michael_millard

It sure sounds like the flashtube output was getting weaker with time (and now won't flash at all). If so, fixing the electronics won't help. It would be like changing out a light switch, when the light BULB is bad.

Not sure if that's the case here, but it seems reasonable. (?)

Can you elaborate? Does the flash "fire" if you press the modeling button? Either way, it looks like repair is needed. Sorry to say.

Feel free to file this under "For what it's worth..."

I am personally unimpressed with Adobe.

I purchased Illustrator-10 a couple years ago and there are so many bugs with it it is almost unusable. (And I'm certainly not alone with many of my specific issues with it if you sample the various User Groups.)

Their solution (after many, many hours complaining) was to spend more money and "upgrade" to the newer version. Yeah, right. How about giving me my $400 back?

I'm done with Adobe. End of story.

Ikkla, I think you missed my point entirely. (?)

I am trying to correct the misconception that because person-A's camera "works just fine" in the cold, that person-B's should as well.

It's just no so. And I will explain presently...

I agree condensation is to be avoided. Technically, that has NOTHING to do with temperature. You can make DRY air whatever temperature you desire. I realize this was probably not the case with Patrizia's situation.

I cannot speak for the Nikon engineers, but I can tell you for a fact that the parts inside the camera are characterized by their respective manufacturers. Typically (for temperature), it breaks down something like this:

Commercial Grade - 0 to 70 C.

Industrial Grade - -40C to 85 C.

Military Grade - -40C to 85 C. but usually in rugedized packaging.

There may in fact be a mix of component grades inside the D70.

The sum of the parts used pretty much dictates the environmental conditions under which the entire device will RELIABLY operate. As they say, however, "your mileage may differ". And if it does, that's fantastic, but don't count on it or someday you could be disappointed.

And please keep in mind, Environmental testing is only one of several such test Nikon likely performed (electrical performance, mechanical performance, etc...) But since we're talking environmental, here's a few examples to help clarify the point.

Thermal Shock. (i.e., 100 cycles 0 to +70C with 15 minute dwell)

Humidity (i.e., 85% RH at 70C for 240 hours, non-condensing),

Accelerated Life, (i.e., MID-STD-202F, Method 108, etc...) and,

...maybe whatever standard might apply to airport X-ray machines??

And you're 100% right. Nikon is not "stupid". If they were to sell products like the D70 without properly characterizing them, their warranty returns could put them out of business.

The book says 0 to +40C (+32-104F) for a reason.

Now you know why.

FWIW, here in South Florida, we don't worry too much about 32F, but come August.... well that's another story.

You might find a D50 fits your needs (and budget).

I suspect many people who have the D70 really could have done with the D50.

You lose wireless flash, DOF and a couple ISO settings (Intermediate), but none of those are deal-breakers.

Just a thought....

It's not just the lawyers talking!

Hi and Low temps absolutely affect electronic components and their performance. That said, they may "fail" in ways which are neither noticible nor objectionable.

It will take time for the camera to reach ambient temp, and that rate may change a little with the duty cycle of the camera. (Electronics generate their own heat.) Though in the D70, I'll bet it's not much.

And I don't know about you, but I can assure you at -10, I'm gonna quit working long before the camera does!!

Hummm... Maybe I should go into business making D70 sweaters?

Same problem here.

Sent mine back to Nikon last month.

They promised a 5-day turnaround on the repair and met it.

Fresh water is not a big deal. (Salt-water is really bad.)

I'm sure after drying, your charger will be just fine.

And believe it or not, it's not all that easy for water to enter the device, and for all we know, the electronics are conformal coated after wave soldering anyway. (meaning water will have an even more difficult time doing any damage...)

If you decide its OK after trying it out, I would recommend cleaning the charging contacts with a fine pencil eraser. Or, if you're ambitious, a little denatured alcohol and a fine, stiff brush.

I have the 70-300/ED type zoom and I think it might be a bit slow to focus for some sports. Good lens though, overall.

I seems you already received some good advice on alternatives.

Here's an idea: (And I'm really not joking.)

Why not just go on the field and use your existing lenses?

Maybe you could sign up as the official "Team Photographer"

Share your photos with the other parents, etc...

The money saved will sure help with the college fund!

Of course, I'm thinking "Tee-Ball".

...probably won't work as well with olympic swimming!

Too bad you don't own the 4300.

...But the following might still help you if the cameras are similar enough. (I have no idea.) I'm sure you can always send it in for repair if you think its worthwhile.

http://www.electronicproducts.com/whatsinside/viewteardown.asp?filename=Nikon%5F4300%5Fweb%2Ehtml

Also, if you have the cable in-hand, you can try matching it at Digikey.com, Jameco.com, Mouser.com, Alliedelec.com and arrow.com. Maybe you will recognize it online from one of these electronics distributors. Arrow has a high minimum, the rest are pretty reasonable (?). Good luck.

Oh!, one more thing. Are you sure the cable is broken??

Some of the smaller ribbon cables are just a press-fit design.

It might have just slipped out of the holder (not really broken).

I am not an attorney, nor am I a professional risk management expert.

I am, however, Managing Partner for a Limited Liability Company which manufactures a life-safety product. Our limited warranty is 5-years and we don't care who the original purchaser was, or where they reside when it breaks! We fix it, no matter what, no questions.

(Hey Nikon, listen-up / great for sales and reputation!)

Since I know something about warranties, here we go:

In the US. All you need to know is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

To summarize:

Passed by Congress in 1975, it REQUIRES manufactuers and sellers of consumer products to provide consumers with detailed information about warranty coverage.

It REQUIRES that consumers have access to complete warranty information BEFORE purchase.

The Act does not require any business to provide a WRITTEN warranty, however, once it does, it MUST comply with the Act.

The Act does not apply to oral warranties.

The Act does not apply to warranties on services, only goods.

Finally, the Act does not apply to warranties on products sold for resale or for commercial purposes. (Note: the applicability of the Act to a particular product does not depend upon how an individual buyer will use it.)

-----------------

The Magnuson-Moss Act does not allow:

1) Disclamier or modification of implied warranties in a written warranty.

2) Tie-in Sales Provisions, and of course

3) Deceptive warranty terms

A good portion of the above is redacted from a fantastic book: "Product Liability Prevention" by Randall Goodden. (A good read for anyone in the business of providing a written warranty.)

In addition, "Implied warranties" are created by State law, so even if you don't have recourse against Nikon, you still have options. Implied warranties extend to used equipment if the merchant is regularly engaged in selling used merchandise. Implied warranties do not apply to private sales. There are 2 types: Implied warranty of merchantability, and implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. (Beyond this scope here.) Many States allow disclaiming implied warranties provided a written warranty is NOT offered. Thirteen states do not allow consumer products to be sold "as-is" without at least an implied warranty (there is no way for the Seller to get around it): AL, CT, KS, ME, MD, MA, MN, MS, NH, VT, WA, WV and DC.

So, assuming you're in a State not listed:

I would guess that Nikon (or some other Seller) would roll over to the first person who (after going through the usual channels first) brings up the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. ---especially if they are in the business of selling "identical" Nikon wares (US or import), when it is IMPOSSIBLE to determine the applicability of the written warranty without calling Nikon (and they won't say!).

I smell... lawsuit.

But that's just my opinion.

And hey, even if this doesn't help everyone out there with a suspect grey market doodad, at least you learned a little something about US warranty law. (And in all fairness to Nikon -- they just repaired my D70 out of warranty, no questions asked. BGLOD syndrome)

-Michael

Sounds like a problem with the LCD, or the elastomeric connector that connects it to the circuit board. What you are describing is a contrast angle problem with the LCD display. LCD contrast is adjusted by voltage. (Note: There is no contrast adjustment on the D70/s; it's fixed and you can't change it.)

But in effect, if your camera's LCD connector is loose, it's probably dropping too much voltage across the LCD interface and is causing contrast problems. (causing you to view at extreme angles in order to read the display).

By the way, if it is loose, chances are good that numbers and characters on that same side will also be weak, washed out, or not visible at normal viewing angles. Want to verify this?: Rotate the white balance over to the "PRE" setting. Can you see it? Bingo!

I would send it back to Nikon with a copy of this entire post. Good luck.

I have both cameras.

The D50 is less capable (no CLS, no DOF preview, etc...)

But, for most people, you can get the same quality photos from either camera. I gather your girlfriend "fits" into this category because after awhile, you get a "feel" for DOF at f/8, f/11 and so on.

That said...

On the D50, to change metering modes, you have to go through the menu.

It's not a deal-breaker, but I find this to be much more annoying than no DOF.

Also, the command button is reversed from the D70 to scroll through pictures on the LCD. (Why did Nikon do this?!)

Finally, I've noticed the D50 tends to color-saturate (vivid?) a bit more than the D70. I mostly shoot jpg, so it's probably just a variation on file processing. It is not objectionable in my opinion.

Another gripe is there's no light for the LCD info window.

...and it would have been nice if it used CompactFlash (at least for me since I have the D70).

I should probably mention that I mostly use the D50 as a backup, and sometimes when I'm out and want to keep a certain lens handy, etc...

I am not an expert by any means, but the D50 is a very capable camera. Unless you truly need the few extra features on the D70 (most notably the Creative Lighting System), I suspect the D50 is a better buy for most "serious-amateurs".

I agree: Recharge the battery or use a spare.

It sounds like the camera was having trouble coming out of software power-on reset. I would be surprised if this sequence did not also include checking the battery voltage, etc....

Could be you "hit" it just right.

More likely, there's a problem if a fresh battery doesn't "fix" it.

Even leaving the camera to sit for awhile (off) will allow the battery to recover some capacity (they are chemical afterall...), and the symptoms might disappear.

On the other hand, my D70 has been run low several times, used in a similar fashion and it has never exhibited what you describe. Good luck. -Michael

That's what I thought. (One week sounded too good to be true....)

My D70 hasn't acted up all day, so I'm going to take my chances and just send it off after I get back from vacation. (Time will tell how bright an idea that turns out to be.....!)

I hadn't even considered the notion of having to actually PAY for the repair! Nikon better fix it at no-charge if this is indeed a manufacturing defect -- even if it is out-of-warranty!! Dozens of folks here have had this exact same problem with early D70's. (BGLOD).

...including Katrina, who I see just posted the same complaint with her "new" D70.(?)

The last couple weeks, my D70 (SR# 3012910, purchased around 4/2004)

has been giving me some trouble. The now famous "BGLOD - Blinking

Green Light of Death" syndrome.

Of course, I just scheduled my vacation!! and really wanted to take

this camera along.

My question is: How long does NIKON factory repair "really" take to

fix this, and what's the chances of having it back in my hands by Oct

10th? (Note: they just quoted me a 7-day turn, but I don't know if I

should trust that....)

I should mention that the camera still works! 90% of the time, I can

just turn it on and it works fine. But sometimes, not. (I'm sure

it's in the early stages of dying altogether?) When it's not working

(BGLOD flashing away), changing battery, CF card, or lens doesn't

seem to make any difference. It just works when it wants to. But

when it's working, it's completely normal in all respects.

I would rather send it in, of course. But (and I realize this is a

huge "but"...) if I had some confidence that the camera would

continue to act as it has been for the duration of my upcoming

vacation, I would just wait to send it in. (It's annoying, but I

could live with it short term.(?) Then again, I don't really want to

lug around an "anchor" on my vacation, either.

My other digital is an older 3.1MP sony P&S, and I'm sure that will

be the backup given its compactness.

Anyway, for those of you who have sent your D70's in, what was

your "promised" vs. "actual" repair time? How long did you have to

go without?

Thanks!

-Michael

I forget where I read it (recently), but evidently the whole left-side, right-side & 10% total brain "usage" are both completely untrue.

As it turns out, the brain is much more complicated than that, and can't be characterized in those simple one-liners.

Still, the REAL question might be: Is it a crappy/good picture because of the brain that composed it, or the brain that reviews it? Or both? Hummmm...

I have a D70.

I can add to the above comments that 'Hide Picture' allows an image to be kept on the CompactFlash card and not show on the LCD screen during playback (review or slideshow). It will not however, 'hide' the picture from anything else: downloading to a PC, etc...

Light. (OK, this one is petty, but...)

It's sometimes hard to tell in dim/dark lighting where the Auto-P-A-S-M dial is positioned. On the D70, there's a light for the control screen, but that screen doesn't really tell you what Mode the camera is in, at least, not easily.

Guess I should tape a small penlight to the camera strap...

Why not just sell the Coolpix, buy the beer with the proceeds and leave the sandwich bags at home? Afterall, it is Aruba.(?)

Seriously though - Snorkeling or Scuba???

If you're into scuba diving, my advice would be to avoid the EWA bags altogether and invest the appropriate amount of money the hobby demands. (Afterall, diving is expensive per-hour, whether you own your boat or charter one!!)

More importantly, you need light. LOTS of it. A SB-800 through a plastic bag is probably going to look like crap. (It's the worst diffuser I can think of -- but of course, I "know" better than to say that here! Ha!!) I am thinking color shift in seawater varying with flash intensity. Yuk!!

Oh, and the bags leak. But then, so does everything else if you don't take the necessary precautions, especially the deeper you go.

And while it's never been a problem for me personally, I have heard folks complain about the variable bouyancy of camera bags....

Have fun, whatever you decide.

Off the cuff, and if you're adept with a soldering iron, you might try the National Semiconductor LM2575T-ADJ switching voltage regulator. This device has very low dropout, can provide up to 1-Amp of power (more than you'll need), and even has a shutdown pin. Because it's a switching regulator design, it draws very, very little current when no demands are being made of it. That's good because it means you can use a reasonably sized battery.

You'll need an input and output capacitor for filtering, a fast shottkey diode, two programming resistors and one coil. The whole thing might be 1" square once you solder it up on one of those little printed circuit prototype boards from Radio Shack. Probably less than $10 total to build the whole thing. Will accept up to 42 volts input, output according to the programming resistors (which you would set for 13.5 VDC)

Then, all you'd have to do is stack up however many gel-cell or lead acid batteries you would need for your specific application.

You can get all the parts at Digikey. www.digikey.com

Do a search on "LM2575T" and navigate to the datasheet.

Feel free to email me if you are interested in pursuing this further.

One more thing, if you end up just using a car battery or something, make absolutely certain to fuse it!! There's enough ampacity to seriously wreck your camera if something goes wrong. Good luck. Hope this helps.

-Michael

I don't know about you, but I don't "feel" and safer knowing private security "guards" are stopping photographers on the street and asking questions. Nor do I feel any safer with those fancy airport sniffer-machines. IT IS ALL A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME.

The same security guard who stopped you and asked (probably absoultely meaningless) questions never thought about the ATM machine across the street (taking full time video), or the cameras that control the lights at the nearby traffic intersection, or the many, many satellite services available for free over the Internet that give those amazing birds-eye views of just about any place on the Planet. Duh!!?!

Which reminds me, on www.maps.google.com navigate to the US Capitol Building. It's fuzzy on purpose! What possible purpose does this serve? Like, we don't know what's there??? Like it's not on thousands of paper maps available at your public library??

All I can say is, "Good thing you left your cellphone camera at home."

Glad to hear you weren't roughed up.

John,

In Windows XP, using Explorer, just right-click the image, go to the summary tab, and click advanced. You'll get date, time, shutter speed, focal length, f/stop, exposure compensation, etc...

Just a thought. Might be good enough for your purposes??

If you don't know how to use Explorer, just right click "Start" in the lower left and select "Explore". Then navigate to the directory containing your images. Note that "right-click" is different from "left-click", which (unless you're left-handed) is the OTHER mouse button.

For what it's worth.

1. Use a UV filter or other protective glass.

Yes, they can cause problems and you might screw up a shot or two, but you don't scratch the lens.

2. Also consider a Circular Polarizer. Great for clouds and sky, reflections off windows, etc... But if using UV + CP, vignetting will be a problem on the kit lens zoomed out all the way.

3. 1GB CompactFlash ought to be plenty. I use a 1GB, a backup 512 (just in case), and several smaller ones (just in case, but I already had them laying around from other junk!). By the way, I think the most pics I ever took in one sitting was something like 300 or so. The 1GB and 512 handled that with no problem. Of course, your mileage may vary.... For what I do, the camera buffer keeps up just fine, so CF card speed is not a big deal.

There's an equation in here somewhere that relates battery life to image quality to CompactFlash storage space. When I get time, I might plot that out...

4. Battery. I'd Hold off for now. Unused batteries have a way of going bad. I would wait and see if you really need it first. Very, very seldom would I have "wished" for a spare battery. But then, I'm not shooting in the jungles of Africa, miles from the nearest wall outlet! You'll need to judge that yourself, but keep in mind shelf life issues, etc...

If your heart is set on buying a new lens, I'd say the 50mm f/1.4 is probably your best all-around choice (in addition to the kit lens).

As someone else mentioned, I too seriously doubt you'll ever need the extra stops that the f/1.4 would offer for team photos (indoor or out!), but it's always a good idea to have some fast glass available for all the other things you shoot (or will shoot). You really can't go wrong with the 50mm.

So, to recap: I'd have to agree the kit lens is fine for your intended application. Probably better than a prime because the kit lens provides flexible subject framing. And for that same reason, I also agree that an 85mm is probably too restrictive.

Personally, dollar-for-dollar, I think the f/1.4 over the f/1.8 might be the cheapest f/stop advantage you'll ever purchase. So why not?

Best of luck deciding!

Last month, I went through Logan Airport (Boston) with one of our product demos. Basically, it consists of a solid metal outdoor enclosure with a locking twist-knob. They ran it through their machines and of course asked me what it was (evidently, the X-ray machine can't see through it.) I told them, and offered to open the front door (cover) and run it through the x-ray again. They eventually called over the supervisor, who after ten minutes of B/S, said "Have a nice day". Never did open the door.

So I feel compelled to say, I think I'd rather have a spare bottle of Ibuprofen handy, than a spare camera battery. Knowing my tax dollars go to the TSA gives me a headache! (With apologies to any TSA workers out there. I know some of you try.)

Dennis - I would only add that I make sure everything is off and the battery removed before I run my digital stuff through X-ray machines. I'm pretty sure you don't have to, but hey, I don't mind wasting their time in-line. (They are wasting mine!)

Another idea is to consider a cheap terrestrial spotting scope (like the ones used by nature lovers). I've got a Meade 1000mm f/11 which I never intended to use with a camera, but $24 and one T-mount adapter later, I can attach this to my D70 and click away.

At this magnifcation, a tripod is ESSENTIAL. I suspect you will find the same is true for you binocular experiment. Also, at f/11, it helps if the moon is bright at night. Depends on what artistic effect you're looking for, I suppose.

Oh, and of course, you'll have to shoot in "M" (Manual) mode.

That's may also true with your binocular setup? Not sure how the camera metering will react in the situation you describe....???

Good luck. Would enjoy seeing the results.