Is Nikon D90 junk? (ERR message thing)

[hoboahoy]

Nobody wants to own an unreliable piece of expensive hardware. Who has experienced the ERR message problems with your Nikon D90 here? I love to own a D90 but it appears inevitable that many people experience the dreaded ERR message. I don't want to spend $900+ on a piece of unreliable hardware for which the manufacturer doesn't even admit the problem??? I am in the market for a SLR, and D90 seems to be a right camera for me if it functions without problems, but I wouldn't even touch it with a ten-foot pole hoping I would get a copy without the ERR problem by a sheer luck as purchasing. I'm not willing to take a chace like that. It really sucks because D90 otherwise seems to be a great camera. Could you share your experience with the ERR problem? I really believe the D90 has a design flaw. Nikon really should fix the problem, or maybe the release of D5000 is Nikon's attempt to fix the D90 problem (ie releasing D5000 as a revised D90 regarding the ERR issues)? I wonder if D5000 gets the same ERR issue as in D90? I'm hoping people here could convince me that there is nothing wrong with D90, so I could comfortably purchase a D90 because I don't want to pay for a D300S. If I buy a D90, then start getting the ERR message, then I'm really gonna go crazy. Thank you.

 

[ShotwellPhotography]

I've never had a problem with mine.

 

[KmH]

It's never happened on any of the 4 D90's I own. I bought all 4 last November. (Black Friday) If you go Canon you can worry about Error 99's and failed shutters.

This stuff is all mass produced.

I visit several other forums in the course of a day and am not familiar with the problem you're referring to. How about some links?

 

[PhotoXopher]

Not a single problem here either! I love my D90 and recommend it highly to anyone.

 

[HeY iTs ScOTtY]

I also never had a problem with my D90 and the D5000 is not a D90 replacement or upgrade its more of a downgrade.

 

[RichA]

Friend who owned a D80 (before migrating to a D200 then 300) suggested that a reason might be lens weight. He used the 17-55mm f2.8 on the D80 and got those messsages. He didn't get them with the kit lens, or the 16-85mm and he didn't get them with the 17-55mm on the D200 or 300. He figured some kind of flexture could have been causing contact issues. Never figured it out, he sold the D80.

 

[inTempus]

I wouldn't worry about it. Every electronic device made can have a bad copy. Buy it from Adorama, if it gives you problems, return it and have a brand new copy in about 3 days. What's to worry about?

The D90 is a solid camera.

 

[kundalini]

It could be as simple as not having the aperture ring locked down on the lens at f/22.... (which is actually error code "EE".)

If you wish to base your decisions on hearsay and from unsubstantiated anecdotal information, then by all means, you should stay far, far away from Nikon, jump camp and break bread with the Canonites. You obiviously are not ready for the Force of the Dark Side.

 

[MelissaMarieImagery]

I adore my d90! Never had a problem with it The HD Video feature is nice, too!

 

[Jeffro]

What problem are you talking about... My uncle has 2 D90's I have one and we have never had a problem. Who told you there was a flaw? Bug???

I have gotten that error if I forget to stop my 85mm to 22. but that is not a fault of the camera but my stupidity.

D90 is amazing!

 

[smyth]

Friend who owned a D80 (before migrating to a D200 then 300) suggested that a reason might be lens weight. He used the 17-55mm f2.8 on the D80 and got those messsages. He didn't get them with the kit lens, or the 16-85mm and he didn't get them with the 17-55mm on the D200 or 300. He figured some kind of flexture could have been causing contact issues. Never figured it out, he sold the D80.

I highly doubt it. I've shot my D40 (different animal i know) with a 70-200 f2.8 (rented) and it's always worked perfectly. I would certainly hope that if my D40 can handle a heavy lens, then so could the D80 or D90.

 

[Sachphotography]

You could be getting the err for a number of reasons. If you use a lens that allows you to change the F/stop manually, you will get the error if it is not set to its widest setting. Also,
if you are using an external flash and it is not seated right or the batteries are dying, you may get an error message to.

 

[Slaphead]

Well I wouldn't call it junk, but my experiences are:-

Inserting a memory card occasionally produces a "CHA" error message (means can't read card) problem is rectified by reinserting card. This has happened approx 4 times

The F-- error happens occasionally - generally rectified by reseating the lens. If happening a lot then a quick clean of the contacts (both lens and camera) banishes the problem completely for a while. I've only noticed this with the 18-200 lens but I can't draw any conclusion from this as it's the lens that lives on the camera.

Camera refocusing after I've focused and reframed despite the fact that the camera is on AF-Single and the focus should be locked. Happened 3 or 4 times

VR suddenly just stopping until I press the shutter again. Happened 3 or 4 times

Randomly overexposing an image. This has happened twice. Shutter is is noticeably slower when this occurs. Both instances have occurred when using Aperture priority. Checking the EXIF shows that it isn't a sticking shutter, but that the camera choose to use a much slower shutter speed.

Mirror simply locking up without any input from myself. Happened once - turning the camera on and off solved the problem and has not occurred since.

The last two seemed to coincide with the fitting of the battery grip. I've taken this off and reattached it and had no more problems of this ilk.

To put this in context I've taken well over 5000 photos with the D90 and only experienced each these problems 2 or 3 times. That said I've taken many many more with my D40x and experienced absolutely no problems whatsoever.

I could send it in to Nikon, but as somebody who repairs things for a living I know that as these problems happen so rarely and cannot be reliably demonstrated or repeated the camera will come back "No Fault Found".

I'm not saying the D90 is a bad camera - it works 99.999 percent of the time and the problems are minor niggles, but if the D90 and the D40x were both parachutes, it would be the D40x strapped to my back when jumping out of a plane.

 

[benlonghair]

OP: Do you have a D90? Cause if you do, and you want to get rid of it cheap, like sub-$400, PM me and I'll buy it from you.

 

[itznfb]

Nobody wants to own an unreliable piece of expensive hardware. Who has experienced the ERR message problems with your Nikon D90 here? I love to own a D90 but it appears inevitable that many people experience the dreaded ERR message. I don't want to spend $900+ on a piece of unreliable hardware for which the manufacturer doesn't even admit the problem??? I am in the market for a SLR, and D90 seems to be a right camera for me if it functions without problems, but I wouldn't even touch it with a ten-foot pole hoping I would get a copy without the ERR problem by a sheer luck as purchasing. I'm not willing to take a chace like that. It really sucks because D90 otherwise seems to be a great camera. Could you share your experience with the ERR problem? I really believe the D90 has a design flaw. Nikon really should fix the problem, or maybe the release of D5000 is Nikon's attempt to fix the D90 problem (ie releasing D5000 as a revised D90 regarding the ERR issues)? I wonder if D5000 gets the same ERR issue as in D90? I'm hoping people here could convince me that there is nothing wrong with D90, so I could comfortably purchase a D90 because I don't want to pay for a D300S. If I buy a D90, then start getting the ERR message, then I'm really gonna go crazy. Thank you.

the D90 does not have any more issues than any other camera. you have just as much of a chance of getting a bad D300s/700/3/3x or 50D or 5Dmk2 or whatever. the D5000 has absolutely nothing to do with D90 in any way shape or form. it's a completely different camera and in no way as capable of a camera as the D90. the D5000 targets a new and completely different market than the D90. Nikon should fix the problem? there is no problem to fix. the actual issue probably occurs on less than .1% of the D90's produced. and the majority of ERR codes reported by D90 users are generally user error due to not having a clue what they are doing or not following the manual.

i have well over 100,000 shutter actuations on my D90 and i've not once had an error.