Please help:D300 users - Power down question

[JTaz]

Hello all,

I had the misfortune of dropping my D300 and 70-200 VR today. I may have escaped with only a damaged filter ring, but time will tell after I send it to Nikon. But I also I noticed something else.

When I power the camera down (turn it off), it takes the top display like one quarter to one half second until the info disappears. When powering up, the delay is even less. I don't think this was the case before the drop, but I could just be losing my mind.

Does yours do this?

Thanks,
John
--
johntazbazphotography.smugmug.com

If a picture is still worth a thousand words, it hasn't kept up with inflation.

 

[morgoththebetrayer]

It looks like mine does that sometimes. Not really sure why sometimes it's instant and others it takes awhile. It looks to me like it shuts off when the sensor cleaner stops vibrating.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/morgoththebetrayer/

 

[photonut2008]

A trick I do when I fill my card and I want to throw the next one in as soon as the camera stops writing to it; I turn off my camera and wait for the display on the top of the camera to go off, and then I know the camera has finished writing to the card.

 

[TORHALIK]

yes, it takes about 1/4 of a sec longer to go off
--
torhalik

 

[JTaz]

I appreciate your confirmation. I actually changed the setting for the sensor cleaning. It had been set to off. After setting it to clean during power down, it had less of a delay. Then it had the same delay. In the end, it seems to be working like yours, which is good (I hope).

Thanks again,
John
--
johntazbazphotography.smugmug.com

If a picture is still worth a thousand words, it hasn't kept up with inflation.

 

[JTaz]

--
johntazbazphotography.smugmug.com

If a picture is still worth a thousand words, it hasn't kept up with inflation.

 

[JTaz]

All of your replies will help me to sleep a little easier tonight.

All the best,
John
--
johntazbazphotography.smugmug.com

If a picture is still worth a thousand words, it hasn't kept up with inflation.

 

[photonut2008]

It might explain a long shut down; although with the D300 and UDMA cards you have to really be blasting to make it last more than a few seconds.

Now I am afraid I have some bad news for you. The 70-200 has an aluminum frame that is easily bent if it is dropped -- and Nikon charges about $400 to repair that. You also want to have the mount checked on your camera as that may need replacing too.

I'm sorry to hear about this happening to you; I know how it feels as it has happened to me too. Good luck and start a thread when you get your gear back from Nikon telling us how it went.

 

[JTaz]

Just kidding.

But I can't say I'm happy hearing your info. I'm sorry you went through a similar experience.

Regarding the frame of the 70-200, did you have any indication that it was damaged before sending it to Nikon? Any rattling, odd sounds, etc? Or was it completely hidden to you?

I took test shots last night and it seems to work fine (body and lens). The only thing I think may be off is the performance of the VR. I recall it having more anti-shake capabilities when looking through the viewfinder, but I could easily be wrong with this.

Thanks again,
John
--
johntazbazphotography.smugmug.com

If a picture is still worth a thousand words, it hasn't kept up with inflation.

 

[photonut2008]

Regarding the frame of the 70-200, did you have any indication that
it was damaged before sending it to Nikon? Any rattling, odd sounds,
etc? Or was it completely hidden to you?

I sent the lens in because it wasn't sharp enough for me at the edges -- and after it came back it still isn't. Otherwise, I had no indications and banged the lens pretty hard by slipping to the ground shortly after it came back (that made me sick to my stomach just thinking about it). However, the lens still performs the same so I just let it go -- I wouldn't be surprised if the frame on my lens is bent again.

Right now you are understandably paranoid. Every little thing you might not have noticed before is now a potential sign of damage. Give it some time before you send the lens in unless you clearly see something is wrong. Send your camera in under warranty to have it looked at as that is something I would recommend to anyone. In the meantime, check your camera's edge to edge performance by focusing close but stopped down with a reliable lens (50/1.8 will do) at a flat target and check all the corners -- if you have a bad corner that's an indication that your camera's mount got bent.

 

[JTaz]

Yeah, I can appreciate the sick feeling you get just by typing that.

Well, I wouldn't say paranoid. I think I'm keeping a rather level head on my shoulders.

Oh, one other thing I noticed. Currently, it's spelled "Nikon" just below the pop-up flash. I could be wrong, but I could almost swear it was spelled "Nykon" before the disaster. So I'll have the techs take a look at that as well while they're checking everything else.

Thanks for the suggestion on how to check edge to edge sharpness, I'll test it tonight.

Thanks again,
John
--
johntazbazphotography.smugmug.com

If a picture is still worth a thousand words, it hasn't kept up with inflation.

 

[gsmornot]

A trick I do when I fill my card and I want to throw the next one in
as soon as the camera stops writing to it; I turn off my camera and
wait for the display on the top of the camera to go off, and then I
know the camera has finished writing to the card.

Am I supposed to turn it off when I change the card? Next thing you know someone is going to come along and tell me it should be off to change the lens too.
--
Nikon-
http://pdbruce.zenfolio.com

 

[photonut2008]

A trick I do when I fill my card and I want to throw the next one in
as soon as the camera stops writing to it; I turn off my camera and
wait for the display on the top of the camera to go off, and then I
know the camera has finished writing to the card.

Am I supposed to turn it off when I change the card? Next thing you
know someone is going to come along and tell me it should be off to
change the lens too.

Technically you are supposed to turn off the camera when changing lenses. One good reason to do so is to allow the sensor cleaning mechanism to work between lens changes. However, that's not why I do that trick; it's so I know when the camera has finished and can replace it with a fresh card without delay. It may also explain why John's camera was slow shutting down, which is why I mentioned it.