Shutter sticks

Hans Larsson

New member
Shutter sticks

The first exposure when the camera not has been used for a couple of hours fails.
The mirror goes up, the text Err occurs on the display, nothing else happens.
When the shutter button is pressed a second time the mirror goes back again and a black frame is stored on the card, correctly numbered in sequence.

After that, the D750 works normally as long as it is used with at least one exposure every hour or so.

Next day when the camera not has been used during the night, or for some hours the sequence above is repeated.

This behaviour is the same with all my lenses, and even without a lense. It occurred after 2,5 years usage and about 4500 exposures.
The camera seems to be in good condition and has never been exposed to extreme heat or cold.

I have tried careful cleaning with an air duster and a blower brush without any change.

Any idea what could be wrong?

Shutter sticks

The first exposure when the camera not has been used for a couple of hours fails.
The mirror goes up, the text Err occurs on the display, nothing else happens.
When the shutter button is pressed a second time the mirror goes back again and a black frame is stored on the card, correctly numbered in sequence.

After that, the D750 works normally as long as it is used with at least one exposure every hour or so.

Next day when the camera not has been used during the night, or for some hours the sequence above is repeated.

This behaviour is the same with all my lenses, and even without a lense. It occurred after 2,5 years usage and about 4500 exposures.
The camera seems to be in good condition and has never been exposed to extreme heat or cold.

I have tried careful cleaning with an air duster and a blower brush without any change.

Any idea what could be wrong?
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

I hate to have to tell you this, but it sounds like a trip to the Nikon doctor for your D750 is in order.
 

hark

Administrator
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Super Mod
Contributor
Welcome!

I think Cindy has/had this problem. @hark

Yes, I experienced a problem and can tell you what I noticed with mine. Whether it's the same problem or not, you should be able to tell rather quickly. My shutter would ERR the first time the body was turned on. Usually it was okay for the remainder of the time I used it although there were a couple instances when it was sporadic.

What I noticed...and what you should watch for...is to keep your eye on the shutter speed when looking through the viewfinder. Most times I shoot in Aperture Priority with a fixed ISO. That means the shutter speed varies to keep images properly exposed. My shutter speed might register 1/1600". I'd start to press the shutter button when suddenly the shutter speed that displayed inside the viewfinder began flashing 1/4000". Having it flash that way means the shutter speed is higher than what the body can handle (highest shutter speed on a D750 is 1/4000").

If I pressed the shutter button all the way down, that's when it would ERR. When I began noticing it, I stopped at the halfway point and released my finger. The shutter speed inside the viewfinder corrected itself. So I kept watch of it and managed to avoid the ERR most of the time. Usually it only happened on the first shutter actuation. And usually it didn't happen when in full manual mode, but then one day it did. :(

So based on that, I determined my problem is software related rather than a hardware issue with the physical shutter. I spoke with a Nikon rep who said there isn't any way for them to remove the software and reinstall it. Then I began experimenting and found something that has almost resolved the issue...let's just say it only happened once in months and months since doing this one thing. When I am ready to turn off the body, I wait until the top LCD screen has gone into standby before turning off the body. Simple solution for something that happened with every first shot of the day.

With mine, if it ERR'd once, that was usually the end of it for the day. A couple of times it continued to happen during the time I was shooting, but that was seldom. If I turned off the body then turned it back on 15-20 minutes later, it didn't happen again. Your problem *might* be different. But keep watch of the shutter speed WHILE you are pressing the shutter button. If it jumps up, then it's probably the same issue I experienced. I never sent mine in even though my D750 is on the recall list. Figured I'd wait until the shutter really fails. Oh...and make sure the VR is always turned off on whatever lens is attached to the body. The first time my shutter did the ERR thing, I noticed I accidentally left my VR turned on. Whether that contributed to the problem, I don't know. Good luck!
 
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Fiddlefye

New member
I had this issue and a few others that seemed to be related - random incorrect exposures etc. These issues were consistent with all of my lenses, whether auto focus (new and older) or manual focus. After four trips to Nikon and two shutter replacements they finally replaced the shutter (yet again), the aperture lever and (most importantly IMO) the CPU. Everything now functions better than it ever has. I am quite convinced that it was a bad circuit board that was the issue. I haven't had a single questionable exposure in the 1,000+ since I got the camera back this last time.
 

hark

Administrator
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Super Mod
Contributor
I had this issue and a few others that seemed to be related - random incorrect exposures etc. These issues were consistent with all of my lenses, whether auto focus (new and older) or manual focus. After four trips to Nikon and two shutter replacements they finally replaced the shutter (yet again), the aperture lever and (most importantly IMO) the CPU. Everything now functions better than it ever has. I am quite convinced that it was a bad circuit board that was the issue. I haven't had a single questionable exposure in the 1,000+ since I got the camera back this last time.

Thanks for the info especially on the CPU. That is something I will keep in mind if my starts to ERR again. :encouragement:
 

Fiddlefye

New member
Yes, definitely something to consider. I figure that my camera was one of the first to show these issues. As problematic as this was, it was in a way a good thing as everything was still covered under warranty and the further return visits have been covered under the repair warranty each time. The locking issues were annoying, but the bizarre exposure choices were far more annoying and sometimes disastrous. When I'm shooting an event (something I do often) I need every exposure to at least be good enough I can rescue it in post-processing and I was getting quite a few that were beyond salvation. Now I'm getting 100% that are nicely exposed with a remarkably small number that even need tweaking in the regard. This is how the camera was meant to function - at last!

I'm hearing about more owners having the similar problems now. It was a long voyage with Nikon in dealing with the issues, but they came through in the end. In an attempt to make things easier for them once I realized there was a problem (and that it wasn't just a "one-off") I made sure to document everything I could about circumstances where it occurred etc. I also sent in a CD of sample images that were representative of the complex of problems. In the end it came down to finding a very supportive rep in the repair department who agreed with me that a camera I'd invested so much in simply shouldn't have these sorts of issues.
 

hark

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Yes, definitely something to consider. I figure that my camera was one of the first to show these issues.

Mine started in January 2017. I chronicled the problems I encountered until I found that making sure the top display goes into standby before shutting off the body. My shutter is on the recall list, but since the shutter isn't the problem (and I haven't experienced any true shutter issues), I am hesitant to send mine in. I had a fiasco with my D600 and Nikon's multiple repairs so am hoping to remain issue free as long as I wait to turn off the body.
 

Fiddlefye

New member
My hope is that after my discussion with Nikon (in Canada, mind you) that they have a much better handle on these issues than they did when mine started acting up. Being "the canary in the coal mine" was inconvenient, but if others can profit from the knowledge gained it will be worth it I suppose!

If it were me I wouldn't just send the camera in, but would open a dialogue with Nikon on the subject and see where it leads. I had to do a lot of convincing to get what was needed done, but perhaps there have been enough bodies exhibiting these issues that it can become a more routine service at this point, if not an outright recall. You should not have to be doing funky work-arounds with a camera of this stature - how I approached matters with Nikon and why I finally got results.
 

Mark F

Senior Member
My hope is that after my discussion with Nikon (in Canada, mind you) that they have a much better handle on these issues than they did when mine started acting up. Being "the canary in the coal mine" was inconvenient, but if others can profit from the knowledge gained it will be worth it I suppose!

If it were me I wouldn't just send the camera in, but would open a dialogue with Nikon on the subject and see where it leads. I had to do a lot of convincing to get what was needed done, but perhaps there have been enough bodies exhibiting these issues that it can become a more routine service at this point, if not an outright recall. You should not have to be doing funky work-arounds with a camera of this stature - how I approached matters with Nikon and why I finally got results.
From my experience with the d600 and nikon... I would agree. Its a matter of opening up a dialogue that Nikon will accept as a problem that needs corrected. For the d600.. it was a threat of a class action suit. aaBut persistence pays off sometimes.
I think I purchased a d750 this time with all bugs worked out :)
 

Fiddlefye

New member
From my experience with the d600 and nikon... I would agree. Its a matter of opening up a dialogue that Nikon will accept as a problem that needs corrected. For the d600.. it was a threat of a class action suit. aaBut persistence pays off sometimes.
I think I purchased a d750 this time with all bugs worked out :)
It took me awhile, but I didn't need to go anywhere near so far as a class action suit. :cool: I was fortunate in making a good personal connection with someone who really went to bat for me and took on the techs and management. She wouldn't take "no" for an answer and in the end it paid off in a perfectly functioning D750. My personal opinion? Nikon got sold some sub-par CPUs - some started to go bad quicker than others and I got lucky in mine being early enough that the whole process was covered under warranty. I just hope the replacement part proves to be entirely up to snuff as I'm really loving the camera now that it does what it was designed to do.
 

Mark F

Senior Member
I just hope the replacement part proves to be entirely up to snuff as I'm really loving the camera now that it does what it was designed to do.
Me too. :) I'm really liking this d750 so far and am hoping it will perform well for me for years to come.
I really don't like sending cameras to Nikon. Actually, since I am out west and my service center is in El Segundo CA... I'll send it back east to Melville NY instead. Better service.
 

Fiddlefye

New member
Me too. :) I'm really liking this d750 so far and am hoping it will perform well for me for years to come.
I really don't like sending cameras to Nikon. Actually, since I am out west and my service center is in El Segundo CA... I'll send it back east to Melville NY instead. Better service.
I suspect that the truth is that none of us like sending our cameras anywhere. :( I have great tech here in town who is quite capable of "thinking outside the box", but for something like this where a warranty is involved all he can do is a bit of testing and give it some thought. He has rebuilt more cameras for me than I could begin to list including the shutter on a Contax II rangefinder (if you know the camera you know what a coup that is). He just finished off a cosmetically perfect, but functionally challenged Leicaflex for me (heading to pick it up in a few minutes) and it apparently now functions as-new. As you might have noticed, I love cameras of all sorts, not just the new and wonderful digital ones!

BTW, very well-chosen group of lenses you have for the D750.
 

Mark F

Senior Member
I suspect that the truth is that none of us like sending our cameras anywhere. :( I have great tech here in town who is quite capable of "thinking outside the box", but for something like this where a warranty is involved all he can do is a bit of testing and give it some thought. He has rebuilt more cameras for me than I could begin to list including the shutter on a Contax II rangefinder (if you know the camera you know what a coup that is). He just finished off a cosmetically perfect, but functionally challenged Leicaflex for me (heading to pick it up in a few minutes) and it apparently now functions as-new. As you might have noticed, I love cameras of all sorts, not just the new and wonderful digital ones!

BTW, very well-chosen group of lenses you have for the D750.

I have my assorted older film cameras as well but I dont shoot with them anymore.
The only other lens I really want for this D750 is the 16-35 f4 and that well keep me well set for years to come.
 

Fiddlefye

New member
I've read great things about the 16-35 f4, but personally I'm absolutely in love with the 17-35 f2.8. I only got it fairly recently, but it is already a first choice on a frequent basis. Astounding quality and it works seamlessly on both my D750 and F4. I simply cannot say enough good things about the lens.
 

apertured

New member
I sadly had my shutter start to stick while shooting U2 last Monday. I had no issues prior to this. Unfortunately, it was such a subtle change to the image when viewing through the LCD screen that I didn't realize what was happening. It actually looked like a stage light. It ruined most of my photos, but for some it added a "cool effect."

I have sent my camera to Nikon to get the shutter replaced as part of the recall. I did not actually realize it had been recalled until I went digging. I setup a profile on Nikon's website with my camera serial number, so I would think Nikon would email affected users if their camera's serial number is within range, but I guess their system is not that sophisticated. Right now my camera is in the shop and I am waiting to get it back. I went ahead and asked Nikon to look at another small issue since I had to send it in anyway.

u2-2018-05-28-212.jpg
 

hark

Administrator
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I sadly had my shutter start to stick while shooting U2 last Monday. I had no issues prior to this. Unfortunately, it was such a subtle change to the image when viewing through the LCD screen that I didn't realize what was happening. It actually looked like a stage light. It ruined most of my photos, but for some it added a "cool effect."

I have sent my camera to Nikon to get the shutter replaced as part of the recall. I did not actually realize it had been recalled until I went digging. I setup a profile on Nikon's website with my camera serial number, so I would think Nikon would email affected users if their camera's serial number is within range, but I guess their system is not that sophisticated. Right now my camera is in the shop and I am waiting to get it back. I went ahead and asked Nikon to look at another small issue since I had to send it in anyway.

View attachment 288412

Did you submit this photo to Nikon, and did they tell you it is the result of a shutter sticking? I would think a stuck shutter would leave part of the image completely dark.
 
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