D70 problem

[DaveB]

Just want to check if I'm going crazy...

Take D70 body, insert CF card, insert battery (freshly charged), add 50mm/1.8 D lens. Power up - everything seems fine.

But when I try to actually take a picture there's the sound of the mirror/shutter trying to do its thing, the viewfinder goes dim/blurry, the top LCD goes blank, and nothing happens until I pull the battery.
Then when reset, the camera shows "Err" on the LCD. The LCD is still dim/blurry, and taking the lens off reveals that the mirror has not returned to its resting position. Attempting to take another photo does reset the mirror position and clear the "Err" (not taking a photo though) and everything returns to normal.
At that point trying to take a photo takes us back to the beginning in a vicious cycle.

Can anyone shed any information on what might be happening?
I only have one battery and lens to try it with. Both the lens and battery were successfully used on a D100 recently.

[Nnnnsic]

Tried formatting the card?

Sounds like a camera issue, but could be a card problem.

[DaveB]

Two cards, each formatted in-camera.

[fozzie]

Dave - I have not experienced the problem myself, by here is a website discussing the issue that may help you out:

http://www.dcresource.com/forums/archiv ... 10647.html

[DaveB]

Thanks! That definitely sounds like it.
The lens is not being returned to max aperture (i.e. the aperture lever inside the mount is not resetting). In fact the problem occurs whether the lens is mounted or not (i.e. in manual mode).

So much for converting this camera to IR... at least I hadn't started work on it!
Have to sort out with the owner how to proceed now.

Thanks again!