At least she can smile. Maybe she doesn’t have a Nikon!
I wrote this post back in November 2009, right after I came back from New York City. The camera had failed right before I was to leave for NYC. I sent it to Nikon, spent $224, it was repaired and worked well for almost 18 months. Now, it’s failing again. Sigh.
Again, right before a key moment. I guess that this time it decided to go on strike because I had the Leica M9. The last time, it was because of the M6. I guess that it doesn’t like Leicas!
I noticed that it started acting up a week or two ago. I had the 90 mm Tamron lens on it and it constantly showed f7. No matter what mode or which dial I turned, F7. It still did the proper exposure, but always at the same aperture. I tried a couple of other lenses with limited success:
1. 50 mm Nikon lens. Showed F7.
2. 90 mm Tamron. F7
3. Nikon 18-70 – Works properly.
4. Tamron 11 – 18 – Works properly.
Further, now when I shoot more than about 6 shots in quick sequence, about 1 second apart, the camera locks up on about the 7th shot. The mirror stays up and the shutter open. The only way to get it to work correctly is to turn off the camera, and shot another sequence of shots. Forget about high speed shooting.
I’m not sure what its issue is this time, but it is rather annoying. Sometimes I miss my D2x; it was flawless. Perhaps I just got a lemon of a camera. I’ve had the camera about 3 years and it has failed twice in that time.
Looks like I’ll be sending it for repair again, I think. Sigh ….
Seeing this behavior, I decided to rent a Nikon D90 for the wedding. I looked at a few cameras in the Nikon line and this camera used the same image processing engine and sensor, it just doesn’t have as many bells and whistles. It performed well and I was able to set it up in no time flat as all of the menus were the exact same, save for a few omissions.
Overall, I am pleased with the Nikon cameras that I’ve owed, but this seems a bit ridiculous. I don’t use the camera that hard and it’s failed twice. The saga continues.
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I’ve predicted that the D300 will be sold this summer…perhaps that prophecy is true??
Who knows. It will have to be fixed, first.
Hmm, 7 shots, and f7….computer might have a problem with the 7? That was a very lovely lady in the underground too!
Well, it ain’t lucky number 7, that’s for sure!
Paul, sorry to hear about your bad luck with the D300. I’ve not heard they’re known for having problems. I’m thinking you must have gotten a lemon. If you get it fixed it might be a good time to sell it.
Have a good weekend.
Yeah. I think that they make a great product, I just happened to get one that wasn’t so great.
Maybe it’s just jealous of your Leica cameras
I sometimes suspect that my D300 is jealous of my Arca (and formerly my Ebony), because they get all the attention when I’m out in the field. About two weeks after I got mine, the mirror jammed up and nothing I did freed it, so I ended up getting a warranty replacement. It still gives me an “err” warning now and then, which usually goes away if I un-mount the lens and reboot the camera. Cameras aren’t supposed to need rebooting, but my D300 does. Sigh…
Maybe Nikon went to Microsoft for the operating system on the D300!
Even rebooting doesn’t help mine, unfortunately.
Maybe they did
Still, who needs a whizz-bangy Nikon when you have a Real Camera ™ to use in its place?
I’m probably going to sell my Nikon and switch my digitoy setup entirely to Sony, since I use a Nex as my backpacking digitoy now. The D300 is just too big and heavy to be worth the bother of carrying, the Nex has the same sensor, and I have the 4×5 for the really nice shots
No matter what we are buying (cars, computers, televisions, or toasters) we can get a lemon. It looks as though you one the unlucky ones who got a lemon with this camera. My old Canon 20D failed; but, fortunately, it was under warranty and didn’t cost me a cent. By the way, it never failed again after Canon fixed it. I think I would give up on this one, if I were you.
Perhaps that’s the thing to do, Anita. I think that I will sell it after I get it repaired. I’m not using it much at all, anymore. If the need should arise that I think that I need a DSLR, then perhaps I can rent one, but I don’t see any immediate need.
First of all that is one beautiful young lady in this image. Wow!
I would not want to keep a jealous D300 around, there could be more trouble in the future. And, dependability would always be in the back of my mind. I’ve had my D300 for over 3 years and nary a problem except for the guy looking through the view finder, and I’ve just under 24,000 actuations. Sorry to hear about your camera problems and hope you get it worked out.
Yeah, Monte. I saw her when Tim and I were in Atlanta, GA at the Atlanta Underground. I just had to take her picture. She had such a nice, welcoming smile.
As for that D300, yes, it does seem to be a bit jealous. At any rate, I’m losing my taste for using the DSLR. Perhaps, at some future time, I’ll have a desire for one, but not at the moment. So, this one, I’ll probably fix and sell.
Paul Simon wrote a song called “EVERYTHING PUT TOGETHER SOONER OR LATER FALLS APART”. How true.
Paul, try cleaning the contacts on both the lenses and camera body. Cotton swab and plain rubbing alcohol with some elbow power.
Tom, thanks for the suggestion. Actually, that was the first thing that I tried, but I still get the same results: Random selection of shutter speeds and apertures with some lens, only f/7 with others. I’m pretty sure that there’s something that has gone haywire in the camera … again.