New D90 won't record pictures

Joel_W · May 12, 2012

Just finished reading the manual for my refurb'd D90 I got yesterday. Charged the battery, inserted the new SDHC UHS-1 16GB card. Formatted the card twice as it never asked for a format, which is strange for a new card. Available picture count of 1K. Took several pictures, but when I go to review the test pictures it says that there are no images in the folder.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

TheFantasticG · May 12, 2012

The cameras don't ask if you want to format the cards when you put them in. Did you try shooting in jpg and raw to see if the results are the same? Does it record movies?

Joel_W · May 12, 2012

Nope. I'll try JPEG and see what happens. The manual says that it will ask to format if needed. Tried a 4GB card I had. The D90 must have recognized it, because the number of available pictures changed to 258. Took two test pictures and the folder was still empty.

Joel_W · May 12, 2012

Just tried JPEG fine. Same results. No image found in folder. Looks likes I'll be calling Adorama Sunday for a return label, and it's back to my trusty D70S that actually works.

Kerbouchard · May 12, 2012

The D90 can support several different folders on a memory card. Have you tried putting the disk into a computer to see if there are any images on any of the folders? Could be that you are writing to a folder that you aren't looking at in the playback.

Derrel · May 12, 2012

Graystar's advice was exactly what I was thinking...

"The first thing I would do is check the Playback Folder setting. Enter the Playback menu and select "Playback folder." Select "All". Read about this setting on page 162 of the D90 manual. If that works then enter the Shooting menu and select "Active Folder" and delete all empty folders. See page 169 in the manual."

Diz-actly my thought. Let's hope that's what the snafu is!

My second thought is this: is the D90 fully compliant with that "type" or "class" of card, and with a card that high in capacity??? Just a few years ago, an 8-gig card was extremely big, and 16 gig cards were basically, not even a factor...

Joel_W · May 12, 2012

Thanks guys. Tried everything. Nothing works. Can't even get LV to work correctly. Will be calling Adorama Sunday and sending back the D90 and the Card. Think I'll just stick with my D70S, and for what I do with it, it's good enough. For nearly $900 I shouldn't have to go through this.

Mrgiggls · May 12, 2012

I have to agree with Graystar on the refurb moniker being misleading. I'ts not like buying a certified pre-owned Lexus or BMW that gets a thorough inspection/diagnostic. I think probably with most electronics, if it powers on, it passes and ships.

cgipson1 · May 12, 2012

I just tested my girlfriends D90 with a 32gb Sandisk Extreme Pro... and it works fine.. so the card probably is not an issue.

KmH · May 12, 2012

Some % of all consumer electronics don't work right.

The D90 you got, may or may not have worked just fine when it went through the refurbishment process. The problem you are having could also have started after the D90 went through the refurbish process.

You could have seen the same issue even if you had been sent a brand new D90.

That's why sellers like Adorama have return policies and why consumer electronics gear makers offer warranties on both new and refurbished gear.

Joel_W · May 12, 2012

Thanks again to all that have tried their best to help. It's not the card as I also tried a 2nd card, and checked out both cards in my computer's reader. Both cards had nothing on them. The Live View doesn't work either.

At this point I'm inclined to believe that a lot of this refurb business is more monkey business then fact. Seems to me that a refurb goes through a quick checklist to match up to their acceptable standards, then cleaned, and boxed up. If they would have bothered to test it, it would have failed. Most likely it is assumed that Demos don't get abused, and are just being recycled. Then again, maybe it was tested, but it was just passed on since everything these days is all about productivity numbers.

This is the 2nd time in 6 months that I've had an issue with Adorama. 1st time I purchased Nixon extension tubes after calling and being assured that they do work with my D70S and lenses. The fact was that they didn't. I had to return those, and got a set of Kenko tubes instead for way less money.

Naturally, I'm disappointed. I'm officially done with anything used, or refurb'd, no matter what warranties come with it, or how cheap it is. Most likely I end up with a new D5100 body for less money. It's not what a D90 is, nor what I really wanted, but such is life when one lives on a budget.

cgipson1 · May 12, 2012

Joel_W said:
Thanks again to all that have tried their best to help. It's not the card as I also tried a 2nd card, and checked out both cards in my computer's reader. Both cards had nothing on them. The Live View doesn't work either.

At this point I'm inclined to believe that a lot of this refurb business is more monkey business then fact. Seems to me that a refurb goes through a quick checklist to match up to their acceptable standards, then cleaned, and boxed up. If they would have bothered to test it, it would have failed. Most likely it is assumed that Demos don't get abused, and are just being recycled. Then again, maybe it was tested, but it was just passed on since everything these days is all about productivity numbers.

This is the 2nd time in 6 months that I've had an issue with Adorama. 1st time I purchased Nixon extension tubes after calling and being assured that they do work with my D70S and lenses. The fact was that they didn't. I had to return those, and got a set of Kenko tubes instead for way less money.

Naturally, I'm disappointed. I'm officially done with anything used, or refurb'd, no matter what warranties come with it, or how cheap it is. Most likely I end up with a new D5100 body for less money. It's not what a D90 is, nor what I really wanted, but such is life when one lives on a budget.

Joel,

Sorry to hear that, Joel! I just listed a nearly new D90 for $600... and will guarantee it! If you are interested!

SCraig · May 12, 2012

Sorry to hear that you had problems with it Joel. It's sad that people don't check things the way they should or someone would have noticed that the body doesn't work properly. I don't know who did the refurb on it but they did a lousy job it sounds like.

Kerbouchard · May 12, 2012

If I were you, I would check out craigslist or the buy/sell forum. For instance, cgipson just mentioned he has a D90 for sale. Heck, I sold a D90 on Craigslist just a few days ago.

Nothing wrong with buying used if you can trust the seller and/or check it out before you buy it.

Personally, IMO, the D5100 is a large step down from the D90 and if I were you, I wouldn't make that step based on one bad unit. Just my .02

ulrichsd · May 12, 2012

Sorry it didn't work out with the refrub. I bought my D90 about 15 months ago as a factory demo and have not had a single problem the last year. For those who are complaining about the warranty, they are Nikon inspected and come with a 3 month warranty (compared to a year on their new products). I bought mine from Cameta.com which offers a 1 year warranty on their refurbished products. (I'm not affiliated with them, just a happy customer). My camera came with just under 200 shutter actuations and cost $650. You might want to check them out.

Good luck!
Scott