D70 - Over exposing. Metering busted?

My D70 is consistently over exposing, by at least 2 stops, in lower

light situations. This is happening in P,S,A and M mode.

In the other modes the pop-up flash comes up and the exposure seems to

be correct with flash. It's happening in all ISO settings. This was

happening on and off a bit earlier, but now... it's with all shots taken.

 

I got the camera May 2004 and have a little under 15,000 shutter

clicks on it.

 

I've pressed both green buttons and I've also reset the camera by

pressing the small button on the bottom of the body. I've also

removed the battery and tried the reset as well.

 

Is this the meter that is out of whack at 1/60 sec or so, or slower?

To me it looks like it's just not reading the seen properly and as

consistently overexposing as a result.

 

Anyone have any suggestions or may know what's going on? Any idea how

much a repair (like a meter replacement) may cost?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

You might try updating your firmware, it couldn't hurt. Other than that it sounds like you've covered all the bases. I would give Nikon a call. If you send it in to Nikon service be sure to get their new address from their web site.

Try checking your metering mode to make sure it's in matrix metering and not spot or center weighted. That "problem" (well okay user stupidity) went unnoticed for awhile on my 20D and frusted me a lot. Turned out I was shooting on center weighted metering mode the whole time so non-flash exposures were all over the place.

i'd first try to find out if it's lens 'r problem or camera problem.

 

If it happens to one lens only, it'd be the lens' aperature problem (like sticky aperature).

 

otherwise, i think it's necessary to send the camera to repair. For better understanding about what's wrong... i'd check if it's metering problem. try to shoot manually using sunny 16 rule, or with the help of other light meter/camera. if it exposed ok that way, then it seems a metering problem.

Thanks guys...

 

I should've put some of this information in my earlier post.

 

* I'm on version 2.0 (most current I believe) for the firmware but reinstalled just in case.

 

* Yes, it is in matrix metering

 

* Have tried two different lenses.

 

The camera has been a blast up to this point and seems to work okay when I adjust the EV setting, but in P mode it should deliver *proper exposure* and just comes back with very overexposed shots.

 

I wonder if a repair would start to approach the cost to replace the body.

 

Good suggestions, and I appreciate them. Thank you.

Check the lens aperture and see of it stops down correctly in manual & auto mode.

I have had the very same problem and it turned out that I had my exposure compensation set to +3 or something ridiculous like that. I do a lot of hiking and somehow while in my hiking pack the exposure comp. got turned way up. If you have already checked that ignore my comment....

It looks like most of the obvious places have already been checked. If you have reset the DSLR, any incorrect exposure compensation should have been set back to normal.

 

So just in case, since Nikon uses a mechanical aperture coupling between body and lens, verify that the coupling lever is not bent. Unfortunately, that is a fairly common problem. The lever is inside the lens mount on the opposite side from the lens release button. As what Alan Chan said above, set the aperture to the max and vary it to smaller apertures. Use the depth of field preview to verify that the aperture is working fine. See whether the exposure problem happens to all apertures and shutter speeds or not. For example, if that doesn't happen when the lenses are wide open, we can start narrowing things down.

 

Otherwise, it is likely to be an electronic problem inside the camera. That is probably not something end users like us can fix ourselves.

Shun,

 

I didn't know about the mechanical aperture coupling... interesting item. I did take a look at it and actually fiddled with it a little hoping to perhaps correct the issue. It looks like it's attached to a spring to keep the lens at the widest aperture until it's told by the camera to stop down. It didn't seem bent and to my eyes looked like it was acting/looking the way it was supposed to.

 

I did try the DOF preview to see if it reacted the way it's supposed to when pressed. And it did.

 

The problem seems to happen most often in situations with lower light and when flash is suggested, or when the 'Lo' is displayed within the viewfinder.

 

I'm starting to think the meter is just not reading the scene the way it should be and is having the shutter stay open much longer than needed.

 

The other item is that in P mode -- when I change the shutter or aperture dial by my thumb and index finger -- the P* does appear like expected, but the shutter speed and aperture remain constant. It's almost like the camera lights up the P* letting me know that I've changed something but the aperture/shutter settings don't change.

 

The over exposure occurs at other times as well, but less frequently. It happened again in an outdoor shot with the aperture at about f/8 and the shutter 1/350 sec.

 

Should I start budgeting for a new camera?

 

Are repairs related to the electronics of DSLRs costly?

 

Can I get a quote from the guys at Nikon service to replace the meter -- do they do stuff like that over the phone?

 

I'm able to get by with the problem, but just get by is not what I want to do.

 

Thanks again for the help folks.

I don't think Nikon will provide any quotes over the phone concerneing repair cost, and IMO that is the right policy. In case they tell you it is $200 and it turns out that the problem is much worst and it is actually $500, you'll be very upset.

 

If we are talking about Nikon USA, you can send it to them. They will determine what is wrong and send you a letter with a quote and get repair authorization. If you decline, at least a few years ago they would only charge you $10 for return shipping. Give them a call to confirm their current policy. Again, Nikon USA's repair charges are high.

Is this the meter that is out of whack at 1/60 sec or so, or slower? To me it looks like it's just not reading the seen properly and as consistently overexposing as a result.

 

Check the menu, #05, ISO auto. You can tell it when to ramp up the ISO if the shutter speed is below a certain amount(i.e., 1/125, 1/60...)

Thanks guys...

 

I did check out the ISO setting... no luck.

 

I'm going to get in touch with Nikon and see how that goes.

I had this problem recently and discovered I had the exposure compensation on.

Hashim,<p>You do know there is a limiter of sorts for shutter speeds. You can set the camera to not go below 1/60 or 1/30, etc. Look at your menu. <p>I have also experience slight over exposure with my new D70, but not as bad as you have. I tend to lose highlights and have to underexpose anywhere from .50 to 1 stop. I think the meter is set to 12 or 13 percent grey instead of the usual 18%.

Thanks Henry... that, I think, can be a workable solution for me.<P>

 

I went to an authorized Nikon repair location and they asked for samples. I took these recently, and the shots have the EXIF information. I haven't heard back from them yet.

 

<P>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hashim_a/34850231/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://photos22.flickr.com/34850231_e914c837eb_m.jpg" width="240" height="159" alt="DSC_0465" /></a><P>

 

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hashim_a/34850232/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://photos21.flickr.com/34850232_9a875d8cdd_m.jpg" width="240" height="159" alt="DSC_0466" /></a><P>

 

I also looked on the web (nikonians.org) and came across others that were getting erratic readings from thier light meter.<P>

 

Light leakage in the seals maybe?<P>

 

I'll share any news/developments on this thread.<P>

 

I appreciate your feedback.

Heard back from the service center.

 

It looks like it may be a *main flex* issue to them, they are not entirely sure. But it's a job for the factory. Ballpark estimate -- about $300 USD.

Egads! I'm keeping my F4, and N80 around.

I experienced the same thing today while looking at a new lens at a local camera shop. While examining the lens (80-200 f/2.8)on my D70, I noticed that pictures were way overexposed. In bright sunlight at f8 the camera was wanting shutter speeds of several seconds. I could set the camera to manual and dial in shutter speed and get suitable exposure. Neither me nor the clerk at the store could find a setting in the camera that would cause this behavior. This was no school kid, this was a top notch Professional Store. When I returned to the kit lens the overexposure problem still occured.

 

I returned home and callled Nikon to disuss problems. We did the reset through CSM menu, BKT + Meter, and little button on bottom. There only advice to to throughly clean contacts on lens and body. That's on the calender for tommorrow.

 

I recently upgraded to 2.0 of the firmware (on 8/19). I spoke with two og Nikon phone Techs and they claimed it was not the firmware. This is the only thing I have changed on the camera.

 

I'm interested in your progress on resolving this issue.

Dennis...

 

I ended up exchanging emails with Nikon support and since have shipped the camera to Melville, NY.

 

I called to see if they had received the camera a couple days back and they said they were a bit backlogged and it hadn't been checked in yet.

 

This week something similar has shown up on the forum.

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00DQD5

 

I'm just hoping that the repair is not too expensive and I can get the camera back soon.

 

I had also called up an authorized Nikon repair location in Morton Grove, IL. named Authorized Photo.

 

http://www.authorizedphoto.com/

 

They seemed friendly enough over the phone but really couldn't provide too much help or an estimate without seeing the camera.

 

I ended up deciding to send it to Nikon hoping that since the camera was 15 months (3 months out of warranty) I might be able to get a break.

 

I'll keep folks posted on the forum.

The latest on the D70 from Nikon USA.

 

Service Repair

 

Rank B2

 

# If Parts Available

Depending on the age of the product, some orders will display this message when replacement parts are limited.

 

# B2

 

Moderate Repair : Major Parts Replaced

 

 

Not sure when I can expect to see it back.

Have they told you how much?

I should've put this in the earlier post Henry.

 

///

 

Order Status: Estimate Accepted

 

Warranty: Complimentary Service

 

///

 

Either I got lucky or I'm guessing other's are having similar issues. Have had numerous Nikon products (not quite as some folks on the site) but this is the first issue I've had. I'm hoping the service experience will be as good as the experience I've had with thier other stuff. It would've really sucked if I had to shell out $300+ seeing that the price has dropped so much on the D70 since I got it. I took a look on PN and some other sites... wasn't able to get a good range of costs related to repairs to bodies.

 

Hoping to get it back soon and not see the error (or any others) re-occur.

Thanks for the info. I'm glad they're taking care of you, as they should. There is obviously something defective with some of the production. It would be good to identify which ones are affected.