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Nikon Err messages


dmcgphoto

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3 Nikon cameras of mine 2 D200's, and 1 D700 and what the heck I'll include the anecdotal evidence of a fellow shooter's D3. All had the mirror lock up and an Err message results, forcing the camera to be sent into Nikon Repair.<br>

This is a camera error, not a aperture ring or manual reset sort of thing. The mirror is stuck in the up position so nothing can be seen or photographed.<br>

I've noticed many complaints from D300 and D70 users when searching this forum from posts over the last several years. I have a suspicion as to what may be causing this and would like feedback to the specifics of my question, and please there is no short answer to those who want to say, change the battery and take out the CF card..I have, just as all those in the other posts I've searched have written about as well.<br>

I've noticed that I hold the AE/AF-L button down with my thumb while I simultaneously hold the shutter release button down halfway with my forefinger, I take my pictures often by NOT removing the thumb from the AE/AF-L button but by firing the shutter release at the same time. In December my D700 gave an Err message while I was doing this, tonight 2....yes 2!! D200's did this, while focusing in low light, while holding down both the AE/AF-L button, while firing the shutter release.<br>

1st question, or room for debate...Do any of you remember if that's what you have done for this to happen?<br>

2nd question, more of a rumination, it's my speculation that either I am woefully misinformed about how the AE/AF-L button is to be used in the operation of my cameras (insert your scolding here...really, if it saves me from having to have 3 cameras in the shop, I'll take the heat) OR there is some kind of nagging bug in the Nikon software that seems to result in a hiearchy conflict that forces the mirror to lock itself up. If the latter is the case, and y'all seem to remember the same situation with your fingertips, then maybe Nikon can recreate this back in the lab and issue a software patch, or at least put something spiky on the AE/AF-L button to keep our greasy mitts off it.<br>

It just seems like this situation has happened an awful lot when you look for the error message, and maybe some of it has to do with the manner in which many of us use our cameras.<br>

So, please get back to me with your idea'rs and tell me what you think.<br>

Oh, I'm not slamming Nikon, I will probably be buying their equipment for the next 50 years, I just want to know if it's me...which I can fix, or if it's them..which I can understand and learn to avoid, or at least fix myself.</p>

<p>Thanks folks,<br>

daniel</p>

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<p>Daniel,</p>

<p>My D200 had a similar (if not identicle) locked up shutter and Err message. My problem was a mechanical one and the shutter only re-closed after the camera was turned off and on again. The Err and lock up was intermittent but became more frequent after 100 actuations from the initial foul up.</p>

<p>After the usual battery re-freshment / full re-set etc. and multiple lens changes I was directed by the good people here on p.net toward the aperture governer lever inside the mount of the camera body. My D200 had an ever so slightly bent aperture lever arm (from me roughly mounting a TC). This is to be found inside the mount on left as you view the body front on.</p>

<p>I tweaked the arm back to a perfect 90 degree bend and hey presto the problem was solved. Hope this is of assistance. I have only encountered this once and only on the D200.</p>

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<p>Daniel: A bit off topic, but what's the Babel Fish icon for in your recent posts? Does this somehow facilitate translation for other readers? On my browser (Firefox 2.x) it doesn't appear to be a link to any translation utility, just a blank icon.</p>

<p>If it serves a specific purpose, such as helping others to translate your post, ok. Otherwise photo.net prefers to minimize the use of gratuitous icons, avatars, etc., other than those officially provided by the site.</p>

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<p>Daniel, it is the nature of forums such as this one that people mainly report problems. It would have been very odd to start a thread telling everybody that one's camera has no problems (although some actually do), and our forum could have been filled with those threads that are largely useless.</p>

<p>Some of the well known glitches among Nikon DSLRs are the so called Blinking Green Light of Death issue on the D70. It was bad enough that Nikon USA set up a special address to receive them for repair. At least Nikon was willing to fix that problem for free (as they should) even thought the camera might be out of the original warranty. The D200's banding issue is also fairly well known and that affects some of the early samples. Otherwise, at least I don't see any wide-spread issues among Nikon DSLRs. There are some mainly isolated issues which are normal for any product.<br />We recently have two threads on D300 issues. I notice that you have just followed up to the 2nd one. As far as I can tell, there are many happy D300 owners and no particular abnormal patter of problems other than a few isolated cases. The "Err" symptom is a non-specific error which may be related to circuitboard issues. There is one case cited in the 2nd thread:<br>

<br /><a href="../nikon-camera-forum/00SCGt">http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00SCGt</a><br /><a href="../nikon-camera-forum/00SLDe">http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00SLDe</a></p>

<P>

The mechanical aperture stop-down lever Matthew mentioned is, IMO, a known weakness in Nikon's mount. It is a left over from Nikon's mecahnical pass. Modern mounts use all-electronic controls and don't have this kind of issues any more. I have bent it a few times a couple of decades ago but I am more careful nowadays when I mount my lenses. If that is the problem, it is straight forward to correct it.

</P>

<p>I personally have been shooting Nikon cameras for 32 years and I have bought 5 different digital SLRs: D100, D2X, D200, D300 and D700. Additionally I have used a few samples photo.net received from Nikon USA for testing. I am glad to report that I still own all of those 5 DSLRs and each one is still working fine. None of the 7 Nikon film SLRs I have owned required warranty repair in their 1st years, although my F4 eventually died after like 10 years.</p>

<p>I am sorry to learn that you have so many problems with your DSLRs and I can understand your frustration. Either you are a very unlucky person or perhaps it might have something to do with the way you handle your cameras. That is something up to you to figure out. If it is purely a "luck" issue, I hope you have better luck in the future or perhaps you can give another brand a try.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the responses, Lex, I've no idea why the babelfish icon is in my post, I've no memory of putting it in there or ever using it as an avatar.<br>

Sun, I'm so pleased your experience has led you to your satisfaction, I've used Nikon's for around 20 years, so forgive me if I think that perhaps stringing the threads together might yield a more interesting tapestry. I've not found anything previously about the attenuator arm before, and while as far as you can tell about the D300 owners, let us merely agree that we might be looking for different experience. As for me trying to figure it out, that's why I made my post, to see what others might suggest about figuring it out. As I have been unable to narrow it down myself.<br>

Oddly enough the camera which has never given me problems, my old stand by my D70s.<br>

As for another brand, that's not a particularly helpful suggestion, but thanks for the other ones!</p>

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<p>Daniel, I am not even aware that the D700 has any wide-spread issues. For the D200, other than some banding early on, I have seen reports that the battery compartment door not applying proper pressure onto the battery so that the camera may shut off. A low-tech solution is to add a small piece of paper into the battery compartment to increase the pressure.</p>

<p>As far as I know the "Err" error is not common. If you manage to get that on two different D200 bodies in one day and also on a D700, either you are an extremely unlucky person or most likely there is a common thread to it. I would suggest letting Nikon know that you have 3 bodies with the same symptom. Perhaps their repair technician can figure something out. Just to take Matthew's suggestion, in case a person is very rough mounting lenses, you could potentially cause the same problem on multiple bodies. Or perhaps you have one particular lens or battery that is defective, it could damage multiple bodies in the same manner. One thing to keep in mind is that both the D200 and D700 use the EN-EL3e.<br>

Again, only a repair technician who can inspect all of your cameras can potentially figure that out. It is highly unlikely that those of us who have no physical access to your cameras will provide much help.</p>

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<p>Here is one more thing to check just in case. I have heard stories that some "no name" compact flash cards have out-of-spec connection holes, or durt can get into those holes and block them. If you push a card with problems into your DSLR, it can damage some pins.</p>

<p>I would use a flashlight to check the compact flash compartments to make sure that there are no bent pins.</p>

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