Camera wont turn off

hrphotography

Senior Member
Ok, so since morning, the camera wont turn off. turning the switch to off does nothing!
I did use it outside in cold, but well above 30 F. removed battery, pressed the two soft reset buttons simultaneously but didnt help.
Any ideas? will call Nikon tomorrow but was hoping if anyone knows how to fix this.
Is there a way to factory reset a camera?
 

Bill16

Senior Member
I'd pull the batteries and let it sit in a warm dry place for a day or so, to remove any moisture in it. Condensation likely.

Taking it from somewhere warm and slightly humid, and then out into the colder air could cause what your seeing. If it is just the on and off switch that has the moisture issue, then a day or so to dry out might be all it needs to fix it.
 
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Michael J.

Senior Member
Here in Thailand if there is any moisture on something like a battery, iPhone, etc. We put it in rice. Rice will dry it fast. As same we put some rice in salt so the salt keeps dry.
 

nickt

Senior Member
Try it without the memory card. I've seen one or two mentions over the years of cameras hanging up with a bad card.
 

hrphotography

Senior Member
removed memory cards too, no difference. Have removed battery, will leave it in dry for 1-2 days and see. Although, i didn't change lens in cold and didn't exposed it to warm temperature suddenly. This camera is supposed to be weather sealed :/
 

Jonathan

Senior Member
Not that big an issue, though? I've come across a couple of people who leave their camera in the on position the whole time.

I second siamthai1's rice suggestion. We put grains of rice in the salt on the coast to stop the moisture creeping in.
 

nickt

Senior Member
I'm not convinced this is condensation rather than an outright failure. Was the camera noticeably fogged up when you came indoors? I would have thought you would have had a moment of "oh, I should not have done that" with a lot of visible condensation if there was enough to cause a problem. It does not sound like you saw that. I know you tried the memory cards, how about trying it without the lens? That is just a long shot in the dark, sometimes electronic devices go through a little 'happy list' on start up and shutdown and seemingly unrelated events can prevent shutdown. Maybe something in the lens could cause that. Its just a pure guess, but something easy to try.
 

hrphotography

Senior Member
Will try that too. I didn't notice any significant condensation. Left it in rice over night still the same. Will try removing Lens too. Thank you
Is there a way to factory reset this camera ?
 

nickt

Senior Member
I don't know of a true factory reset, just the 2 button thing you tried. I'm not sure how long you would need to leave the the battery out for the clock to reset, but waiting that long might do it.
 

nickt

Senior Member
A sunny window could help if there is moisture. Anything to keep it slightly above room temp to give a drying effect. I'm not hopeful of the condensation theory though. Even if it was condensation, it should be gone by now. So there may be some lasting damage. Electrical current + moisture can leave behind conductive deposits. Even though the condensation is basically distilled water, the circuits that were shorted give up some traces of material though electrolysis. I'm just not feeling the condensation though. We would be reading reading reports all over the place if this were happening when people come in from the cold.
 

Mike D90

Senior Member
Ok, so since morning, the camera wont turn off. turning the switch to off does nothing!
I did use it outside in cold, but well above 30 F. removed battery, pressed the two soft reset buttons simultaneously but didnt help.
Any ideas? will call Nikon tomorrow but was hoping if anyone knows how to fix this.
Is there a way to factory reset a camera?


A few weeks ago I did a few extended shutter star shots at night and I did not let the camera finish writing to the card before I turned it off. The light on the back continued to blink and the camera was as if it were locked up. What I found to correct this was to rotate the power switch all the way over to the "Bulb" position for a couple seconds then turn the camera Off. Look at your switch and you w ill see "Off", "On" and a "Bulb" symbol. Pull the witch over to the "bulb" and give it a hold for a couple seconds and release. See if this helps.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
This camera is supposed to be weather sealed :/

Weather sealed doesn't mean it's waterproof. There are low cost camera protectors/rain sleeves for use in moist conditions--one I bought at a local camera store was @$5 by Optech. It can be used a few times, but isn't for long-term use as it is very thin and can eventually tear.

If you are shooting out in the cold, sometimes it is suggested to put the entire camera bag into a plastic bag before you go indoors. Seal the bag with a twist tie or something similar. That will allow any condensation to form on the outside of the bag rather than inside the equipment.
 

hrphotography

Senior Member
A few weeks ago I did a few extended shutter star shots at night and I did not let the camera finish writing to the card before I turned it off. The light on the back continued to blink and the camera was as if it were locked up. What I found to correct this was to rotate the power switch all the way over to the "Bulb" position for a couple seconds then turn the camera Off. Look at your switch and you w ill see "Off", "On" and a "Bulb" symbol. Pull the witch over to the "bulb" and give it a hold for a couple seconds and release. See if this helps.

Thank you, will try that :)
 

hrphotography

Senior Member
A few weeks ago I did a few extended shutter star shots at night and I did not let the camera finish writing to the card before I turned it off. The light on the back continued to blink and the camera was as if it were locked up. What I found to correct this was to rotate the power switch all the way over to the "Bulb" position for a couple seconds then turn the camera Off. Look at your switch and you w ill see "Off", "On" and a "Bulb" symbol. Pull the witch over to the "bulb" and give it a hold for a couple seconds and release. See if this helps.

I tried the bulb method, didn't work :(
now i remember the same day, i did like what u said....the lens cover was on and i took a photo...then realized the cover is on the the shutter speed was 5-6 seconds so i turned off the camera since i knew it was a ruined shot. I don't know if this problem started the same time, but it was the same day i noticed it. usually i do not check if the camera has turned off after each time i turn it off. there must be a way to factory reset the camera, since after each repair from Nikon its returned with a factory reset.
i left it without battery for 30 hours but that didnt do it. will try to leave it for 48 hours before calling nikon.
thank you for your suggestions and help :)
 

Mike D90

Senior Member
I tried the bulb method, didn't work :(
now i remember the same day, i did like what u said....the lens cover was on and i took a photo...then realized the cover is on the the shutter speed was 5-6 seconds so i turned off the camera since i knew it was a ruined shot. I don't know if this problem started the same time, but it was the same day i noticed it. usually i do not check if the camera has turned off after each time i turn it off. there must be a way to factory reset the camera, since after each repair from Nikon its returned with a factory reset.
i left it without battery for 30 hours but that didnt do it. will try to leave it for 48 hours before calling nikon.
thank you for your suggestions and help :)


Camera is still trying to write to the card then. Have you tried another SD card? Try another card first. Then take the card out and try that reset I gave you again. Hold the button even longer if needed.
 
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