EXIF data intact?

I narrowed it down to 100mm Macro, 100-400L.
It's was proven yesterday. No AF until I manually focused close to focus when AF would kick in and finish. But pointing at a subject and half pressing did nothing at all.

The 100-400mm is known to not like filters so if you are using any remove them and retest.

I would review the thread at for the 100mm macro issues...http://www.dpchallenge​.com …d&FORUM_THREAD_​ID=1037322. As you'll see there are many but most involve technique and how you use the lens.

Just for grins, is CF 'AF hunt' set to On or Off?

I don't use filters and no not set to hunt

So they say they can't fault it. I said it was intermittent.
When I dropped the camera into the store I tested once more for my own benefit that I was not imagining the problem.
Canon 60D with Canon 100mm f2.8 (macro) fitted pointed camera at subject on the wall. 4 feet in distance. Half pressed and nothing. AF failed to focus or even drive. Manually turned to near focus and the AF kicked in and completed the focus. No it was set to AF not Manual.

I can see this is going to drive me mad.

Have you tried to set the AF to 'Hunt' and see whether it repeats?

this is exactly what happens when AF is NOT set to hunt. im afraid this is by design.

basically youre telling the camera not to waste time with AF if it cant acquire it immediately. when AF hunt is set to ON, the camera will try to acquire AF by going infinity to macro until it locks on. try it and report back please.

on the 100L macro, also check the MFD setting.

That's a shame you are having problems with the focusing. It's rare, but things do break down and require repair. I hope it's not expensive.

The other suggestions of things to check are good: MFD setting on lenses with that feature; whether or not the AF "Hunt" feature of the camera is enabled, etc.

I don't believe anyone has mentioned it yet.... Also whenever there's a focusing issue it can sometimes be solved by cleaning the lens-to-camera contacts. Just use a few drops of isopropyl to dampen a clean cloth and wipe the contacts with that... both on the rear of the lens and just inside the bayonet mount of the camera. Of course you have to be a little careful to stay clear of the lens optics and the mirror in the camera. But the idea is that sometimes oils get on those contacts and can partially interrupt the small voltages used for communication between the camera and lens.

While you are cleaning, also check the contacts inside the camera. They are springloaded "pins" of a sort, and sometimes get stuck pressed in. If that happens, it can lead to intermittent contacts and effect camera-to-lens communication... also might effect focus (can show up as problems with aperture control). If this is happening, it might be something you can fix yourself, or may need to go in for service.

Honestly, it's unlikely that a "reboot" of the camera would help in any way with a focusing problme, so the fact that the onboard (memory) battery isn't user removeable on 60D probably is a moot point. (Still, not sure why Canon made that change with the 60D. It seems sort of short-sighted of them.) The camera likely isn't old enough to need a replacement of that battery, either. (And even if that little memory battery were dead, all you lose is the date/time settings, and perhaps some of the custom functions or menu settings whenever you turn off power to the camera or remove the main battery.... otherwise you should be able to use the camera only with power from the rechargeable battery.)

Anyway, just a couple more things to check. It would be great if it corrected your problem. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But at least it's free and easy to do the cleaning and check the springloaded pins.

I think Master chief might be right. Although I don't know why that setting would have changed unless I did it inadvertently when playing. First thing I check Monday when I get it.

Thanks for that Master Chief.

On the 60D there isn't a separate date/time battery and I would not term this short sighted on the part of Canon. The date/time circuitry is present and derives its power from the main battery. The circuitry itself uses components that retain sufficient power to keep the clock running even if the main battery is removed; I was told the clock would run for a minimum of a month.