Has any one have a bad experience with the Nikon D40? I just purchased one, used it yesterday on a cruise up in the Adirondacks. I loaded the photos onto my computer this morning, and was I very disappointed. They all came bad. a few were OK, not good but o k. the rest were dark, darker, and black. Some of these shots were on the same settings and of the same place. When I first turn on the camera the pictures were OK. Afterward they got worse and then black. None could be edited to be able to tell what I took a picture of. I don't know what I did wrong.OR there is something wrong with the camera.It could not have something to do with lighting, it was sunny all day. These pictures were black even in a well lit place. This has never happened to me before. Is it because I don't know anything about SLR s? Is it so different from point and shoot, the setting are handled differently? I am ready to send the camera back for a refund. My old Fuji still works.
Jo
Bad pictures with Nikon D40
Re: Bad pictures with Nikon D40
Gee Jo hate to hear that. Could you maybe tell us how you have the camera set up? It does sound like you may be having camera failure though.
Three Scores and 14 years old and still going strong.
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Jojochinoise
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:59 am
Re: Bad pictures with Nikon D40
Well, like I said, we were on a boat, it was sunny and bright. the setting was on S. I was taking shots of speed boats and seaplanes. the first few shots were good and then the next bunch just came out dark,darker and black. When went on land I realized that it was still set on S. I changed to P,which is my favorite, but the same happened. It starts off good and then goes black. It would be alright when I turn on the camera. But the longer it's on the more pictures I take the worse the pictures. I am really disappointed.I have had a lot cameras over the years and nothing like this has ever happened. This was an anniversary gift from my husband. I'm sure he feels bad about it. Can't win them all. Thank you for your answer.
Jo
Jo
Re: Bad pictures with Nikon D40
Do you get the same results on Auto ?
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Jojochinoise
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:59 am
Re: Bad pictures with Nikon D40
I didn't use auto much. But the flash did not work. Auto works with flash and when I needed it,it didn't work. I also remembered that a couple of times during the day the battery got very hot. Why I don't know. other settings seem to have worked the same way, first few pictures were o k and then the rest became progressively dark until the rest were black.
Jo
Jo
Re: Bad pictures with Nikon D40
It might be worth trying the 2 button reset on the camera before you bring it back to say it is broken.
Then try on full auto and if results are same it must be faulty.
Then try on full auto and if results are same it must be faulty.
Re: Bad pictures with Nikon D40
Jo,
Sorry to hear you are having a problem with your D40. I did a search on DPReview, and found a couple of references to this problem. Here is one:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read. ... e=27876256
A couple of questions:
Do you have a second battery to try? The overheating of the battery may be causing the electronics of the camera to fail. It may be a battery problem.
Are you shooting JPG or NEF/Raw images? Try RAW mode and see if the problem occurs. If it does, load the apparently bad NEF into your image processor to see if the image is actually there. Check the above link for more information.
If you still have one of the bad images, could you email it to me? I could dump the EXIF information in the image to see if it displays the 100 ISO data mentioned in the link. Use gogebic-pcATcomcastDOTnet. Be sure to replace the 'AT' and 'DOT' with the correct symbol!
Another thing to try, is a different metering mode. Look on page 45 of your manual. Try the 'spot' metering mode. It could be that the default metering mode used has a problem.
One final note, make sure you have the newest 'firmware' for the camera:
D40 Firmware
Look on page 86 of your manual to find out how to display this information. Your firmware should be version 1.11 for both 'A' and 'B'.
Please let me know how it goes!
Sorry to hear you are having a problem with your D40. I did a search on DPReview, and found a couple of references to this problem. Here is one:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read. ... e=27876256
A couple of questions:
Do you have a second battery to try? The overheating of the battery may be causing the electronics of the camera to fail. It may be a battery problem.
Are you shooting JPG or NEF/Raw images? Try RAW mode and see if the problem occurs. If it does, load the apparently bad NEF into your image processor to see if the image is actually there. Check the above link for more information.
If you still have one of the bad images, could you email it to me? I could dump the EXIF information in the image to see if it displays the 100 ISO data mentioned in the link. Use gogebic-pcATcomcastDOTnet. Be sure to replace the 'AT' and 'DOT' with the correct symbol!
Another thing to try, is a different metering mode. Look on page 45 of your manual. Try the 'spot' metering mode. It could be that the default metering mode used has a problem.
One final note, make sure you have the newest 'firmware' for the camera:
D40 Firmware
Look on page 86 of your manual to find out how to display this information. Your firmware should be version 1.11 for both 'A' and 'B'.
Please let me know how it goes!
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Jojochinoise
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:59 am
Re: Bad pictures with Nikon D40
Jon
My husband had all he could take and sent it back for refund. But to answer your question. I had tried different setting. No I did not try raw. I thought about that but figured it might not work. the info of each photo although they were black showed different ISO. The next day I took a good look at it, and realized that the question mark came up, so I pushed the button on help, the message said that the subject was too dark and that I have to lower the shutter speed. So I did but that did not seem to make any difference no matter how low. it just wouldn't work. This message also came up when I was on the boat the other day,even though it was sunny. The same happened on other settings. Some pictures came out darker then others,those I could put through editing. But the black ones, nothing could be done. What made me wonder is how the shots came darker and darker then black in the same scene.
My husband had all he could take and sent it back for refund. But to answer your question. I had tried different setting. No I did not try raw. I thought about that but figured it might not work. the info of each photo although they were black showed different ISO. The next day I took a good look at it, and realized that the question mark came up, so I pushed the button on help, the message said that the subject was too dark and that I have to lower the shutter speed. So I did but that did not seem to make any difference no matter how low. it just wouldn't work. This message also came up when I was on the boat the other day,even though it was sunny. The same happened on other settings. Some pictures came out darker then others,those I could put through editing. But the black ones, nothing could be done. What made me wonder is how the shots came darker and darker then black in the same scene.
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Jojochinoise
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:59 am
Re: Bad pictures with Nikon D40
Jon,
I forgot to say that none of the pics had an ISO of 100. many had 200 and some higher depending where I took the shoots. Like on the tour of Sagamore, where there are trees,indoor, and some clearing with bright sunlight. When the situation changed I changed my settings.
I forgot to say that none of the pics had an ISO of 100. many had 200 and some higher depending where I took the shoots. Like on the tour of Sagamore, where there are trees,indoor, and some clearing with bright sunlight. When the situation changed I changed my settings.
Re: Bad pictures with Nikon D40
Jo,
Well, sorry to hear about the problems. I have used and owned Nikon cameras since 1968. For the most part, I have had no problems. I did have to exchange my first D200 because of a bad shutter. I had purchased it through B&H Photo online. They had a new one to me within a week. So far, I have about ten thousand images from that camera, and it is still going strong. I also have a D70 with about eight thousand images on it. I have never had a problem with it. I recently bought a used D2X. This camera had about twentyfour thousand images on it when I got it, and now has twentyseven thousand on it. So far, just minor things like the rubber grip being loose, and a problem at times using a cable release.
So, don't let this experiance sour you on Nikon. They do make good cameras!
Well, sorry to hear about the problems. I have used and owned Nikon cameras since 1968. For the most part, I have had no problems. I did have to exchange my first D200 because of a bad shutter. I had purchased it through B&H Photo online. They had a new one to me within a week. So far, I have about ten thousand images from that camera, and it is still going strong. I also have a D70 with about eight thousand images on it. I have never had a problem with it. I recently bought a used D2X. This camera had about twentyfour thousand images on it when I got it, and now has twentyseven thousand on it. So far, just minor things like the rubber grip being loose, and a problem at times using a cable release.
So, don't let this experiance sour you on Nikon. They do make good cameras!