D610 not working

Niknik

Hi everyone

I wonder if anyone can offer some assistance. Something appears to have gone wrong with my D610, which is nearly 6 months old with approximately 7000 shutter activations. I have been using it this week without problem, and this morning I decided to do the long overdue AF fine-tuning on my lenses. Everything went OK with the first lens. I put a different lens on the camera and looked through the viewfinder to see everything was really dark as though there were a filter on the lens (which there was not). I could find no reason for this, and although I could just about see through it there did not seem to be enough light getting through for the AF system to work. So I changed back to the previous lens, only the find the problem was still there. I have just cleaned my sensor, but the camera was working fine post clean and worked fine this morning until I changed lens. I cannot see how this could have affected the light coming entering the camera from the lens.

Has anyone got any idea what could be going on here, or what investigations I should carry out?

heartyfisher

Sounds weird ... I would try the 2 button reset and see if that helps..

Ironheart

Is the mirror up? You said you cleaned the sensor... Did you turn the camera off when changing lenses?

Niknik

I don't think the mirror is up, but I think the mirror is something to do with the problem. Live view does not work and the option to raise the mirror for cleaning in the menu now has an error message saying not it is not available.

As far as I know the camera was off when I changed lenses - could I ask what the significance of that would be?

Ironheart

If you changes lenses with the power on, it can sometimes confuse the camera.
Can you take a picture? What happens when you press the shutter? Is the lens clicked all the way into place? Which lenses are we talking about here?
Is your battery low?

Niknik

Thanks for the replies.
Two button reset did not work.

It is possible that I changed lenses with the power on without realising it. If that were the case, how could I unconfuse the camera?

If you turn the autofocus off, yes it will take a picture, although with a long exposure commensurate with the darkened view through the viewfinder.
When you press the shutter with autofocus on, it hunts to focus as though in low light, fails to lock on to anything. and will not take a picture.
Yes the lens is clicked all the way into place.
The lens have been a Sigma 70-200mm, a Tamron 24-70mm and a Nikon 16-35mm. I have a few more in the collection, but I really do not think it is a problem with the lenses.
No the battery is not low.

I suspect the mirror has got stuck, and it is probably a return to Nikon job.

Ironheart

That's what it sounds like, either the mirror or the shutter, but you said that sounds okay? I would pull the battery for 5 min, pull the lens and look at the mirror, it should be resting comfortably at a 45deg angle in the body. Then I would put the battery in and try snapping a few shots with no lens on the body and watch the mechanism move and the mirror flap. Good luck!!

Pistnbroke

have you looked through the lens and moved the aperture lever on the lens to see if it opens and closes?

If you take the lens off and look through the viewfinder is it bright and or is there a line across the viewfinder indication a mirror partially up?

Niknik

Thanks again for your input.

I have tried removing the battery for around 30 minutes. Problem still there. Took the lens off and pressed the shutter a few times, to see the mirror snapping up and back exactly as I imagine it is supposed to do, so now thinking it is not the mirror.

If you take the lens off and look through the viewfinder, it is bright with no Iine across it. Have just checked the lenses, and the aperture lever makes them open and close perfectly. I have also checked the lenses on my D7000, and they work fine on that body. However, this has got me thinking about whether the control of the aperture size might be the problem as the only other time I can think of the image through the viewfinder going very dark is when you press the depth of field preview button. Maybe the camera body is failing to control the aperture size on the lens so that it is permanently closed?

spraynpray

Sounds right. Send it in for service.

Niknik

I contacted Nikon service, who first advised a factory reset, which made no difference. Next suggestion was to check whether the aperture control lever was working: it was not. Appeared to be stuck at the bottom of its range of movement, so I prodded it with my finger and viewfinder returned to normal. The camera seems to be working now, with the exception of DOF preview which does not work at all. Will see if they will fix this under warranty, and if not I will probably leave it as it is not a feature I use that much.

heartyfisher

How do you check if the aperture control lever is working?

And I would get them to check and fix it anyway.. sounds like something is bent (aperture control lever or the thing that moves the aperture control lever).

Guess this could be the result of using the non nikon glass .. do you remember which lense it was that you first saw it go blank? and which lense before that? I think you should also get the lense checked as it may cause it to occur again.

I have been thinking of getting the Tamron 24-70mm to go with my D610 .. but I am now wondering if it may cause an issue.

heartyfisher

Found this.. looks like the aperture lever on the Tamron may be wonky and from my understanding of your issue it could have caused the problems you are experiencing..http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/50756751

Niknik

The Nikon advisor sent me a link to an article about checking the aperture control lever, but you basically just do a visual inspection. Mine did not appear bent, but was lower than the one in the picture so I just pushed it up a little. The problem occurred after I fitted the Tamron 24-70mm lens, although I have had this lens for some time now and frequently put it on and off the camera, so I hesitate to conclude that the lens caused the problem. It is probably the best lens in my collection, so I will continue to use it (especially as I cannot afford to swap it for the Nikon equivalent).

I have also managed to get the DOF preview working again, which was only out of action because that option had been switched off in the menu (probably by restoring factory settings).

heartyfisher

A bit off topic but I am thinking of getting a tamron 24-70 VC to use with my D610.. I understand from some reviews that its may actually be wider than 24mm. Have you noticed if that is the case ?

spraynpray

Understand there is no offense meant here, but we can't know how you exchange lenses on your camera. It is possible that you made a mistake one time you changed lenses, or are often a little clunky when changing your lens - not enough to immediately damage anything - and have cumulative damage to the lens or body.

Whatever, debate won't fix it - send it back to Nikon.

proudgeek

Just boxed my D800 up with a similar problem. The guy in my shop and I reviewed it together and it appears my aperture arm is slightly out of alignment, which is why the problem only occurs intermittently. Based on what I learned today, I would urge you not to try and fix this yourself for two reasons:
1. You void the warranty.
2. That arm is connected to complex mechanical device that you can't see, some of which is driven by magnetics. I think you only want someone who is capable of aligning the arm down to within a micrometer of precision.

My guess is that in my case this resulted from user error in the way I attached lenses. Maybe one or two times I didn't have the lens aligned quite right and applied a little too much torque. It doesn't take much. Evidently these aperture arms are now made from very soft material, based on the premise that it's better for the arm to bend so that it can be adjusted rather than for the force to travel through the arm into the internal mechanism itself.

Photobug

That is great feedback @proudgeek. Very interesting. As DSLR's become sophisticated with electronics it still requires some mechanical connections. And that is going to be the weak link requiring Nikon service centers to repair. In hindsight, we need to slow down when changing lens. I have done the same thing with my D300 but never damaged anything.