D800 shutter won't open or close! HELP! Photo attached!

L

Lynnster

New member
Hi all! New here with older camera! Bought hubby's D800 in Nov 2013 and all had been great. Camera has less than 30K shots but Houston...we have a problem!

While night-shooting2 days ago, my hubby's D800 quit working! He'd taken several shots using tripod just fine, but when he selected Live View & hooked up cable release wire all went south. The shutter release button/shooting button made a click sound but it was "incomplete" for lack of a better term. No image could be taken because the shutter won't move & mirror stays up. There's a flashing ERR in top LED screen. When camera turn off & back on, the mirror comes down but shutter never moves. The camera is inoperable in all shooting modes. (the battery taken out, put back, SD card removed/put back, tried 2 button reset but not functional) The Live View mode button is inoperable as well. The large & small LED screens function & he's able to view all prior pics. The attached photo shows the mirror box/shutter assembly area. In comparison to his D300, it seems that the silver triangular piece showing on the back lower left might be the issue as his D300 doesn't have that showing. We are wondering if perhaps a spring broke off? Of course we know we have to send it to Melville, but just wanted to know if anyone can ID the silver piece or has idea what's going on! Tks for any input!!



DSC_5040.jpg
 
D

Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
First, welcome to the forum.
A couple things to try.
1. Take battery out and wait a couple minutes and then reinsert battery and try again.

it that does not help then
2. Do a two button reset on the camera.

These are basically non destructive non invasive things you can do before you try anything else. This is assuming you have tried the basics of trying a different lens, and making sure you battery is fully charged.
 
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Have you contacted Nikon through their web site? Depending on the issue, they will offer suggestions to try. It doesn't cost anything to ask questions. And uploading this photo would be helpful for them, too.
 
Dawg Pics

Dawg Pics

Senior Member
Sounds like it needs to go to the Nikon Hospital. Good luck. Sorry you had a major camera breakdown.
 
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B

Blade Canyon

Senior Member
I just checked my D800 with the mirror up and that little silver thing is not visible at all. If you are adventurous, you might try to gently move the shutter up or down a little to see if gets unstuck.
 
A

Ad B

Senior Member
Hi,

The silver thing is just a part of your shutter mechanism.
If your mirror is up (in cleaning mode…), your shutter has to be up.
The only way to see this pic is with “Mirror Up” and with one push at your button.
I think your shutter mechanism is broken, your D800 needs to go to the Nikon hospital in emergency.
This will cost a few $$$.
Afterwards you will have a fine D800 to enjoy.
 
S

shenoy_sr

New member
A google search for a similar problem landed me to this forum and thread, happy to state that I have joined the nikonites.

Question : does anybody know what was the outcome, as in India I am skeptical about the Repair shops, I hear they do not have a good reputation.
 
Marilynne

Marilynne

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shenoy_sr said:
A google search for a similar problem landed me to this forum and thread, happy to state that I have joined the nikonites.

Question : does anybody know what was the outcome, as in India I am skeptical about the Repair shops, I hear they do not have a good reputation.
Click to expand...

Welcome!

Looks like the original poster asked the question and never came back.
 
S

shenoy_sr

New member
Thank you for the warm welcome,

I tried a slightly different variation, by removing the lens and trying the shutter, this worked for me and after attaching the lens back voila! I am back in business.
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
shenoy_sr said:
Thank you for the warm welcome,

I tried a slightly different variation, by removing the lens and trying the shutter, this worked for me and after attaching the lens back voila! I am back in business.
Click to expand...
Just make certain that you haven't activated the "mirror up" mode. This would oblige you to press on the shutter twice before the exposure takes place. First press, the mirror moves up, second one, the shutter opens.
 
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