Random problem with D90 pics

Howdy folks - This is my first post so please be gentle I have had my D90 for about 18 months and over the last 4 or 5 months have noticed that on some of my shots the pictures have the bottom parts (usually the last 3rd) slightly out of line with the rest of the pic, or in the extreme cases it is totally different colour. I have a camera-mad friend who thinks it may be a problem with the sensor OR the shutter over the sensor as that is in thirds and may have something to do with it. Anyway, I don't know if anyone else has come across this but I rather suspect the solution is not a simple one..

A couple of examples, shot through different lenses..



Usually if I take multiple shots of the same thing,say a passing aircraft at an airshow, then the very next pic is fine, and whilst this is an easy way to overcome the problem (or at least live with it!) it is more puzzling than anything else. I also do time exposures in astro photography and the problem is never there, so it just makes me think it may be a shutter problem? I don't know - I throw it open to you guys

Thanks

Jason

I've never seen or heard of this problem. I tend to agree that it is a shutter problem because of the slight register offset between the discolored parts of the images. You may want to call the Nikon service center and see what they have to say. You can also submit a question to the Nikon USA Q&A pages on the internet.

And welcome to the Nikonites Community.

I agree with Joseph. You may have found a work around but on a camera such as the D90, you need better reliability than that. I would certainly call the Nikon help center or better yet just send the camera in and have it looked at. I could not live with that myself, even with the work around.
Let us know what you find out.
Just out of curiosity, has there been any trauma to the camera? Is it with multiple lenses or only one? Is there any difference in the shooting mode, i.e. shutter priority, aperture priority etc? Has the camera been exposed to extreme temperatures?

OMG....I had the same thing happen to me!!! I took my camera in ranting and raving about that issue about 8months after I bought mine...I totally made an ass outta myself ( I was soooo mad..paying ALOT for a camera that I figured was a piece of junk ).....and it turned out that it was my computer...for some reason 8 outta 10 times it would down load my pics lookng like that....so I bought a new computer...and voila...problem solved!! needless to say...I felt like a huge idiot not saying it's your computer...but thats what it was for me...

Just for giggles and grins, why don't you reformat your memory card. I have had this same problem on both my D70 and my Canon 3000i P&S.
D70 with the CF card and the 3000i with a SD card. Reformat fixed them both.

Just my 99 cents worth (inflation!).

Hope this helps.

Pete

I also agree with Pete. This looks more like file corruption than an issue with the camera itself. Questions:

• Are you using a quality memory card?
• Do you format it each time you download to your PC? (you should!)
• What image conversion software are you using?

Yup, it's definitely a memory card problem. After downloading the pics to your computer, you HAVE to reformat the card. It's as simple as that. My guess is you have a bad memory card (it happens). And it seems the larger storage capacity the card has, the more it's a problem. I myself only use 4 gig cards. I even have some 256 meg cards, and they're old! Never had a problem with them. But ALWAYS reformat the card in the camera.......not the computer! Try it...what have you got to lose?

I agree with fotojack. Had the same problem and it was the quality of my sdcard.

Definitely a memory card problem.
Try using a fast SD card like a class6 or higher speed SD card.
I highly recommend Sandisk and Lexar.
Been using only those brands and I did not have any problems with them.

fotojack said:

Yup I myself only use 4 gig cards. I even have some 256 meg cards, and they're old! Never had a problem with them. But ALWAYS reformat the card in the camera.......not the computer! Try it...what have you got to lose?

Click to expand...

I agree with Jack, format them often in the camera and I love 4 gb cards, I would rather carry plenty than go with larger capacity cards for the following: less loss liability of something should happen to one prior to download and I just plain find them easier to organize with.