Any DSLR service mechanic here?

AlexKV

Senior Member
So, as curiosity often kills a cat, i wanted to try will my Nikon D5000 shoot a picture while disassembled half way... :dejection:

The camera is disassembled because I painted the case as it was very worn out and ugly, but few minutes ago, out of curiosity, i tried putting a battery and holding it with my finger in place, turned the camera on, pressed the shutter button, and the mirror locked up but shutter stayed closed, and that's it... I tried restarting the camera and removing the battery and trying again, but when I press the shutter button again, it only makes a weak noise by trying to move the mirror up again, while it's already up.
While looking through the viewfinder, there is an Err blinking in place of shutter speed setting.
What to do now?!
 

AlexKV

Senior Member
Err message is less of a problem now. Bigger problem is that the mirror is locked up and won't roll down, but the camera system registers it as it is already down in primary position and when shutter button is pressed again, mirror tries to move up again but it doesn't have anywhere to go...
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Err message is less of a problem now. Bigger problem is that the mirror is locked up and won't roll down, but the camera system registers it as it is already down in primary position and when shutter button is pressed again, mirror tries to move up again but it doesn't have anywhere to go...
While it IS possible to free a mirror stuck in the upright and locked position (I've done it twice), it's not something for the faint of heart and in retrospect I'm pretty damn sure I just got lucky, both times. I was working on bodies that were not my own and if they got trashed in the process, it was no big deal and my heart was still about to thump out of my chest. Smart money is telling you to back away slowly from the DSLR and use your cell phone to fix this problem... How to use your cell phone to fix the problem?

By calling a friend who will come over, box up the aforementioned DSLR and take/mail it to an authorized repair center for you.
....
 

AlexKV

Senior Member
I have tried pushing it downwards lightly, halfway, but after that, it creates more resistance so i didn't want to risk it. And of course, it comes back in upright position by spring...
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I have tried pushing it downwards lightly, halfway, but after that, it creates more resistance so i didn't want to risk it. And of course, it comes back in upright position by spring...
Based on that description, I'd be in over my head going any deeper. If the mirror was simply stuck it would have popped back into position relatively easily (in my very limited experience)... But it's not. That being the case I would NOT proceed further.

I would advise you to chalk up this whole experience as a lesson learned, and pay a professional to fix your camera.
....
 

AlexKV

Senior Member
After seeing some youtube videos, I've found that if you manually roll one small red plastic gear, it will lower the mirror and put the shutter in primary position, and it does, that. But for a guy on youtube, it worked well, making his camera usable again, and when I do it, and press the shutter button again, it again goes up and stays there. Still haven't found a solution :(
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
After seeing some youtube videos, I've found that if you manually roll one small red plastic gear, it will lower the mirror and put the shutter in primary position, and it does, that. But for a guy on youtube, it worked well, making his camera usable again, and when I do it, and press the shutter button again, it again goes up and stays there. Still haven't found a solution :(

If you're bound and determined to permanently bork your camera, then just keep screwing with it and it will happen. (good excuse to upgrade, IMO). Otherwise I would take the advice of the fellow above your post.
 
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