D3000 got rained on - a write-off?

hartz · Feb 19, 2012

A couple of months ago my D3000 got rained on - fairly soaked through. It seems like it "wants to" work - the menus operates, it focuses, everything looks good until you try to take a photo. I can hear the mirror flip up, but no photo is written to the card and you then get an error to "press shutter release again", after which you hear the mirror flip back and the menus become available again.

The local repairs people were completely uninterested in even looking at it. Presumably such a "cheap camera" is more expensive to repair than to replace.

Fortunately the lens that were mounted still works perfectly.

I got a Nikon D5100 as replacement. Yay. A D7000 would have been better but I bough the D5100 brand new at 50% of retail (someone selling an unwanted gift). For the money a bargain and for my needs its just perfect.

But now I still have the D3000. Should I keep trying to get it repaired to have a backup camera, or should I sell it as "spares, not working". What is the chances that it can ever work again?

SCraig · Feb 19, 2012

I'm sure it could be made to work again, but odds are it would cost as much as buying a new one. Personally I'd keep it around as a reminder not to let my cameras get rained on.

480sparky · Feb 19, 2012

I'd write it off. Sell it on ebay or a local camera repair shop for parts.

KmH · Feb 19, 2012

The next time any of your consumer electronics gets wet, turn it off if it isn't already off, remove the battery if you can, and as soon as possible dry off the outside as best you can.

Put 2 cups of uncooked rice in a ziplock bag big enough to hold the rice and set your your electronic consumer item in the bag on top of the rice. Close the bag and let it sit for at least 72 hours.

The rice will absorb any additional moisture you couldn't get to.

hartz · Feb 19, 2012

My partner found it the next morning. She took out the battery and memory card immediately.

When she told me I took off the lens. I would have flipped up the mirror if I could but I didn't want to turn it on. I left it like that for 3 days then tried to turn it on, and got the error. I turned it back off, keeping it open and in a warm dry place (top of the fridge) for weeks. No change when I tested it again. I tested it again a few weeks later, still no luck.

480sparky · Feb 19, 2012

It very well could be a matter of the rainwater worked it's way into the camera, bringing chemicals / minerals in it with it. The water evaporated, but the chemical / mineral stayed around, fouling up the electronics by causing an unintentional path for electrons to flow.

Tee · Feb 19, 2012

KmH said:
The next time any of your consumer electronics gets wet, turn it off if it isn't already off, remove the battery if you can, and as soon as possible dry off the outside as best you can.

Put 2 cups of uncooked rice in a ziplock bag big enough to hold the rice and set your your electronic consumer item in the bag on top of the rice. Close the bag and let it sit for at least 72 hours.

The rice will absorb any additional moisture you couldn't get to.

That's awesome. How in the world did you come across that?

nmoody · Feb 19, 2012

Tee said:
KmH said:

The next time any of your consumer electronics gets wet, turn it off if it isn't already off, remove the battery if you can, and as soon as possible dry off the outside as best you can.

Put 2 cups of uncooked rice in a ziplock bag big enough to hold the rice and set your your electronic consumer item in the bag on top of the rice. Close the bag and let it sit for at least 72 hours.

The rice will absorb any additional moisture you couldn't get to.

Click to expand...

That's awesome. How in the world did you come across that?

Its a fairly well known trick when dealing with electronics and moisture. I have done it with cell phones before with great success.

tacticdesigns · Feb 19, 2012

When you press the button, do you hear the shutter click? Or is there no shutter sound?

Maybe the shutter is stuck. If so, and you've already written off the camera, try this . . .

http://johnbagnell.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-fix-d70s-or-d70-shutter.html

Just a shot in the dark . . .

480sparky · Feb 19, 2012

Tee said:
That's awesome. How in the world did you come across that?

Rice is commonly used as a desiccant. Usually you'll see rice in a restaurant salt shaker.

zamanakhan · Feb 19, 2012

i've had tons of stuff go through the wash and worked completely fine, just remember to try not to turn it on, immediately take out the battery (if u can) and just leave it off for a couple of days. I never tried the rice advice but it seems like it could have potential. I've had a sony erricson phone go in the wash and i just took the battery out and turned it on 3 days later and it worked fine, an apple shuffle, my iphone took a dive into the bathtub, i also used to have tiled celing where i lived (in a basement) and the roof was once leaking so i lifted the tile and about a bucket of water fell on my toshiba satellite laptop. I took the out the battery immediately, it all worked 100% except the front panel which would tell time and let me know how much battery is left.

hartz · Feb 20, 2012

tacticdesigns said:
When you press the button, do you hear the shutter click? Or is there no shutter sound?

Maybe the shutter is stuck. If so, and you've already written off the camera, try this . . .

http://johnbagnell.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-fix-d70s-or-d70-shutter.html

Just a shot in the dark . . .

I don't know about the shutter. I believe the sound I hear is the mirror flipping up and when I press again, flipping back down. I will try to figure out a way to determine whether the shutter moves or not.

I have an offer of R1500 (A bit less than USD200) for the camera as spares. I told the guy I needed a few days to think about it... So it is almost a write off to me ... It may be worth risking the value of the camera as it stands to a) at least learn something, and b) possibly regain the use of the camera, and c) potentially be able to sell it as WORKING for more (So I can buy more lenses!!!!)?

Thanx!

480sparky · Feb 20, 2012

If reliability in the future isn't an issue, then hold on to it and see if it comes back alive.

Personally, I wouldn't want a body I can't trust.

tacticdesigns · Feb 20, 2012

A quick test to see if the shutter is working is to put the camera on either the B (bulb) mode or at least a slow shutter. Take off the lens. And looking into the camera press the shutter. When the mirror goes up, the shutter should go up too, exposing the sensor. If you don't see the sensor, then I'm thinking the shutter might be stuck.

NOTE: For the above link, I'm not suggesting taking the camera apart. Just that bit about where they hold up the mirror and nudge the shutter. (If the shutter seems stuck a bit.)

Although, $200 for a non-working dSLR seems pretty generous . . . I'd be tempted that if the shutter wasn't moving, to just nudge it the slightest bit to see if it moves. If not, take the $200.

hartz · Feb 20, 2012

OK - the shutter appears to work.

The D3000 can not "shoot" without a lens attached, but you can use the "Mirror Lock Up" function in the menu. This option is not the "eliminate shutter vibration" option, it is in fact there to allow you to clean the sensor. When you use this option, the mirror flips up and the shutter opens and the camera then intentionally locks up with a message to turn it off. To see whether the shutter actually closes I stuck a finger in the way of the mirror and turned the camera off.

I could then see the shutter operate and my finger didn't even get cut off.

I re-tested shooting with a lens. What happens now (not sure if this is exactly like it used to) is that the mirror does not flip out of the way completely. It only lifts about 5mm from the rest position. It then gives the error. When I press the shutter again, it flips up and back down apparently smoothly. It also operates apparently normal when I perform the "Mirror lock up function" so this does not appear to be a mechanical failure.