D700 Time to say good bye

<p>This is more of a RANT than a question. Having had a D300 for over 12 mths what not a tiny bit of bother I decided to (upgrade) to the D700. I took my camera with me to my sons graduation. Bad move very bad move d700 24/70 Nikon lens SB600 flash all charged all sorted or so I thought.<br /> First few images OK not brilliant slightly over exposed and according to histogram as well checked the usual things -/+ compensation etc then it started to go pear shaped buttons wouldn't respond and I mean all buttons. The display was still on in LCD screen battery was still fully charged.<br /> Ok switch off and start again ok for a few shots then same again. The day was sunny no rain so no water involved and my cameras get better looked after than the wife (or so she says)<br /> OK switch off lens off and back on and again OK for a few images then same again! but here is the best bit this is my second D700 to do this and this happened to a friend of mine with his own lenses so not a problem with the lens.<br /> So the time has come to say good bye. I would like to say this was a happy relationship but can no longer trust the camera.</p>

<p>Sorry to hear that David. Maybe time to get another D300?</p>

<p>I don't blame you. If it happened to me, I would do the same thing. I had my first D700 go dead after a couple of weeks. The replacement has been fine after 5000 exposures. Cross my fingers. I know what you mean re "trusting" the camera. <br>

What's ironic in my situation is that I shoot two M8s. They are considered by some to be unreliable yet when my first D700 broke down on a trip, my M8 served admirably as the backup.<br>

Leo</p>

 

<p>I'm having a little bit of trouble understanding the details from your post, but here are a couple of ideas.</p>

<p>SHUTTER SPEED AND FLASH SYNC</p>

<p>You said that the day was sunny and that you were using an SB-600 flash. No problem here, but you have to be careful that the flash sync doesn't slow down your shutter speed.</p>

<p>Using the Sunny f/16 rule, if you were shooting at ISO 100, your shutter speed would have been<br>

1/100 @ f/16<br>

1/200 @ f/11<br>

1/400 @ f/8<br>

1/800 @ f/5.6</p>

<p>So, let's say you were shooting at f/8. Without flash, the camera would have adjusted the shutter speed to 1/400th of a second. BUT, when you turn the FLASH ON, the camera probably adjusted the shutter speed down to 1/60th of a second or so. If you didn't change your aperture to f/18 or f/20, everything would have been overexposed.</p>

<p>HISTOGRAM</p>

<p>The D700 histogram is tuned to the limits of JPEG files. If you shoot RAW/NEF files, you have more latitude than the histogram indicates - not a WHOLE lot more, but you shouldn't worry about a "slight overexposure." The D700's sensor gives you bonus headroom.</p>

<p>CRITICAL SHOOTING SITUATIONS</p>

<p>It's never advisable to take new or unfamiliar gear to a once-in-a-lifetime event.</p>

<p> </p>

<p> David,</p>

<p>Can you post some examples of the 'pear shaped' exposures with EXIF data? </p>

<p>Matthew,</p>

<p>Believe David is talking about the "pear shaped" (iso/wb/qual) buttons on left control platform. </p>

<p>Regards,</p>

<p>Leo</p>

<p>Admittedly, I thought this would be the first (?) unofficial announcement of its successor! The multi-pixeled D700X or 800.. Much anticipated.</p>

<p>Good luck with your '700!</p>

<p>While it sounds like something is wrong with your camera, it is possible operator error is involved. Consider giving Nikon Tech support a call (1-800-645-6689). Perhaps they can resolve your issue for you.</p>

<p>Post some images because I have a hard time understanding what you are talking about. So the first few images were OK but then the later ones were not? Post one of the OK images and post a bad image.</p>

<p>Maybe I'm reading too much into the original post but I believe his photos are ok, it's the camera's controls that are malfunctioning. Perhaps the problem needs to be restated? Regards, Leo</p>

<p>Yes, lack of punctuation makes it a little confusing, but the phrase "<em>buttons wouldn't respond and I mean all buttons</em>" is the key. Happened repeatedly to him. I don't think he's concerned about the exposure. It's the electronic failure.</p>

<p>Sorry... I found the OP to be incomprehensable.<br>

I love my D700, it's the best camera yet. Never had an issue with it, even when shooting in the rain.</p>

<p>you certainly seem to have bad luck with cameras!<br>

there's obviously something very wrong if your D700's buttons suddenly froze up for no apparent reason. and it happened to your friend, too!<br>

all i can say is, some of them (knock on wood) do work. overall, those who are happy with their D700s vastly outnumber the problem cases -- at least, on this forum. but that's everybody else.<br>

when you finally find a camera that works for you, hang on to it. sounds like you'd have been better off with your D300.</p>

<p>Leo,<br>

<em>"then it started to go pear shaped buttons wouldn't respond" </em><br>

He means "then it started to go wrong, buttons wouldn't respond". <br>

'Go pear-shaped' is Cockney/generally English slang for "go wrong". The derivation is unclear to say the least.<br>

That aside, like most here I found the OP to be generally incomprehensible. Punctuation may be out of fashion, but it isn't superfluous. </p>

<p>My D700 worked perfectly out of the box and for the 5 months I owned it. It took brilliant gorgeous images, but it had faults that the D300 did not, and ultimately the D300 is a better fit for me overall. Size matters, and the D700 was just too chunky in my hand for me (maybe I have small hands). Sorry to hear your D700 didn't serve you well, but stick with the D300, it's brilliant in every way.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>'Go pear-shaped' is Cockney/generally English slang for "go wrong".</p>

</blockquote>

<p>While I knew the OP is posting from the UK, I wasn't familiar with such slang. Thanks to Michael Houghton's clarification.</p>

<p>Some people simply have very bad luck with (Nikon) cameras. In this forum there are a few people who need to return just about every camera or lens they purchase. The OP here is apparently one of them; early last year he had to return two different D300 bodies: <a href="../nikon-camera-forum/00NuPh">http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00NuPh</a></p>

<p>Hi Guys sorry for any confusion. The problem was with the different buttons on the camera. The play back button wouldn't react when pressed when it did co-operate the multi-function button on the back of the camera wouldn't allow me to go back and forth to look at previous images.<br /> The mode button was also tempermental only allowing changes every third or fourth attempt.<br /> When the settings were in aperture priority and the camera was moved to different lighting situations the settings stayed the same even the meter didn't react. Sorry for the "pear shape" guys English term. my grammar isn't the best Guys so Sorry for that.<br /> My luck with Nikon hasn't been the best so now unsure what road to take next.<br /> My dealings with Nikon haven't been what you would call successful found them quite arrogant thanks for the reply's.</p>

<p>I hope we all aware that the multi-selection pad on the back of Nikon SLRs has a lock on it to prevent unintentional switching.</p>

<p>Yes that was fine Thanks one of the first things I checked. I will try once more with Nikon and see how I get on.<br>

If no luck then! not sure what I will do.</p>

<p>This is just a shot in the dark, but I thought I'd suggest it anyway. Is it possible that you have a faulty CF card? Is it possible the the card could be causing the camera to "hang"? Have you tried different CF cards? What is the read/write speed of your current card?</p>

<p>Could be I suppose the card is a SanDisk Extreme 3 4.0GB But the camera is going through it,s "happy time" at the moment so would have to try another card and see if it happened again.</p>

<p>I take it that none of this is a battery/power problem?</p>

<p>Please take a minute to proofread your posts before final posting. The lack of punctuation and flow make them difficult to read.</p>

<p>OK</p>

<p>I don't know if there is a good answer. I'm afraid we all are the guinea pigs helping the manufacturers cut their teeth on new electronic-laden technologies. Some people get along fine, while others seem to catch the brunt of the problems. It's a crap shoot. No manufacturer is immune. When I get down on the electronics I go back to all-mechanical film for a little while - helps to sooth the frustrations and regain the strength to dive back in.</p>