In sports mode auto focus struck on left - Nikon D40x Digital Camera

The camera will not take a picture in P, S, or A if the camera is in Auto Focus mode - and is unable to focus. Make sure that the Auto / Manual focus switch on the camera body AND the lens are BOTH in an Auto Focus mode. A tip off would be that you do not hear the lens focus motor running while trying to find focus.

If you do hear the focus motor, you may not have sufficient light on the subject for the camera to find a contrast "edge". In this case, the focus motor will hunt from where ever it is all the way in one direction, and then all the way in the other - trying to find focus. You'll need to provide more light or if you have the focus assist lamp (on the front of the camera) enabled - make sure your fingers are not blocking it while 1/2 pressing the shutter.

You can take pictures "all day long" in Manual Focus mode regardless of whether the subject is in focus or not. The lower left corner has a green circle or disc that indicates proper focus. Otherwise, a green triangle shape will be visible close by.

More info on Focus is available here. I hope this helps and good luck! Please rate my reply. Thanks.

Putting the camera in manual mode still doesn't change the focus routine. If you want manual focus, there is a switch near the lens on the left allowing AF (auto focus) and MF(manual focus).

Sounds like you may not be in "Auto" mode. Press the "Func/Set" button, then press Right or Left to select the "Auto" mode.

That's a big lens and for sports photography you are going to need a lot of light to ensure you can use a fast shutter speed to capture the action. Sports mode may do too much for you and you might want to try switching to a more manual mode. Try switching to Tv mode which gives shutter speed priority. Set the shutter speed to something around 1/150 or higher (1/200) which should be fast enough to freeze the action. Make sure the ISO is set to 200 or 400 for best results and see how you get on. This should stop any action based blur which would leave you with focus problems if the pictures are still blurry. Check out http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos450d for info on what this camera can really do for you

Autofocus is activated by pressing the shutter button halfway, be shure to have a EF lens in the camera, otherwise it won't make autofocus, put camera on full auto mode or "sports mode" (the running guy) and the focus settings on redictive AI Servo AF: Continuously tracks subject movement and achieves focus before the exposure starts.

Mine occasionally does this as well, but only when trying to focus on the left side of my viewfinder. I found there is a piece of dust on the sensor in just the right quadrant that prevents it from focusing. Try setting your focus settings so that you can press the left or right buttons to select the focusing quadrant (left, middle, or right). If that fails, you can always manually focus.

There are four focus modes: S-AF (Single auto focus), C-AF (Continuous auto focus), MF (Manual Focus), and S-AF/MF (Simultaneous mode). (SINGLE Auto Focus): Focusing is performed once when the shutter button is pressed halfway. C-AF (CONTINUOUS Auto Focus): The camera repeats focusing while the shutter button is pressed halfway. (MANUAL FOCUS): The function allows you to manually focus on any subject while looking through the viewfinder. SIMULTANEOUS USE of S-AF mode and MF mode: You can fine-adjust focus manually by turning the focus ring after AF is performed in the S-AF mode.

The following exposure options are available: P (Program auto), A (Aperture priority), S (Shutter priority), and M (Manual). There are four scene programs modes available in which the camera will choose the optimal settings for the picture: Landscape: Suitable for taking photos of landscapes and other outdoor scenes. Both the foreground and the background are in focus. Since blues and greens are reproduced vividly in this mode, the landscape mode is excellent for shooting natural scenery. Portrait: Suitable for shooting a portrait-style image of a person. This mode features an in-focus subject against a blurred background. Sports: Suitable for capturing fast-moving action such as sports scene or moving vehicles without blurring. Night scene: Suitable for taking night scene photos with a slower shutter speed.

Occasionally it is necessary to have the ability to manually focus a digital camera. A good example is shooting through the windows of a tour bus on a rainy day. The camera may choose to focus on the raindrops on the window rather than the actual subject. To enable the MANUAL FOCUS function hold down the OK/MENU button for a second or longer. In the lower left corner of the LCD screen you will see MF (MANUAL FOCUS) and AF (AUTOFOCUS) with AF highlighted in green. Use the left arrow key to select MF. You will now be able to use the up and down arrow keys to manually focus the camera. An added feature of the C-5500 is that when you are using the MANUAL FOCUS Mode you will see a magnified portion of the image in the center of the LCD screen. To get out of MANUAL FOCUS Mode, simply use the right arrow key to reset the camera to AF. Then press the OK/MENU button to return to the default functions.

The following exposure options are available: P (Program auto), A (Aperture priority), S (Shutter priority), and M (Manual). There are five scene programs modes available in which the camera will choose the optimal settings for the picture: - Landscape + Portrait: Suitable for taking photos of both you subject and background. The picture is taken with the background as well as the subject in the foreground in focus. - Landscape: Suitable for taking photos of landscapes and other outdoor scenes. Both the foreground and the background are in focus. Since blues and greens are reproduced vividly in this mode, the landscape mode is excellent for shooting natural scenery. - Portrait: Suitable for shooting a portrait-style image of a person. This mode features an in-focus subject against a blurred background. - Sports: Suitable for capturing fast-moving action such as sports scene or moving vehicles without blurring. - Night scene: Suitable for taking night scene photos with a slower shutter speed.