Olympus 12-40mm won’t auto focus [FIXED]
Q. I cant get the Olympus 12-40mm lens to auto focus all of a sudden? Any quick tips? -Sam
A. There is a ‘manual focusing clutch’ mechanism on the lens that might have gotten bumped.
“This model is equipped with the Manual Focus Clutch mechanism, which makes instant switching to manual focus possible by pulling the focusing ring toward you. ”
Source: Olympus Asia
So check if that got pulled back (you should just be able to push it forward). 🙂
If that doesn’t work you might try disconnecting the lens and then re-attach it (you don’t even have to take it all the way off, just unlock and twist, then twist back till it clicks and locks).
I hope that helps! –JD
UPDATE, the response from Sam: I thought there might be something like that! Fixed in the nick of time!
- https://www.jdhodges.com/blog/olympus-12-40mm-auto-focus-fix/ (15)
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Dude, you’re a lifesaver. I rented this lens and it just stopped focusing… I was thinking I may have broken something. (Didn’t know what a “clutch” system meant.)
Thanks for the helpful post!
Hi David,
Thank you for your kind comment 🙂 I am very glad to hear that you rented lens was OK and that my tip helped!
Enjoy your Olympus camera and feel free to post again if you have any new favorite lenses or gear!
Best regards,
-J.D.
You just helped me as well! I spent an hour googling and found this thread. THANK YOU!!!!
Hi, Kat.
Thank you for your nice comment.
I am extremely glad that my page helped you with your Olympus 12-40 autofocus!
Enjoy your nice lens and have a GREAT day 🙂
Best regards,
-J.D.
Thanks for that info,mine suddenly stopped autofocus,tried every-thing,reset the camera ect,I knew it was the lens as it worked with other lens,did as you suggested,perfect.
Regards Les.
Thank you for your comment Les! It is certainly disconcerting when AF stop working unexpectedly. I am very glad that my tip worked for you 🙂
Enjoy your nice lens and have a great week!
Best regards,
-J.D.
Thanks!!! I thought I was going to go crazy trying to get it to autofocus.
My pleasure! Have a great weekend and enjoy your nice lens 🙂
Best regards,
-J.D.
Xactly what I was looking for on my Oly lens af fix-ty!
Hi Greta,
Thank you for your nice comment. I am very glad that this fixed your lens issue!
Best regards,
-J.D.
Thank you so much!
You are very welcome Rafael, enjoy your Olympus lens!
Best regards,
-J.D.
Thank you JD – this was very helpful!
Cheers!
You are very welcome Alex! Enjoy your Olympus 12-40mm and I hope you get many great shots with it 🙂
Best regards,
-J.D.
wow… this was driving me mad and I couldn’t find an answer anywhere. Thanks for the answer, plus I found out about a useful function I never knew I had – cheers!
Thank you for the comment John. Glad to hear it resolved your issue and that you have a new feature to utilize 🙂
Best regards,
-J.D.
+1. I was actually annoyed because I didn’t think this lens had a physical AF/MF switch. Guess I should have RTFM. Thanks!
Hi Matt!
Thank you for your comment. I am very glad that you are now able to use the AF/MF switch on your 12-40mm lens 🙂
Have a great day!
-J.D.
I just had the same thing and was going to take it back to the shop. Thanks guys for your help!
Hi Douglas,
Thank you for your nice comment. I am very glad this tip helped with your Olympus lens 🙂
Best regards,
-J.D.
im just laughing at myself. im using a friend’s lens and i went “oh fxck, i broke it” thanks a million. the ring went back.
Hi Bekir,
Thank you for your comment. I am glad this tip helped fix your friend’s “broken” lens 😉
Have a great day!
-J.D.
This thread just saved my photo life in the middle of a cruise around Australia. I thought I was stuck without a camera here in Adelaide, and now I am back on the air. Huge thanks.
Hi Lyell,
Thank you for sharing your story. I am happy that my page helped you with your Olympus 12-40 lens autofocus 🙂
Enjoy your Australian cruise and have a GREAT day!
Best regards,
-J.D.
Thank you very much for your post! Now I know my lens don’t need to be repaired.
Hi Ed,
You are very welcome! Enjoy your Olympus lens and have a GREAT week 🙂
Best regards,
-J.D.
Life saver! Bought the lens secondhand so no manual. A perfect quick fix. Now I can go on holiday happy. Thank you.
No prob! I’m so glad I could help. I’m sure you got some great pictures! 👍
Have great day!! 😀
-J.D.
On holidays in France I experienced the same ‘problem’ Tried all buttons but to no effect. I guess for many here including myself you are a true Lord of the Ring!
Thanks! I’ve been searching for an answer.
No problem! Glad I could help!! 👍
Thanks a lot for the help…thought something was broken…what a relief!
Thank you for your comment, Pablo. You are very welcome!
Have a GREAT weekend 🙂
Best regards,
-J.D.
Well, that was easy – Thanks for your time to help.
Other forums suggested it was a firmware issue only solved by sending lens to Oly in NJ.
And I am sure they perform the same service, for a fee, by sliding the manual focus ring, and returning.
Hi ArchCon,
Thank you for your nice comment and kind words 🙂
I am very glad my tip helped and that you are able to enjoy your 12-40mm Olympus lens, without having to ship it off for repair!
Have a GREAT day and thank you for visiting my site.
Best wishes,
-J.D.
Huge thanks! First time using this new lens today and it stopped working half way through a wedding. Man, do I feel stupid (I did have a backup lens, btw).
No problem! It was a difficult problem, I’m sure you got some awesome pictures! 👍
Have a great day!! 😀
-J.D.
That post of yours five years ago is still proving invaluable!
As I always use autofocus, I had completely forgotten about the clutch on this lens – many thanks for pointing me in the right direction!
Regards
Ralph
Dear Ralph,
Thank you for your nice comment. I am VERY glad this tip helped you out!
Have a GREAT week! 🙂
Best regards,
-J.D.
Thank You so much from Spain!! I went to the mountain today and suddenly it stopped focusing… I thought I had broken it after just a week of using it… You saved me from a heart attack!
Hi Eduardo. I’m so glad that the tip helped. I hope you got some awesome pictures! 👍
Have a great day!! 😀
-J.D.
I ran into the same problem with 40-150mm Lens wouldn’t focus..thought something broke..it was the focus ring as you commented on the 12-40mm..great help was pulling my hair out..great information and much appreciated.
Dear Ken,
Thank you for your nice comment. I am very glad this tip worked on your 40-150mm lens as well!
Have a GREAT week and enjoy your nice photography gear. 🙂
Best regards,
-J.D.
Hi i thought it was the same but for a 14-42 lens but it didn’t move a bit so i think there is something else but i don’t know why. It’s exactly this type of issue. IF you see this comments can you help me please, i travel in America and there is few retailer of olympus near me 🙂
THanks in advance, have a nice day 🙂
Hey Aurore, the 14-42mm lens should have a similar manual focus clutch mechanism. Try firmly pushing the focus ring forward (toward the front of the lens) to make sure it’s fully in AF mode. If the ring is already pushed forward and AF still doesn’t work, try detaching and reattaching the lens. If neither works it may be a different issue than the focus clutch. Hope you can find a fix before the end of your trip!
Thank you so much!!! I was wondering why both of my pro lenses AF wasn’t working, but my telephoto lens was. You are a life saver!!!!
Dear Marshall,
I’m so happy that the tip was able to help. Thank you for the nice comment!
Enjoy using your lenses! 👍😀
Thanks a million, JD. Happy days are here again! I thought my lens was broken. A thousand dollar lens, I couldn’t believe it. I checked all the settings and did the reset and nothing.
Thanks to you everything is good again.
Hi James. I’m happy to help! I’m so glad that the tip fixed the problem. Thanks so much for the nice comment!!
Enjoy using your lens. Have an awesome weekend! 👍😀
Found this on the first Google result. Worked right away. Thank you!
Excellent Nancy! I am very glad my tip helped you get your lens working 🙂