D300 ERR and AF Issues

I'm still waiting on getting my D800 back from repair, and with the prices and generally positive reviews of even in modern contexts D300(esp. in comparison to the D2X I've been using) I thought I'd give one a shot at $300 from KEH. I'm on vacation now(don't worry-not the only camera I brought-not chancing an unknown camera) but I'm running into a couple of problems with the camera and I'm wondering if I should send it back for exchange.

First of all, after taking my first exposure after turning it on(after it being off for a few hours), it will often report "ERR" on the LCD/in the viewfinder and the exposure will be blank as if the shutter didn't open. Firing the shutter again will clear it, and it will seemingly work fine.

With that said, I've been having infinity focus issues also. I've mostly noticed it with the 18-200, but I've run into it with every lens I've tried-both screwdriver and AF-S. Basically, I'll put an AF point(generally the center one, since that's just how I tend to use AF) on something in the distance(a few miles away) and it will often rack the lens out to the closest distance and then not focus back out to near infinity. When this happens, I usually have to manually focus it to back out close to the infinity ballpark. Once there, it will stay and even get "perfect." If I choose to manually focus, I can get the camera to give me the in-focus confirmation dot. If I don't grab the focus ring, it won't rack the focus back even when focusing on closer stuff.

Any thoughts on this? I hate to use a camera on vacation and return it, but that's where's I'm noticing the issues with it.

BTW, the camera was advertised "BGN" grade. The shutter count is around 60K. I suspect it may have seen studio use as the body has essentially no cosmetic issues aside from looking like the PC cover has been held back for 10 years.

The D300 manual is not very specific at all re: ERR. In fact, all it says it "camera malfunction"; if persistent send in for repair.

The way I see it, you have two options.

(a) stop using the camera immediately and when you are back from vacation return it to keh.

(b) clean the contacts on both the camera and all the lenses; this could eliminate both the ERR and the issues with focusing. Inspect all contacts for damages.

Caveat with (b) - if that's not the cause of the issue(s), then ERR could indicate a whole slew of problems that require repair (failing shutter among them); not worth considering for a BGN-grade D300 and this is why I strongly suggest to pick door (a). You may even want to contact keh now to let them know that your plan on returning the camera and have an return authorization number issued.

Nikon introduced the D300 ten years ago in August 2007 and started shipping them in late November that year. Production stopped in 2009 in favor of the slightly improved D300S. For such an old camera, I too would return it to KEH.

It is indeed a good idea to let KEH know right the way to have a record that you experience this non-specific ERR error shortly after you had received that D300.

Thanks guys-you've confirmed what I thought.

I received the camera last Thursday, so I haven't had it a week yet.

I'm actually headed back home tomorrow, but I'll quit using the camera and call KEH as soon as I can.

I really like the D300 overall-I'll probably get a replacement assuming they can offer one to me(although only if I can change like for like condition-I don't want to pay more).

After cleaning contacts, you could :

- Check if the software is up to date, if not : download the updates from Nikon and install

- Try another battery .

If it still fails, bring it back ..

ERR is displayed when the lens' aperture ring (does it have one?) is NOT set on f/22 !? Please check.

Actually, if you are using a lens with an aperture ring, and you are not setting the aperture to the minimum when you are supposed to do so, the error is FEE.

ERR is a generic, non-specific error code. Usually it means there is something wrong with the electronic inside the camera or perhaps the shutter has failed. It should neither be a weak battery issue (in that case the low battery symbol should show up) nor a firmware issue. I bought a D300 within the first couple of weeks of availability (November 2007) and its firmware was ok, although there maybe some minor bugs.

It doesn't hurt to re-check the camera with a working, fully charged EN-EL3e battery, but that shouldn't be the cause of ERR. A camera that old with the ERR error is usually bad news; most likely repair cost will exceed the value of such an old camera.

For what it's worth:

1. As said, the code ERR, not FEE. I'm well aquainted with the latter on a bunch of different cameras, but this error is intermittent and occurs on lenses both with and without aperture rings.

2. I updated the firmware to the most current version when I first received the camera.

3. So far, I have used two different batteries(I have a bunch of the ones that fit this camera). When I unboxed it, the battery that came with the camera was mostly dead. I tossed it on the charger, and pulled the battery out of my D70s. I had the error with that battery. I later installed the battery that came with the camera after fully charging it and I'm still getting the error. So, that's with two different batteries. Both register their health as "0"(design capacity) in the camera.

Both register their health as "0"(design capacity) in the camera.

I have never seen any Nikon battery displaying anything but "0" and none of my 10 or thereabouts EN-EL3e i owned over the years has failed. Which reminds me that I still have 5 of them around (and one charger) I need to get rid of.

I have never seen any Nikon battery displaying anything but "0" and none of my 10 or thereabouts EN-EL3e i owned over the years has failed. Which reminds me that I still have 5 of them around (and one charger) I need to get rid of.

I've seen it-the battery that came with my D2X is on "3" and the one that came with my D800 is on 4. The D2X is okay, but the 800 seems to have an unusually short life.

Since I'm likely going to keep a D300 around and also have an IR converted D80, I see myself needing EN-EL3s for a while-PM me if you want to sell yours!

Typically Li-ion batteries don't fail outright, but their capacity to hold charge gradually degrades over time. My wife has Sony Li-ion batteries from the late 1990's. We haven't used them recently, but after like 10 to 15 years, some of those batteries can last less than 50% as long compared to brand new batteries with similar specs.

One of my older EN-EL15 battery failed. It might have gotten wet and leaked. When Nikon allowed D500 owners to exchange their old batteries last year, i took advantage of that program and swapped out that battery.

Typically Li-ion batteries don't fail outright, but their capacity to hold charge gradually degrades over time. My wife has Sony Li-ion batteries from the late 1990's. We haven't used them recently, but after like 10 to 15 years, some of those batteries can last less than 50% as long compared to brand new batteries with similar specs.

One of my other hobbies is collecting old Macs. After a bit of a "false start" with big issues in the Powerbook 5300 series, Apple had switched to Li-Ion pretty much exclusively by about '97.

How batteries have fared over the years can be an interesting topic. As an example, I've found the 3400c and first generation PowerBook G3("Kanga") batteries(interchangeable, although the G3 one is higher capacity) to have fared very well and more often than not only have slightly diminished capacity. By contrast, most of the 2nd/3rd("Wallstreet" and PDQ) gen PB G4 batteries are dead as door nails. The 4th and 5th generation ones(Lombard and Pismo) along with Clamshell iBooks are hit or miss, with some giving decent life and some not so much. I've encountered plenty of PowerBook G4 batteries that would seem to charge fine and would register as having good health, but in use might drop from 80% charge to 20% charge in a few seconds.

My current laptop is a mid-2012 model. It had a new factory battery under warranty in 2015-right before I bought it. It's now sitting at 400 and some odd cycles with 93% of its design capacity and "in the real world" several hours of use.

And KEH has just reminded me of how great of a company they really are and why they continue to get my business.

I think it was about 5 minutes from the time they answered the phone to the time I had the return paperwork in my inbox. All I said was "It keeps giving me ERR" and before waiting for further explanation the guy says "sounds like the body has some issues-just send it back and I have another reserved for you when for when that arrives." I had originally paid for next day shipping when I bought the camera due to the upcoming vacation and said that I didn't it that fast on the second body, but they insisted anyway. Assuming I get it shipped today, I'll likely have the replacement Tuesday.