Is my D200 dying? - White band of overexposed pixels on all my images

Hi,

My d200 has recently inclined to produce a white band of over saturated pixels across the top of all my images. It is worse in bright sunlight or when there is a strong light source. If I shoot inside it is there but not as strong, and if I use flash it seems to disappear. Can anyone help? Is my D200 just on the way out?

Here is an example image (I took this photo upside down so as not to get the subject's heads in the area with the white band, so as I mentioned the white band is always at the top not at the bottom)

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Do you know what the shutter count is for this camera?

bthompson87 said:

Hi,

My D200 has recently inclined to produce a white band of over saturated pixels across the top of all my images. It is worse in bright sunlight or when there is a strong light source. If I shoot inside it is there but not as strong, and if I use flash it seems to disappear. Can anyone help? Is my D200 just on the way out?

Here is an example image (I took this photo upside down so as not to get the subject's heads in the area with the white band, so as I mentioned the white band is always at the top not at the bottom)

View attachment 38523

Click to expand...

What is the shutter actuation count of your D200? Looks like it might be due to it's age, or it could be a sensor problem. This might be something that only a Nikon tech could answer. Hopefully it can be rectified. Please let us know.

Exif viewer : Opanda IExif - Professional EXIF / GPS / IPTC Viewer & Editor in Windows, IE & Firefox

This should read your exif data and show you your shutter count.

Looks a lot like a sticky shutter blade to me. I read an article by a photojournalist who had the same problem in the field. He set the camera on the highest shutter speed he could on continuous and fired off about 15 shots. It managed to remedy the problem long enough for him to get what he needed on the shoot, but eventually the shutter blade broke and he had to send it it. I can't remember who wrote the article, and I can't seem to find it with the Google right now. Unfortunately, you'll probably wind up having to send it in.

Thanks for the quick replies. I logged on here tonight, not expecting to see any feedback and already have some good answers here. I can tell this is a very healthy, active forum.
I've just checked the shutter count using a recent photo. It reads 132225. How does this rate when compared to the average life expectancy of d200s?
I tried firing off some shots in continuous mode as suggested. I did about 50 with no luck. If this shutter is sticking in anyway (that does make sense, given the resulting problem) I guess theres not a way to help unstick it myself in terms of cleaning it in anyway.
The reason I used the term dying to describe my D200 is that this problem is ontop of an already exsisting problem that came about a couple of months ago where the buttons on the back of my camera (the menu button, review button, delete button etc) have decided to stop working (however the up and down of the d-pad work but not the left and right). I had this looked at by an authorized Nikon reapairer here in the U.K. (Fixation) but it came back with a expensive repair bill nearing £600 as it needed a new 'dg pcb' circuit board. I am considering sending off the D200 to be looked at but worry that solving the problem will involve getting into the menu screen (possibly to do a mirror lock up) which cant be done on my D200 due to the button not working.
Does anyone have any idea on the possible repair cost if the problem is indeed a sticky shutter blade? If it's too much I may consider just cashing in some savings and going for a second hand D700.

Go for the 700 or if you can't afford it a used D300 or 7000, I think your D200 has had a full life and wants to go peacefully.

Although the D200 was rated for 150,000 actuations, yours at over 132,000 sounds like it's getting close to being retired. That's a lot of shutter actuations, no matter how you slice it. I agree totally with Marcel......pack it in, set it on the shelf as a memento, and get yourself a good previously enjoyed D300. I wouldn't waste any more money on trying to get it repaired. Just not worth it. Better to put your money to good use by getting another camera, either new or used. The choice, as always, is yours to make. After all, it's your money.

bthompson87 said:

Thanks for the quick replies. I logged on here tonight, not expecting to see any feedback and already have some good answers here. I can tell this is a very healthy, active forum.

Click to expand...

Thanks. We think we have the best Nikon Site around. We have a knowledgeable group here and they like to assist anyone and everyone. We hope that you get a new working Nikon soon and come back to add your experience and photos with us.

FotoJack is a D200 shooter that has been around Nikons for a while and I think his advice is one yoiu can trust.

Good Luck

I ran my D200 hard ans used it as my backup when I got a D300. The D300 are getting a little old but a good copy is about $500 used. I personally would go for a used D700. Same great feel as the 200 & 300 but better performance.

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Hmmm... Looks to me like you've enabled the "White Band of Over Exposure" feature.

It's a feature.