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Why Won’t My Canon EOS Rebel T6i Take Pictures? – Solutions

If your Canon EOS Rebel T6i (also known as the EOS 750D) won’t take pictures then this post will help. 

Some of the solutions can also apply to other Canon cameras. 

Before you do anything, try to rule out whether it is the lens or camera at fault. 

You can do this by using a different lens on the camera if you have one at hand. 

If you don’t have a spare lens then don’t worry, just try to follow the guidelines of this post and you should be able to figure out what the problem is. 

It tends to be an easy fix but you just need to know what you are looking for.

1. Camera Tries But Fails To Focus

“My camera keeps zooming in and out or trying to focus but never does and it won’t take a picture”

It might seem a bit like the camera is zooming in or out slightly but it is not. It is just trying to find a focus point.

If this is the case then it is highly likely that your camera is set to autofocus mode, but it is unable to focus. 

A very quick way to check this is by doing the following:

  1. Make sure the ‘AF/MF’ switch on your lens is set to ‘MF’.
  1. Set your camera to fully automatic mode (this is the ‘green square mode’
  1. Go outside to a location with plenty of daylight.
  1. Point your camera at a scene a moderate distance away from you (i.e don’t point your camera at a wall only an inch from the camera)
  1. Try to take a photograph.
  1. If your camera takes the photograph then that means it is able to take photographs in manual focus mode but not in autofocus mode. Your issue is that your camera is struggling to autofocus.

If the Canon EOS Rebel T6i cannot achieve focus in one-shot autofocus mode then it will not take any pictures. One-shot autofocus (One-shot AF) is likely the default setting on your camera.

If this scenario sounds like yours then you will definitely find the following post helpful.

2. Will Take A Picture But Takes Ages

“Camera focuses fine but when I press the shutter the camera takes about 10 seconds to take a picture. The shutter speed is not a long exposure shutter speed and is set to something fairly standard (e.g. 1/200.)”

If this scenario sounds like you then check if your Rebel T6i has been put on to a self-timer mode.

For example, you may have the camera set to a self-timer of 10 seconds. 

Turn this off and try to take a picture again to see if the issue is resolved. 

Here’s how to turn off the self-timer setting on the Canon EOS Rebel T6i:

  1. Press the ‘Drive mode’ button which is the button to the left of the ‘SET’ button on your camera body
  1. The camera will now show you the ‘Drive/Self-timer mode’ settings.
  1. If your camera is set to any self-timer mode it will be on one of the icons that look like a stopwatch.
  1. Select either a single shooting (one rectangle) or a continuous shooting (multiple rectangles) mode.
  1. Try again to take a picture and the delay should now be gone when taking a picture. 

3. You Might Not Have A SD Card (Or You Have A Faulty One)

The camera may not take a picture if there is no SD card inside but this should be obvious as the camera normally shows an error message. 

It could also be that you have an SD card inserted but it is faulty. 

Try using a different SD card if you have one. 

4. You Might Be In One Shot Mode

One-shot mode is an auto-focus mode that locks focus once and keeps focused on that spot. 

In this mode, the camera will only allow you to take a picture if the camera believes it has achieved focus. 

This is called ‘Focus priority’ because the camera needs to make sure that the photograph is in focus before allowing you to take the photograph.

There could be a variety of reasons why the camera is struggling to focus which we describe in our article which explains why your Canon EOS Rebel T6i can’t focus.

There are two ways to get around this issue.

Use Manual Focus

One way to get around this is to change to manual focus and try to take the picture because the camera will ignore the autofocus setting.

Being in manual focus mode will allow you to take a photograph regardless of whether the camera thinks the photo is in focus.

Use AI Servo

Another way is to continue using autofocus, but AI Servo mode instead of One Shot. 

AI Servo mode changes the camera’s settings so that it is in ‘Release priority’ so it can still take the photograph even if the camera thinks that the picture is not in focus.

How to set your Canon EOS Rebel T6i camera to be in AI Servo mode:

  1. Press the AF button on the Canon Rebel T6i camera body and then select AI Servo.

OR

  1. Press the ‘Q’, select the autofocus setting then choose AI Servo from there. The autofocus setting should show as ‘One Shot’, ‘AI Focus’ or ‘AI Servo’.

5. You Are Using An Incompatible Lens

The Canon EOS Rebel T6i is a DSLR Canon camera that uses the EF/EF-S lens mount.

This is different from what Canon mirrorless cameras use as they use either the EF-M or the RF mount.

If you are trying to use a Canon mirrorless lens on the Canon EOS Rebel T6i it will not work and you need to make sure you are using an EF or EF-S lens on the T6i.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you now know why your Canon Rebel T6i is unable to take pictures.

If your camera is still not taking pictures then check out our post on focusing issues for the Canon EOS Rebel T6i.

If after that your Canon EOS Rebel T6i is still not taking pictures then we recommend taking it to a camera repair shop or a Canon service center to be checked.

A repair may be necessary.

Thanks for reading!

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