'd70 not reading the existence of a lens' problem

[vikin70]

I recently bought a secondhand d70. worked fine for three days and then now I'm facing some problems... i doubt that the seller is a con, seeing that I have his bank details, name and home address and he has been very helpful all this while, maybe it got bumped during delivery but it was packaged very well... anyway...
So you know how when you don't have a lens fixed to the body, the LCD will flash a "f - -" sign to indicate that it needs a lens before it can take pictures right...
Unfortunately for me, this flashing "f - -" appears even when there IS a lens fixed onto the body! I've double checked that the lens 'clicks' into place properly, tried different lenses, tried the off-on, change/format CF card, tried every mode on the dial and found that the only mode that works is M and even then I need to set it to long exposures like 3 seconds before it will shoot and even then it will show aperture as "f - -". This problem comes and goes, persists for an uncertain amount of time, maybe hours, maybe seconds... so frustrating! so I gave up and brought it to local service shop and they tell me they will re-shim or re-shin the contacts but with no guarantee if it will work. what the!?
I tried searching for this error on the forums but I dont really know what to search under, most of the d70 problems only yields BGLOD issues...

Has anyone faced this before? What are my chances? worry worry...

[Justin]

Hello vikin70,

What lens are you using?

the only time I've seen this is when I haven't set the aperture correctly on a D type lens before attaching to the body.

A d-type lens has an aperture ring.

Set this to the smallest aperture (32 or 22, something like that) before attaching if it is a manual focus lens.

If it is an auto focus (e.g. newer) lens, set the aperture to 32/22 as above and there may also be a small switch over the largest aperture (2.8 / 3.5 etc). Ensure this is clicked towards you - you should find you cannot move the aperture ring if this is set correctly.

[vikin70]

its the 18-70 lens... doesnt it set the apertures automatically?
when it works it will show "f 3.5" or whatever... but on occasion it will hang a bit, well maybe a lot... and start flashing the "f - -" as though it cant detect a lens ... I've also tried three others friends 18-70 lenses(yes we are one big d70 family now haha) and a 55-200 lens... each had the same problem which means its the body not the lens right...

[Justin]

You are correct - this is a 'G' type lens so should automatically read the aperture.

Are you familiar with the depth-of-field preview? Try this a few times (set it to a small aperture, 22 or something so you can see the effect.

If you are comfortable you can take the lens off the body and there is a small switch that controls the aperture blades - it will rotate counter clock wise - try this with your finger, but carefully and gently. Any sticking of the blades? they should be smooth and responsive.

I guess you don't have another lens to try?

[Justin]

Also - from the nikon asia knowledge base (go to nikon.com.au / service and support / knowledge base)

"Non-CPU lenses (such as older "Ai" lenses) not listed above can be used but only in manual exposure mode. Aperture must be manually adjusted using the lens ring and the camera's meter cannot be used. If another exposure mode is selected the shutter release will be disabled and a blinking "F--" will appear in the display. See the camera Users Guide for an operational compatibility list."

Could be a lens issue...

Nikon Asia Link.

[vikin70]

well its in the service pits now so i cant troubleshoot it anymore. thanks anyway justin. hope to get it back and working this friday and I just was wondering if there have been similar instances which were fixed with no furtehr issues so I dont need to stress over it... i mean its not good when your mechanic tells you he'll fix it but whether or not it holds together he cant say... to me that sounds quite bad...

[vikin70]

so they fixed the problem by stuffing some cardboard behind the contact points to tighten the contact. 90 bucks for cardboard stuffing, brilliant! why didnt i think of that ... well at least its working again

[Glen]

Vikin, how much of the $90 was for spare parts ie the cardboard

[Justin]

So does that mean every time you change the lens you will need another $90 spare part???

I'm getting into cardboard - let me know if you need any, I'll do it for $50.



Sounds like the root cause is not solved though - why are the contacts loose? Is the mount out of shape? has the lens been dropped on the mount?

[Glen]

Vikin, Justin uses aussie cardboard as does the repairer you used, I can provide you original Thai cardboard for $50

[Yi-P]

China sells 1 sq meter cardboard for $0.05

Importing them into Aussieland by a Japanese camera maker serviced by an American technician bumps up the $50 per sq inch

[Killakoala]

I reckon the camera has been dropped at one point in time. It would certainly explain the misalignment. Not that that helps though.

[vikin70]

It can't be mount damage as it appears alright to me...
Anyway you all so funny. akmal and rove feeling threatened already...
Maybe I should sell it, cut my losses and move to canon 400d...
haha, flame flame....

[Justin]

In all seriousness - if you just got this, have you talk to the guy and ask him about it and did it happen to him at all.

Did the tech give you an opinion as to what could have caused this to happen?

Do you know someone with another lens you can try (if you can pin it down to the lens, it's a 'smaller' problem).

A piece of cardboard in your new toy to make it work is not going to feel right, very much sympathy here.

[jberth1]

I recently bought a secondhand d70. worked fine for three days and then now I'm facing some problems... i doubt that the seller is a con, seeing that I have his bank details, name and home address and he has been very helpful all this while, maybe it got bumped during delivery but it was packaged very well... anyway...
So you know how when you don't have a lens fixed to the body, the LCD will flash a "f - -" sign to indicate that it needs a lens before it can take pictures right...
Unfortunately for me, this flashing "f - -" appears even when there IS a lens fixed onto the body! I've double checked that the lens 'clicks' into place properly, tried different lenses, tried the off-on, change/format CF card, tried every mode on the dial and found that the only mode that works is M and even then I need to set it to long exposures like 3 seconds before it will shoot and even then it will show aperture as "f - -". This problem comes and goes, persists for an uncertain amount of time, maybe hours, maybe seconds... so frustrating! so I gave up and brought it to local service shop and they tell me they will re-shim or re-shin the contacts but with no guarantee if it will work. what the!?
I tried searching for this error on the forums but I dont really know what to search under, most of the d70 problems only yields BGLOD issues...

Has anyone faced this before? What are my chances? worry worry...

I had a similar problem when I first got my D70. I found an excess of mount lubricant on both the lense and the body, and just used a cotton bud with a drop of metho to clean it off. Hasn't happened again since.

Cheers

Justin