D4 Problem (resolved with thanks to Nikon)

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stevecush

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Can anyone help. In middle of continuous shooting with my D4, when it came to a grinding halt. When I look through viewfinder I can see data - shutter speed, aperture etc - and focus points, but the rest of the view is totally black, and I cannot take any photos. Have removed the battery, and then replaced, but to no avail. Any help urgently appreciated as I am currently away in Hungary on a photo trip!
 
I'm no expert but...
It sounds like the mirror is staying in the up position.
If it makes a noise when you turn it on/off, you could try setting the mirror in sensor clean mode then switching the camera off and see if that clears it.
Otherwise, with the camera off and the lens removed, you could use a cocktail stick (or a toothpick) to GENTLY release the mirror from the up position, assuming it's just sticking.

Frank
 
Could be a blown shutter.

Personally I wouldn't be trying anything with a toothpick. If it is blown, or indeed another mechanical problem, then you'll still be within the 2 year warranty period for the camera, assuming you registered it correctly, as first stocks made it into the UK very late Feb, early March 2012.

[PLEASE DON'T TRY TO BYPASS THE SWEAR FILTER] with it and you might invalidate your warranty.
 
Thanks Frank and Mike
Did consider that maybe either a mirror or shutter problem. No noise when I turn it on / off but tried mirror lock up as for sensor cleaning, but did not help. Reluctant to try the toothpick solution, because may cause more problems if hamfisted, and as Mike says may invalidate warranty.
Guess will have to cope with D700, despite needing high ISOs until I get back and send it back for repair, unless anyone else has any other ideas!
 
Defo sound like mirror has locked up,it was reported in some D4 model,what firmware are you on :)
 
Were you using 'highlights' and/or 'rgb histigram'?
 
...and what memory cards are you using?
 
Thanks for replies.

Firmware "A 1.05 B 1.03 L 1.006". Am fairly certain this is latest version.

Had highlights and histogram showing in Playback, but after an internet search turned these off, but did not resolve problem.

SanDisk Extreme III CF memory cards.

Any further thoughts?
 
As far as I'm aware there's no mechanical lock to hold the mirror up.
- That's why you need a nearly full battery to hold it up for sensor cleaning.
The reason I suggested a cocktail stick is that you shouldn't be able to exert much force at the tip and it won't scratch.

Have you tried using liveview? The mirror being up wouldn't stop you taking pictures then but you'd probably need a tripod.

Frank
 
Here's someone with the same thing (mirror stuck in the up position while shooting a burst) - http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3528441. Unfortunately he didn't come back to post a report on the cause.

As Frank says, try putting it into Live View and pressing the shutter a few times (switch to S mode, not CL or CH) - see if that clears it.
 
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The mirror is raised and held up by a small arm on the left side when looking into the mirror chamber. I've seen them "jump" to the wrong side of the arm jamming them up. I've also freed them by pushing the arm to the side and back into place. Last time was on a Canon an associate was using. I wouldn't consider it a long term fix necessarily as it shouldn't happen in the first place... It is possible that the roller arm is just a bit too far "extended" and can easily be put back in place... But if you don't know how it works/should look then that might be a bit hard to do....it's the same as your D700.

BUT, that might not be your problem because the camera will usually still try to take pictures in that situation unless it's "stuck" on the last exposure. I'd remove the battery wait a while and reinsert it. If that doesn't work I'd put it into manual/bulb and with the shutter depressed open/close the battery compartment creating a small electrical jolt.


A bit off topic, but because of how the mechanical mirror works in a Nikon I've been able to use tape to hold it in the up position to eliminate mirror slap when photographing from live-view.
 
stevecush said:
Thanks for replies.

Firmware "A 1.05 B 1.03 L 1.006". Am fairly certain this is latest version.

Had highlights and histogram showing in Playback, but after an internet search turned these off, but did not resolve problem.

SanDisk Extreme III CF memory cards.

Any further thoughts?
Click to expand...
There was a problem with D4s and D800? that was fixed with a firmware update- re highlights and histogram.
I've heard there was also a problem with SanDisk Extreme 120Gb cards.
In both cases the mirror locked up.

So maybe try a different card, and after that it's off to a repair shop :)
 
Thanks for all the responses. I have tried everything suggested. I am sure the problem is that the mirror is locked up, and as Ken says "it's off to a repair shop" on Wednesday. Will try to remember to post an update when it is sorted.
 
stevecush said:
Thanks for all the responses. I have tried everything suggested. I am sure the problem is that the mirror is locked up, and as Ken says "it's off to a repair shop" on Wednesday. Will try to remember to post an update when it is sorted.
Click to expand...

OK, maybe I am missing the flamin obvious here, but as you dont actually seem to have said as much, I am going to ask anyway, forgive me - you have removed the lens and looked inside to check and confirm the mirror is in the up position? Also that what you see at the back is shutter curtains and not sensor?


And your D700 will be fine in low light, just think, at one time, you'd have had to use film.... :)
 
Correct Yvonne, have looked inside and mirror is in up position.
D700 is good in poor light but not as good asD4, particularly when needing to go to ISO 4000, for birds in flight in very grey conditions.
 
Call NPS. Phone line is v helpful.

Doesn't appear to be an office in Hungary so call UK on +44-20-8247-1701
 
Once again thanks for all the comments.
The mirror was locked up, but this was not the root problem. The aperture lever had been damaged. It was thought this might be due to a missing stop screw on the lens, but all lenses are OK, so not sure why this has happened.

The service from Nikon has been fantastic. I took advantage of the ability to return at no charge via Parcelforce and sent it on Wednesday. Thursday, I received an email to say it had arrived. I phoned about 9.30am Friday as I am due to go away in a week, and the estimated time for return was 2 weeks. They said they would try to speed this up. Later on Friday morning, I had a phone call back from Nikon to confirm the problem. Unfortunately it was not covered by the Warranty but they gave me 25% discount. A further couple of phone calls and photos to try to sort out if missing stop screws were the problem followed, and then at 4pm I received a further email to say my camera was repaired and had been dispatched, so am expecting to get it back tomorrow.
Exceptional service.
 
stevecush said:
Once again thanks for all the comments.
The mirror was locked up, but this was not the root problem. The aperture lever had been damaged. It was thought this might be due to a missing stop screw on the lens, but all lenses are OK, so not sure why this has happened.
Click to expand...
You wouldn't have any non-ai lenses (poorly modified/unmodified) would you?
 
Have you got a 16-35mm f/4?
 
Because my 16-35 destroyed my d700 and it took a bit of a fight to get nikon to admit it and pay for repair. There is a tiny screw in the lens mount that in a certain batch wasn't loctited in, meaning over time it works loose and then the lens simply spins on the camera and can't be removed with wrecking the lens mount, camera mount and the internal pcb board in the camera rendering it an expensive paperweight.
 
Ouch!! Nasty. That little screw you mention is probably the "stop screw" I referred to which Nikon told me about and which I didn't know existed. Have checked my lenses and all intact and lens does not move when attached to camera.
 
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