Is it the rear screen or the motherboard that is bad on D300S?

[seleniumcell]

Blue backlight glow appears when Play, Menu, or LiveView are selected. Goes away when it should.

HDMI out displays menus and images.

Otherwise, camera functions normally.

I got this camera cheap and can return it to owner or could decide to keep and fix it. New rear display is "keep". New motherboard says "return".

Is it possible to make an educated guess from this description?

Thanks to all helpers.

 

[RVT1K]

I'm just guessing but I would think the camera would be mostly unresponsive if the motherboard were dead. I just don't see it functioning.

 

[Larry_Page]

Did you ever decide what to do about your D300s? I've just joined the forum, and since I had a similar experience a few years ago, thought I'd offer a thought or two, just in case you hadn't returned the camera and were still working out what to do.

The fact that the display is correct on an external display speaks to the likelihood that the main circuit board is most likely OK. That would indicate that the trouble is with the rear LCD panel or perhaps with an interconnecting cable. Nikon service has not done repairs on either the D300 or D300s for several years, so the challenge is going to be finding an independent repair shop that can source repair parts, probably from a donor body.

A few years ago, I repaired a different problem on a D300, primarily as an interesting project. I was able to find a donor body with the parts I needed for $50, and labor at my local repair shop was $125 or 150...can't remember which.

So there's really no way it's going to be economically feasible to do the repair. You'll have to do it because you passionately want to see a good camera returned to service.

 

[Braineack]

It's a ~$100, 12 year old camera that's incredibly outdated, can't focus in the dark, and has a crummy battery life. Who cares?

 

[Larry_Page]

Actually, I still have and occasionally use my D300s. 12 MP is sometimes just right, and it captures beautiful images in the majority of situations. My brother still uses the D300 that I rebuilt as his primary camera. We find that they can do a good job if you know what to do with them and understand their limits.