New D7000 scare .. F-- error

[grmojo]

We put up our Christmas tree tonight. Grabbed my wife's D7000, took one picture and then it wouldn't do anything.

Noticed the display was showing F-- ... it would take pictures in manual mode ... sometimes. I reset it, took battery out, cards out, battery/cards back in power up, then in M mode F showed 'delta symbol F'....

I did take the lens off a couple times in all this.

Finally, I held my mouth right and all was well again.

I Googled this and now know this F-- means the camera and lens are not communicating. Bit disturbing on a piece of kit only 3 days old though.

Anybody else seen this? I understand this 'high tech' stuff sometimes goes awry and needs a good old fashioned reset.

 

[LensWork]

What lens?

 

[Sambr]

That happen with my D700 what it was the lens 300mmf4 wasn't on properly I had been in a hurry changing lens and it wasn't fully on din't "click" never happen again.

 

[grmojo]

What lens?

[h=1]Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR[/h]
It was on all the way to the click.

Been playing with it some more. It happened several more times. I've found I can 'correct' the F-- error by rotating the lens in the OFF direction without pressing the release button. It doesn't feel like it actually moves, but obviously I'm making the connection better by doing that. Will need to try cleaning the contacts and see if it goes away for good. Next step will be to try another lens. Might be a bad lens (hoping not a body problem).

Lens has plastic mount .... Will likely avoid going forward if possible.

 

[blackwell17]

Sounds like the contacts that transfer data between the lens and camera body aren't getting a good connection. I've read that #2 pencil eraser works to clean the gold contacts when rubbing them VERY GENTLY. I've never tried it and have seen others urge against doing so, so do this at your own risk.

 

[blackwell17]

I would also suggest against trying to rotate the lens without pushing the release button, especially on a plastic mount! I've seen lens mounts break this way!!

 

[Marcel]

If you bought it locally, take it back for exchange or repair. If you bought it from the web, get in touch with the seller to get it exchanged. Maybe the contacts just need cleaning, but...

This is something that could get extremely annoying as you'll always be on your guards wondering "will it work this time?". It will get just too frustrating that you'll stop using it all together which would be sad since the D7000 with 18-105 is such a great performer when it works well.

 

[pistnbroke]

3 days old ...test it test it and take it back.....

 

[grmojo]

I would also suggest against trying to rotate the lens without pushing the release button, especially on a plastic mount! I've seen lens mounts break this way!!

Point well taken, I'm not actually moving it much as I said. Obviously there is play in the mount otherwise I wouldn't be able to effect any change ....

Another data point, once I get the F-- to go away, it still won't auto focus. So yeah, probably time to send something back to Amazon. Hoping it's just the lens.

3 days old, first Nikon purchase. Wow. Thinking I probably made a mistake here.

Somebody mentioned cleaning with eraser .. I've read about that here myself. I would try using some kind of cleaner first though. What's wrong with good old fashioned rubbing alcohol? I read on this forum somebody used lighter fluid. hmm.. don't have any of that handy ...

 

[stmv]

do agree that you should take it back for accessment, sometimes in my rush, I don't do a clean click, and will see the error, trained now, to hit button, rotate a bit and then back to hear the nice clear click.

 

[Tami Jo]

I also had this happen. It is very frustrating. I had been shooting for sometime and went into a very low light area and it locked up and would not take any pictures. I noticed the error and turned the camera on and off. Changed modes....nothing. I removed the lens and remounted it, removed the battery and then it functioned normally for awhile. It happened again that same day shortly after that and I swapped out the lens and never had another issue. I have used that lens since without issue so not sure what happened but clearly the camera and lens were not communicating correctly at the time. The lens I was using when the error occurred was not a Nikon lens but from the Tamron lens line. I hope your issue is just the lens. Contact Amazon right away and notify them of the problem. Did you purchase yours as a kit or body only?

 

[grmojo]

Tami, I purchased the camera as body only and the lens in the same order from Amazon. Hard to know at this point what to blame, lens or body.

I shot nearly 200 photos today during my daughter's ice skating lesson/session. It performed flawlessly until it didn't. It again got itself into this funk... if powered off, then on it would display F-- and nothing would happen. I noticed a mild rap on the left side of camera body would cause the F-- to change to F4. However, it wouldn't change with the zoom of the lens as it should and the AF was VERY sporadic.

I'm starting to wonder if the driving cause here is lots of use coupled with power cycling. I tend to turn it off if I'm not taking pictures for some time. Just a guess, but next time I'm going to make a conscious effort to turn the camera on once, verify correct operation and then just leave it on until I'm REALLY done.

My D7000 and lens (same lens as my wife's, dumb decision I now realize) arrives tomorrow so I'll have a second lens/body to play with and test.

This issue feels to me like a software or hardware lockup ... kind of like when Windows blue screens ....

My disappointment level is rising here. My instincts told me to go with Canon (I have history with that brand, NO issues EVER) ... I read, watched, studied and came to the conclusion that the D7000 was what I wanted .... When it's working good, it's an amazing 'machine' ... getting the feeling though that it's a Ferrari that needs lots of shop time to keep it running ...

Oh well, live and learn ....

Once I have the second kit in hand, more testing will commence and I will be able to better know what to exchange/send back for refund.

 

[Tami Jo]

You might want to just give Nikon a call and inform them of the error since it has happened on more than one occassion. They may offer a easy solution for this issue we are just not aware of.

This is my second Nikon and I have been very pleased with the Nikon line. Problems can and do occur in all brands. Its frustrating especially in a new item. I was alarmed when it happened to me. But I felt somewhat better knowing that Nikon stands behind their products and warranties cover these types of problems. I too ordered my Camera from Amazon which is also great about replacing faulty products.

Another thing to check is that the battery is fully charged. If you are zooming a lot battety power can diminish quickly. I dont turn my camera off and on frequently instead I just leave it on when I am out shooting. It goes into a sleep energy mode and the battery lasts just as long as turning off and on did. So you may try that and see if that helps.

Did you happen to notice what your battery level was when the error occurred? Was the lighting relatively low? Did you notice any thing else unusual?

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[vindex1963]

Don't give up on Nikon yet they do make a fine product.

 

[grmojo]

Tami, I know the first time it happened, it was a low light situation for sure. If memory serves, when it happened yesterday, it was as well.

Battery had 3 bars the first time. I shot nearly 200 photos yesterday with the battery at 2 bars, came home, downloaded pics from camera (card reader is on my short list).

At this point camera/lens wouldn't AF, F-- showed. Battery was down to 1 bar and red. I removed battery and charged it.

This morning I got up, put charged battery in, turned on camera. F--, no AF. Getting the F-- to go away by giving the lens a bit of a twist did not fix AF being stuck.

Removed lens from body for about 5 minutes.

Put lens back on, and again F--, (this is most frustrating part, because if this doesn't work, nothing matters). This time however when I forced the F-- error to go away, AF worked.


Not gonna give up yet. I already know this camera takes the kind of images I want. The colors are amazing, so accurate. Our second setup arrives today, so I want to test my wife's body with the new lens ... will likely exchange original lens for a different kind, perhaps a 50mm prime, or 35mm... I'm wondering if this lens, or even worse the body, has a loose/sloppy connection that doesn't allow a solid contact to be made. ... anyway, enough surmising. I'll have more options after today when the second setup comes.

 

[Tami Jo]

Tami, I know the first time it happened, it was a low light situation for sure. If memory serves, when it happened yesterday, it was as well.

Battery had 3 bars the first time. I shot nearly 200 photos yesterday with the battery at 2 bars, came home, downloaded pics from camera (card reader is on my short list).

At this point camera/lens wouldn't AF, F-- showed. Battery was down to 1 bar and red. I removed battery and charged it.

This morning I got up, put charged battery in, turned on camera. F--, no AF. Getting the F-- to go away by giving the lens a bit of a twist did not fix AF being stuck.

Removed lens from body for about 5 minutes.

Put lens back on, and again F--, (this is most frustrating part, because if this doesn't work, nothing matters). This time however when I forced the F-- error to go away, AF worked.


Not gonna give up yet. I already know this camera takes the kind of images I want. The colors are amazing, so accurate. Our second setup arrives today, so I want to test my wife's body with the new lens ... will likely exchange original lens for a different kind, perhaps a 50mm prime, or 35mm... I'm wondering if this lens, or even worse the body, has a loose/sloppy connection that doesn't allow a solid contact to be made. ... anyway, enough surmising. I'll have more options after today when the second setup comes.

It may be coincidental but I had that problem in extreme low light.

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[Tami Jo]

I wasnt finished replying and the doggies assisted in pushing the touch screen. So how is the new unit and lens working out for you?

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[pistnbroke]

stop hissing about its faulty send it back ..I have two of these and yes they wont focus in low light ..thats why they have a photo assist light ...never any F ....send it back

 

[Marcel]

Have you cleaned the lens-camera contacts yet? I think this is just what's causing your problem. A little alcohol swab over the contacts might save you a lot of grief and trouble.

At least try it and let us know if it helped. This way we all win and can help others if ever the same problem show up on this forum.

 

[grmojo]

stop hissing about its faulty send it back ..I have two of these and yes they wont focus in low light ..thats why they have a photo assist light ...never any F ....send it back

LOL. Hissing about?

mkay.

So what do I send back? Lens? Body? Both? (I've considered the latter, just to be sure.)

Marcel, I did clean the contacts on the lens, and had the problem happen after the cleaning. Haven't braved cleaning the contacts in the body yet.

Second setup is 'together' and briefly tested. Need to get out with both of them and see if swapping the lens once the problem arises helps and to note if the problem follows the lens or the body.

Curious to see if the second setup acts this way ... need to put some time on it to determine this.