My Sony H1 has stopped focussing.. It does not auto focus and cannot be manually focussed either

It is probably a broken ribbon cable in the lens. It will need to be replaced.

What is the focussing problem?
The EOS 7d is usually an autofocus camera with a 19-point
focussing system.
Are you trying to override the focus manually?
This is not recommended.
Much of the purchase price is based on the speed and
accuracy of the focus.
Please restate your problem with more detail and information.

What do you mean by close range?
All lenses have range within which objects can be focussed. Objects within the "closest focussing distance" cannot be focussed. The maximum is usually infinity. Yours lens specification should tell you what the "closest focussing distance" is.

If they are located different distances from the camera, align the point of focus on the individual you want in focus. You can increase the the range of focus somewhat by changing the f-stop value to a higher number (like f 22). This could bring objects in a wide range of distances- say 20 feet to infinity - into focus. With a lower value f-stop (f 3.5 for example), the range of focus will be much smaller, say 20 feet to 30 feet. You'll have to take the camera out of AUTO and set to A or Aperture mode to do this though. Good luck!

This is most likely a problem with the lens. Do you have the switch on the side of the lens at 'A'? Are you able to focus manually? It is a common fault that can occur if the lens has receive a knock or the camera has been dropped. Also, grit or sand in the lens mechanism could cause this. It is recommended that you send this camera to a qualified service centre.

No, the problem is not with the lens. Your Canon camera requires unpolarized light to focus. Even on manual focus, you may have trouble seeing focus through the viewfinder. That's why they invented circular polarizer.

I doubt if there is anything you can do yourself. The manual focus may have debris under the ring or is in need of parts. I would leave this one to a tech.

Two possible solutions. The camera may be set to Macro. The lens may have failed. If the camera is not set to macro then the lens has to be replaced and the camera reprogrammed.

Hello, Don't mix magnifier mode and expanded focus mode. Magnifier mode is simply a short AF range operating mode, like a kinda super-macro. Whether you selected mag/macro/normal, the camera operates always same except that the focussing range limits are changed accordingly by the S/W. The lens itself is capable of focussing from 1cm to infinity anyway. Expanded focus is used on some still and video cameras to assit manual focus because the LCD's resolution is lower than the CCD's. It can be seen as a workaround for the lack of optical reflex viewfinder (Sony cams ar not dSLRs, including HDR-FX1!). So the center area of the pic is "digitally zoomed" to make sure you can adjust a sharp focus of the point of interest in your frame. However it has nothing to do with macro shooting, and works at any distance within the lenses focussing range. Hope having helped

I was first going to also suggest a reset. Does your manual focus function correctly from near to far(turning the focus ring in manual) and does the wide to tele motion function fully and smoothly? (lens adjustability without restriction) Was your camera exposed to extreme heat or elements?(beach sand or water of any kind) It may mean electronics only or a mechanical restriction causing an electronic malfunction. A last resort may mean your closer documenting when or how frequent it happens and maybe ultimately a trip (for your camera) to Sony. Get a price quote for repair since you might strike a happy medium of using the camera differently (manually focussing) without exceeding the value of the camera for repair costs.