D90 Issue

[sapper6fd]

Hey everyone. I'm wondering if anyone has ever had or heard of the issue I'm having with my D90. A few days ago I noticed the exposure meter was dancing around in my viewfinder and it's driving me nuts. I will compose a shot in aperture mode, shutter priority or manual mode and no matter what I do, I can't seem to get the exposure meter to report correctly. It just bounces aroun wildly back and forth. It's not one bar this way or that way, I mean it goes from one end to the other end and everywhere in between. Has anyone had this issue? It's only taken 4100 shots since it was purchased, and Im not sure if it's still under warranty. I can't recall what month I bought it in but it was around a year ago that I picked it up (now I'm wishing I'd taken that extended warranty when I purchased it!). Sapper

 

[mrpink]

What metering mode are you using?

Spot metering will do that. Center weighted will be less jittery. Matrix should be steady.






p!nK

 

[Robin Usagani]

if you put your camera on a tripod, and the subject isnt moving around it shoudl be steady. If it is not, then there is a problem. More likely user error and not understanding exposure meter on your camera. What mrpink said.

 

[AgentDrex]

I have a D90 issue as well...I don't have one...perhaps you want to get rid of yours for a VERY reduced price? No? Alright....

 

[tirediron]

I had a very similar issue with my old D70; every now and then, for no reason at all (ie it did not appear to be associated with anything such as changing lenses, modes, etc) the exposure meter would read way out, usually by a matter of 4+ stops. I don't recall that it danced around much, but what I found was that if I turned the camera on and off a few times, and sometimes left it for a few minutes, it would eventually sort itself out. Nikon had no explanation for it, and while it was a pain, it wasn't a show-stopper.

I would try the following: Do a two-button reset, ensure you have a fresh battery in the camera, set it up on a tripod, and with Matrix mode selected, meter a scene which is all of a fairly similar tone (eg the side a of a building painted one colour). If your metering changes by more than 1/3 of a stop over the course of a minute or two (unless the sun is suddenly blocked by cloud or something), than you may indeed have a problem.

 

[Kerbouchard]

Does this happen on more than one lens?
Do you have another lens you can try it on?

I would probably try cleaning the contacts on the lens and the camera body with a non-lint cotton cloth, and see if that fixes your problem. If that didn't, I would set my camera on a tripod looking at a stationary subject. If it was still bouncing around, I would try the 2 button reset. It was still bouncing around, I would call Nikon because that is not normal.

 

[sapper6fd]

Here’s an update for you all.

This all started happening the day I placed a CIRPOL filter on the lens. Kind of odd I know. The exposure meter started bouncing back and forth with the filter on or off after I first used it (the filter that is).

I've reset the camera to its default settings,
removed the battery and replaced it
Removed the lens and cleaned the contacts
Taken the camera to a camera store an tried a different lens with it (same issue, problem still occurs)
Adjusted the meter mode from centre weighted, spot to matrix
thrown the camera on a tripod and taken some shots
Last but not least reset everything to factory defaults.

I'm skeptical to say user error at this point as the only thing that changed on the camera was placing a CIRPOL filter on the lens that caused this to occur. No other settings were changed. I'm stumped.

 

[tirediron]

I would say that the fact that this occurred when you first put the CPOL on is probably coincendence. It sounds to me like you do have an issue, and the only suggestion (and it's a remote one) that I can offer at this point is to check for, and if available, install any firmware updates. Other than that, I think you need to send it off to Nikon, and I agree, at this point, it does NOT sound like user error.