"Blinking Light" Error on D70 -- Help solve a mystery

Hi

 

I just a bought a D70 and let my daughter take it on her school trip to Paris. I just got an

e-mail in which she describes a "blinking light" on the camera that won't go out. Can

anyone help me solve this?

Not to be too much of a wise guy here, but reading the user's manual would be a good place to start. You'll be surprised how much you learn in there.

In case she is talking about very bright areas in images shown in the LCD on the back, the camera may be in the mode that it is showing over-exposed areas in the image. It is not exactly some blinking light in this case, just blinking areas in an image.

It might be the AF assist lamp. Is it at the front or at the back?

There aren't many lights on a camera than blink. If it's not something in the viewfinder, then you have the anti-red-eye lamp, the busy light on the memory card door, and (?) a self-timer light.

 

If the card or an image file gets corrupted, the green busy light will flash, even if the camera is turned off. That's the only "light" I know that behaves in this fashion. You have to turn it off and remove the battery for a few seconds. If you're lucky, you'll only lose one image.

 

Don't panic if you can't view any pictures in the camera itself. Put the card aside until you can look at in a computer. Chances are the camera merely created a new directory which is empty, while ignoring the old one. NikonView chokes on a corrupted image, but you can click and drag in Microsoft Explorer. (Sorry, I don't do MACs.)

Hey Jeffrey Moore - not helpful! Why write on the board if you're just being an a-h?

Anyway, to the others, the only thing I could figure from my MANUAL was that the camera

may have been bumped and card is out of place - would that make the little red light on

the rear right blink? The MANUAL is silent on that particular matter.

Thanks, guys

Ditto, Jeffrey. The camera is in one country and the instruction manual in another. It's difficult to do remote diagnosis.

 

One purpose of these forums is to offer quick answers to problems for which there isn't an immediately obvious answer. This is a community of sorts and a tremendous source of collective knowledge.

 

Asking yet another redundant "Should I buy a D70 or ...?" question is one thing. Asking for help with operating the thing is another. Compared with an FM2N operating the D70 is like trying to fly a plane the day after getting your driver's license. Not quite comparable.

My apologies. It's funny though that after a half-dozen posts, Ted still doesn't have the answer to his question. At least that's what I gather from his last reply. Today's DSLRs are complicated machines and the first thing I would do is read the manual. If Ted had done so, maybe he would have been able to give his daughter in Paris a quick answer.

 

I need to be a little more sensitive, I guess. Maybe, also should a guy who joins a forum, and on day 1 calls another member an asshole.

 

But, nevertheless, I'll be sure and not tell anyone in the future to read the manual, even if that may in fact be the best advice and course of action.

 

Again, my apologies.

>I'll be sure and not tell anyone in the future to read the manual

 

Why not? Not everyone is the same -- why should you change your ways based on an individual's reaction?

 

In certain cases "RTFM" might be more appropriate though -- being rude seems to be fashionable these days.

Ted,

Have her try taking the battery out and re inserting it and do the same with the card. Also make sure the camera battery is charged. I assume you are using the Kit lens put the camera in Auto mode if the light is still flashing assume you have a problem and it needs to be fixed.

good luck Steve

Ted doesn't know the answer becaues he apparently isn't even sure what exactly the problem is himself, as the camera is currently not with him. Hopefully he can forward this link to his daughter and maybe it can help her determine the problem.

 

Unfortunately, without a clear problem description, we are all guessing at this point.

In an act of repentance, let's see if I can help.

 

I don't own a D70 myself, but I downloaded the manual and also checked out an enlarged view of the back of the camera on the dpreview site. It looks like the only blinking light on the back of the camera is the CF card access lamp, which blinks whenever images are being written to the card. It also blinks when the card is being formatted.

 

As Steve suggested, have her turn off the camera, remove the battery, remove the card, then put it all back together again. If you get the same result, try a different card (if available). A buddy of mine who has a D70 told me once that he had a bad microdrive card which caused the access lamp to blink continuously.

 

If this doesn't correct the problem, it's likely a shipment to Nikon service is unfortunately in the cards.

Ted

There is a firmware update to fix this problem.

The following is from Nikon's support page.

<P>

<A HREF="http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bin/nikonusa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=10469&p_created=1087912713&p_sid=Cmqws-Ch&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MzAxJnBfcHJvZHM9MTksMCZwX2NhdHM9MCZwX3B2PTEuMTk7Mi51MCZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1">

link</A>

<P>

Issues addressed with A firmware version 1.01

<P>

1. Images captured in Continuous mode at high shutter speeds sometimes displayed vignetting in upper portions of the image. This problem has been corrected.

2. When the built-in Speedlight was in its raised position but did not fire, the Automatic Sensitivity Adjustment function (ISO Auto: CSM 5) sometimes failed. This problem has been corrected.

<P>

Issues addressed with B firmware version 1.02

<P>

1. The camera now supports CompactFlash? memory cards with a capacity greater than 4GB.

2. When images were captured in Continuous mode at an Image size setting of M and an Image quality setting of FINE, the memory card access lamp sometimes glowed continuously and the camera could not be turned off with the power switch. This problem has been corrected.

3. Text errors in display of Chinese menus and messages have been corrected

Pulling the battery should get the camera up and running again. Pull the battery. Turn camera on for a couple of minutes. Turn it off. Re-install battery. The only other thing that comes to mind is if she forced the C.F. card in backwards. When this is done it bends a couple of pins inside the camera. It's fixable but she will need to find a repair shop. It takes some very long and small tools with a delicate touch to straighten out the pins. I hope this has been some help.

....if the CF access LED keep blinking even the camera is off... you 've to send it to service.

 

mine did

Well, hell, Jeffrey, since we're doing penance today I'll apologize for sounding like a tight-ass school marm delivering a lecture.

 

;>

Hi all. Don't have answer here (too few data supplied), but I liked the attitudes here, and I just wanted to tell you guys that one of the reasons why I joined the club, other than being useful, was Vivek's 'acid' replies :-)

So, well done Jeffrey... and well replied Ted!

Let's keep up the good sarcasm.

I assume your daugher is generally unfamiliar with the camera.

Therefore, I would suggest:

 

1) Remove battery, turn on camera. Wait several minutes.

2) Insert new CF card. (Have her go new buy one locally)

3) Make sure camera is in Automatic mode.

4) Put the battery back in and turn the camera on. Wait a few seconds. See if flashing light goes out.

5) Perform a two-button reset. (Press the two buttons with the little green dots next to them. These buttons are the "BKT" button on the camera's rear upper left, and the metering mode button which is located near the on/off switch. (It's the one on the left, just behind the on/off switch.)

 

At this point, the camera should be back to the way you got it from Nikon.

 

Maybe she doesn't need a new CompactFlash card, but I assume she's visiting Paris and won't want to miss out. (vacation?) If so, the cost for a replacement CF card is inconsequential. It's possible the existing card is OK, or, even if it isn't, that you will be able to extract any pictures on in once she gets home.

 

Other than that, I'm afraid I can't be of much help.

The camera might really have something wrong with it that requires Nikon repair.(?)

 

Oh, one more thing... I assume you know that there's a "flashing" highlights mode when you are previewing pictures. Only the white parts of the picture flash (and even then, only if they are over-exposed). If this is the case, simply push the 4-way toggle button on the back of the camera to the left or right until the picture gets back to normal.

 

And if this is what your daughter is complaining about, the shutter will still release and she can still take her pictures. (They record OK, they just don't look right on the LCD).

 

If the little green light next to the CF card slot is what's blinking, the shutter probably won't release and she's missing out. (In which case, have her try steps 1-5 above.)

 

Anyway, hope this helps.

Good luck.

 

Michael

Ted,

 

I have the same problem, had to send it to service. Sorry..

Scott Krycia, in your case, which light on the D70 was blinking?

<P>

Here is a previous thread on Scott's D70 problem:

<BR>

<A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008yJs">

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008yJs</A>

Hey folks, we've done a good job of identifying what could possibly be blinking. But we haven't looked at the probablility of each. Since the daughter didn't specify what was blinking, prioritizing in order of probability might help us get the answer faster.

 

I see LCD highlight blinkies several times per day, but hardly ever see the flashing memory light or self timer light. So, I'd give overexposure highlight blinkies the highest probablility. Dad, an explanation of exposure compensation may be in order.

 

Now, let's look at fatality..... If she accidentally put the camera in self timer mode, she can clear very easily by shutting the camera off and turning it on. No photos would be lost. I'd recommend that, but chances are, that's the first thing she tried. I'd guess that as a low likelihood, because she probably did the off then on, but still contacted Dad.

 

Next, I'd try shutting off the camera, removing and reseating the battery, then turning the camera back on. She might lose the last picture if it's the memory card light that's blinking.

 

Next, I'd have her power down, reseat the card, and power up. Probably no more fatal that the battery removal, and it assures that the card is seated properly.

 

I'd next switch to a different CF card, if she has an extra. Hold off reformatting until under controlled circumstances.

 

If there's a memory write error, she probably has an error code like [CHR] on the top deck LCD (page 200). She didn't mention that. But if that were the case, the fix is usually reformatting. Fatal to existing pictures on the card unless she downloads the card first, using an external device, then reformats.

 

If reformatting doesn't stop whatever is blinking, then try the reset switch (page 200).

 

I hope this helps!

 

Dan

You guys are great. I've sent along the info to her. Just FYI, I'll report back to all...

Hi Ted,

 

This is a major problem and the camera needs to be sent to Nikon for repair. It is a latent fault in most D70's purchased (manufactured?)prior to September 2004 and is also well documented on the dpreview site. Nikon should repair irrespective of warranty having expired as it is a manufacturing issue.

 

Myburgh