emma_k Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 I've always been a darling to this camera. It's never had a bad word said toit, let alone been dropped or spilled on or... anything. This is verymysterious. Broken at no provocation. It's a Nikon Coolpix L3. This is what's wrong: Half the time I turn it on, it claims the battery is exhausted. I loaded it upwith a variety of fresh ones to get past this. Nada. The rest of the time, itbehaves normally as far as turning it on and taking pictures goes. The memory card is loaded with pictures and videos I've recently taken, but whenI play the videos on the camera, they make loud clicking noises. Not reallyclicking, but clacking. Clunking. Clunking! Like someone rocking a woodenchair's legs really fast. It sounds like it's in the videos, not the camera. When I plug it in to offload these clunkish things on my computer, it doesn'tshow up on the desktop or in iPhoto as usual. It doesn't do anything. It turnson and gets the black screen like usual, but no show. Is it possessed? What do I do? There aren't any camera places where I live(nowhere, really) and I'm hoping for something like... y'know, the messiahappearing and giving it the healing touch. Ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas_fiege Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 as for the battary you might clean the electrical contacts in the battery compartment. it is possible that caused your low battery problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronald_moravec1 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Clean battery contacts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emma_k Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 Done. No good. The battery isn't even the big problem. It started at the same time as the noise and the inability to use it with my computer. All at once. Whatever the cause, it isn't that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wogears Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Under warranty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emma_k Posted March 8, 2008 Author Share Posted March 8, 2008 Nope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd peach seattle, washi Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Just for troubleshooting's sake, you might put the card in a card reader and see if it's readable. I can't think of a way a bad card could pull the whole camera down, but I suppose it's possible. As I wrote in a thread last month, you can score a card reader for about $10 at a Radio Shack or similar store. They've gotten ridiculously cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_dalrymple1 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Make sure you format your card in-camera. I had strange problems with a coolpix (hangs and spontaneous shutdowns). After formatting the card in the camera, it worked fine thereafter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanford Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 These things have a short lifespan. How many shot has it taken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_luongo1 Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Does "fresh batteries" mean 1) freshly charged old AA NiMH batteries or 2) freshly charged, brand new NiMH batteries or 3) new AA alkaline batteries? "Old" batteries also include batteries that you've never used but have sat on the shelf for a long time. Sitting on a shelf long enough will kill NiMH cells. I had a digital camera that was recording black frames. All it needed was a new battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emma_k Posted March 9, 2008 Author Share Posted March 9, 2008 In response to the card: It can pictures without a card in at all. I took it out, snapped some, went to offload, all the same problems. Not the card's fault. Lifespan: I've had it for just over a year. It couldn't crap out THAT fast, could it? I don't use it much. Batteries: All of the above. That's why I said a variety, heh. This is looking hopeless. Time to send it away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_luongo1 Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 There's probably a menu choice on the camera that lets you choose between PTP and Mass Storage. Check to see if this got changed accidentally. Did you say it takes photos normally? The only issue is the klunking sound when you play movies? Maybe there's a bad microphone? We still recommend that you get that card reader to download the photos into the computer if the above fix doesn't work. If all else fails, it won't hurt to send it to Nikon. If you've only had it a year, maybe the warranty expired only recently? Nikon is known for being flexible about warranty repairs. You will need to send a copy of your original purchase receipt though. Worse case is you turn down the estimate and they send it back to you. All you'll be out is the cost of one-way postage. You pay the cost of sending it. They pay the cost of returning it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emma_k Posted March 9, 2008 Author Share Posted March 9, 2008 Checked. Blargh. I'll get the photos off and see about having it looked at. Thank you for the thoughts, everyone! The camera will thank you as well when it's no longer twisting its head right around and projectile vomiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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